In discussing the importance of this study, the authors note that problem behavior theory has been a useful adjunct to explanations of the etiology of adolescent drug use; however, the conceptual appropriateness of social-psychological theories of drug use with minority youth has rarely been tested empirically. In addition to normative development transitions associated with adolescence, minority youth may encounter sociopolitical and economic hardships that spawn despair, hopelessness, and personal anomie, which may independently engender drug use. Using cross- sectional data from a cohort of 8th-grade, urban, black youth, the current study tested several latent-variable structural equation models that posited general deviance as a mediator of the influence of cognitive efficacy (skills mastery and personal competence) and, separately, personal anomie. Models were psychometrically sound and accounted for large portions of variation. Results show that the influence of hopelessness, loneliness, and suicidal thinking was entirely mediated by physical aggression, sensation-seeking, and unsafe and unconventional behavior. Personal competence had both direct and indirect influences on drug use. Findings underscore the continued primacy of deviance in predicting drug use for minority youth and the necessity of incorporating affective influences into current cognitive-behavioral intervention strategies. 1 table, 2 figures, 3 notes, and 63 references