EARLY DRINKERS WERE CLASSIFIED AS THOSE WOMEN WHO DESCRIBED A FIRST INTOXICATION BEFORE AGE 25 WHILE LATE DRINKERS WERE CLASSIFIED AS THOSE FIRST INTOXICATED AFTER 25. SUBJECTS OF THE STUDY WERE 90 WHITE FEMALE INMATES OF AN UNIDENTIFIED STATE REFORMATORY. OF THESE 72 WERE DRUNKENNESS OFFENDERS OR HAD DESCRIBED HISTORIES OF SERIOUS PROBLEM DRINKING. THE REMAINING 18 HAD NO HISTORY OF DRINKING PROBLEMS. IN TERMS OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS OF ORIGIN, BASED ON COMBINED OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF BOTH PARENTS, EARLY PROBLEM DRINKERS TENDED TO COME FROM LOW STATUS HOMES, WHILE THE LATER DRINKERS CAME FROM EITHER LOWER OR HIGHER STATUS HOMES. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS INDICATED THAT EARLY PROBLEM DRINKERS TENDED TO COME FROM FAMILY SITUATIONS MARKED BY LACK OF PARENTAL AFFECTION, INCONSISTENCY OF PARENTAL CONTROL, AND ALCOHOLISM IN AT LEAST ONE PARENT. THE LATE PROBLEM DRINKER, ON THE OTHER HAND, APPEARS TO HAVE EXPERIENCED LESS FAMILY DISTURBANCE IN THE FORM OF LACK OF PARENTAL AFFECTION, ALCOHOLIC PARENTS, OR SEVERE AND INCONSISTANT DISCIPLINE. HOWEVER, MANY EXPRESSED FAMILY OVER-ATTACHMENT AND GAVE SIGNS OF OVERGRATIFICATION IN CHILDHOOD WHICH MAY HAVE MADE THEM MORE VULNERABLE TO STRESS. IN MOST CASES, LATE ONSET OF PROBLEM DRINKING WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEATH OF A SIGNIFICANT OTHER OR WITH MARITAL CONFLICT. THREE DOMINANT THEMES EMERGED FROM INTERVIEWS WITH LATE DRINKERS: FEELINGS OF STATUS LOSS, FEELINGS OF UNDULY CONSTRICTED EXPERIENCE, AND CONFUSION REGARDING SEX ROLES. THESE FINDINGS LEND SOME SUPPORT THAT DIFFERENCES IN CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES MAY ACCELERATE OR DELAY THE ONSET OF ALCHOL-RELATED PROBLEM BEHAVIOR, ALTHOUGH SUCH FACTORS OFFER NO EXPLANATION FOR THE CHOICE OF ALCOHOLISM AS A COPING MECHANISM. OF THE TWO TYPES OF DRINKERS, THE LATE DRINKER HAS THE BETTER PROGNOSIS FOR REHABILITATION BECAUSE OF HER LONGER EXPERIENCE WITH CONVENTIONAL SOCIETY. HOWEVER, REHABILITATIVE EFFORTS MAY BE HINDERED BY THE DIFFICULTY IN MOTIVATING THIS WOMAN TO RESTRUCTURE HER LIFE AND FIND SUBSTITUTE SOURCES OF GRATIFICATION, AND BY THE NEGATIVE SOCIAL DEFINITION OF THE OLDER WOMAN IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY. THE OLDER EARLY DRINKER PRESENTS ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF HER PROBABLE IDENTIFICATION WITH A SIMILAR DEVIANT SUBCULTURE. WHILE THE YOUNG EARLY DRINKER HAS COMPARATIVE YOUTH TO HER ADVANTAGE, REHABILITATION MAY BE HINDERED BY THE HOSTILITY AND RESENTMENT THESE WOMEN OFTEN DISPLAY. (JAP)