Results indicated that African-Americans had lower levels of alcohol use in both adolescence and young adulthood and developed fewer lifetime alcohol-related problems. On the other hand, onset of alcohol use before sixth grade had a stronger impact on African-Americans than on their White peers in terms of eighth grade intensity of alcohol use, number of drinks consumed per drinking day in young adulthood, and the development of alcohol-related problems in young adulthood. These findings suggest that early initiation into alcohol use is particularly deviant for African-American youth and may result in what is known as the “catch-up” effect. Social workers and other mental health practitioners should be aware that early onset of alcohol use affects levels of alcohol use and the development of alcohol-related problems differently for African-American and White youths. Data were drawn from a two-part longitudinal cohort study, the South Florida Youth Development Project (SFYD), which began in 1990 and followed a cohort of middle school youths through 2001. The first phase of the study surveyed 6,760 middle school students in the fall semester of sixth and seventh grade and the spring semester of eighth grade. A subset of the initial sample was interviewed as students transitioned into young adulthood in 2001. The surveys asked participants about their lifetime, past year, past month, and current levels of alcohol use as well as about any alcohol-related problems. Data were examined using a multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) model. Future research should focus on whether different kinds of problems arise for African-American youth and how early onset of alcohol use impacts their development. Tables, references