WITH A FEW NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS, ESTABLISHED ALCOHOL RESEARCHERS IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE NOT BEEN DEEPLY INVOLVED IN STUDIES OF ALCOHOL AND SERIOUS EVENTS, EXCEPT FOR RESEARCHERS IN THE LARGELY SEPARATE FIELD OF ALCOHOL AND HIGHWAY SAFETY. SOME DESIRABLE DIMENSIONS TO BE STUDIED THROUGH RESEARCH ARE SPECIFIED: (1) PARTICULAR CASUALTIES AND CRIMES SHOULD BE VIEWED IN A COMPARATIVE FRAMEWORK, (2) DIFFERENT ISSUES IMPLIED BY DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF ALCOHOL SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED, (3) POTENTIAL OTHER FACTORS BESIDES ALCOHOL SHOULD BE MEASURED IN MULTIVARIATE STUDIES, (4) ISSUES RELATED TO CULTURE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED, (5) EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PERSPECTIVES SHOULD BE INTEGRATED, AND (6) RESEARCH SHOULD BE CUMULATIVE AND INNOVATIVE. EFFECTIVE DATA COLLECTION, STORAGE, AND ANALYSIS PROCEDURES SHOULD ACCOMPANY EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE THE MANY FACETS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALCOHOL AND TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, CRIME, AND FAMILY ABUSE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL ABUSE SHOULD ACTIVELY ENCOURAGE THE CONSIDERATION OF ALCOHOL AS A POTENTIAL FACTOR IN THE CASUALTY AND CRIME LITERATURE. DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH CONCERN THE UTILIZATION OF EXISTING DATA, GENERAL-POPULATION STUDIES, STUDIES OF SERIOUS EVENTS, AND THE PREVENTION OF ALCOHOL-RELATED SERIOUS EVENTS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. (DEP)