THE BOOK PRESENTS SPECIALLY COMMISSIONED PAPERS FROM THE CONFERENCE ON STRATEGIES OF LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH ON DRUG USE, SPONSORED IN APRIL 1976 BY THE CENTER FOR SOCIO-CULTURAL RESEARCH ON DRUG USE OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE. AN INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER BRINGS OUT THE COMMONALITIES AMONG THE EIGHT EMPIRICAL STUDIES REPORTED AND DERIVES A SERIES OF SUBSTANTIVE PROPOSITIONS BASED ON CONVERGENT RESEARCH FINDINGS. THE EMPIRICAL PAPERS ARE GROUPED INTO TWO MAJOR SECTIONS, COVERING THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS AND SUBSEQUENT YEARS. READ TOGETHER, THE EIGHT DIFFERENT STUDIES ILLUMINATE AND COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER: THEY ILLUSTRATE THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CONTEXT IN THE INITIATION OF A PARTICULAR BEHAVIOR; THEY DOCUMENT THE FACT THAT MANY FACTORS FOUND TO BE RELATED TO DRUG USE AT ONE POINT IN TIME (E.G., LOW ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, CRIME, DEPRESSION, REBELLIOUSNESS) DO PRECEDE THE USE OF DRUGS; THEY DEAL WITH COHORT, MATURATIONAL, AND HISTORICAL EFFECTS ON DRUG BEHAVIOR; AND THEY DEVELOP THE NOTION OF STAGES AS A STRATEGY FOR PINPOINTING THE ROLES OF SPECIFIC FACTORS IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. OTHER CHAPTERS EXPLORE THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES RAISED BY THE STUDIES. A SUMMARY CHAPTER DISTILLS THE MOST IMPORTANT METHODOLOGICAL POINTS AND DISCUSSES THEIR RELEVANCE FOR LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH IN GENERAL. SEE ALSO NCJ-50620-50631. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--LKM)