The participants had been arrested in Missouri and placed on probation for drunk driving over a 6-month period. They completed a computerized version of the Substance Use Disorder Diagnostic Schedule. They also answered questions about 20 stressors such as financial problems and the breakup of a relationship and about problems associated with alcohol use. Results revealed that people arrested for driving while intoxicated were more likely to have experienced certain types of stressors in the previous year than would be expected in the general population. Arrest, job loss and unemployment, financial difficulties, divorce or separation, illness or death in the family, and conflict in the home had all occurred in more than one-third of these arrestees. Findings suggested that increased alcohol consumption represents a maladaptive coping device for these individuals. Tables and 28 references (Author abstract modified)