FOLLOWING A DISCUSSION OF THE THEORIES MOST PREVALENT CONCERNING THE CAUSATIVE FACTORS IN DRUG ABUSE BEHAVIOR, THE METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY IS DESCRIBED. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REPORTED ADDICTS IN THE PRISON (N=24) WAS CHOSEN AS THE EXPERIMENTAL SAMPLE. IN ADDITION, TWO CONTROL GROUPS WERE SELECTED -- A GROUP OF PRISON INMATES WHO WERE NOT DRUG USERS, AND A GROUP CONSISTING OF WOMEN NOT IN PRISON, BUT WITH SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF THE OTHER TWO GROUPS. THE AVERAGE AGE OF THE WOMEN INTERVIEWED WAS 25. THE FOLLOWING INSTRUMENTS WERE USED IN THE RESEARCH: A QUESTIONNAIRE TO CONFIRM THAT THE PERSONS LABELED AS 'ADDICTS' WERE SO IN FACT, AND TO ASSESS THE USE PATTERNS RELATED TO VARIOUS DRUGS; A SOCIOECONOMIC QUESTIONNAIRE CAPABLE OF ELICITING DATA ON THE SOCIAL SITUATION OF THE WOMEN INTERVIEWED; A QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGNED TO ELICIT DATA ON THE SUBJECT'S PERSONAL HISTORY; AND A BATTERY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS (THE RESULTS OF THESE TO APPEAR IN LATER REPORTS) TO ASSESS THE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEMBERS OF EACH GROUP. THE DATA OBTAINED LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT DRUG ABUSE, DELINQUENCY, AND OTHER DEVIANT BEHAVIOR EMERGE FROM VARIED SOCIOECONOMIC CONTEXTS WHICH MAKE ADEQUATE SOCIALIZATION DIFFICULT. IT WAS FURTHER INDICATED THAT IF CERTAIN FACTORS EXIST, SUCH AS STABILITY IN HETEROSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS, THE SYMPTOMS OF INADEQUATE SOCIALIZATION AND CONFLICTIVE PERSONALITIES WILL BE RETARDED. TABULAR DATA FROM THE STUDY ARE SUPPLIED, AND REFERENCES ARE GIVEN. (RCB)