The research examined whether two subscales (socio-emotional problems and community problems) of the recently developed College Alcohol Problem Scale (CAPS) varied directly with three alcohol expectancies (social assertiveness, tension reduction, and enhanced sexual pleasure) measured by the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire. The study also used the CAPS to test whether these same alcohol problem dimensions varied directly with three drinking contexts (convivial), personal-intimate, and negative coping) as measured by the Drinking Context Scale. A secondary purpose of the study was to examine whether expectancy and drinking contexts varied differentially with alcohol problems. The participants attended a public university in the northeast. They completed the anonymous questionnaires between January 1995 and May 1996 as part of an adjudication process for having been cited by campus authorities for violating university rules concerning underage drinking. The analysis demonstrated the concurrent validity of CAPS with three subscales of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire and the Drinking Context Scale. Students with high levels of socio-emotional and community problems were more likely to consume excessive amounts of alcohol across all three drinking contexts. Findings suggested the need for early intervention strategies designed to change beliefs concerning the effects of drinking and to examine situation-specific drinking risks. Findings also indicated the need individualized assessment as the basis for developing specific treatment objectives, as well as the use of cognitive-behavioral skill-based strategies to help youthful drinkers change unrealistic beliefs about drinking. Tables and 37 references