Researchers compared patterns of alcohol and drug use by two samples of deviant adolescents with drug-use patterns by a sample of nondeviant youths. One sample consisted of 97 juvenile inmates, aged 12 through 18; and another sample of delinquent youths was composed of 184 juveniles, aged 12 through 18, who were in treatment programs. The nondelinquent sample consisted of 8,151 nationally representative high school students, aged 12 through 18. The study measured substance use with three self-report criteria: frequency of use during the last year, use during the last month, and use during the last week. Results show that psychoactive substance use was most frequent among groups of deviant adolescents. The delinquent samples used all types of substances, licit as well as illicit, at rates considerably higher than those of nondeviant high school students. There was similarity among all three groups in several personality correlates of substance use (sensation seeking, anxiety, depressive mood, and learned resourcefulness). The samples were also similar, but to a lesser degree, in interpersonal correlates (perceived closeness to parents and to peers). The implications of these findings for juvenile delinquency prevention are discussed. 5 tables and 38 references