THE STUDY DRAWS ON INFORMATION FROM STATE CRIMINAL RECORDS AND OFFICIAL REGISTERS OF ALCOHOLICS IN SWEDEN THE FREQUENCY OF REGISTERED ALCOHOLISM FOR ADOPTEES IS APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AS THAT FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION, BUT THE FREQUENCY OF ALCOHOLISM FOR THEIR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS IS TWO TO THREE TIMES GREATER THAN THAT FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION. VERY FEW ADOPTIVE PARENTS ARE REGISTERED ALCOHOLICS. THERE IS, HOWEVER, A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION BETWEEN ALCOHOLISM IN BIOLOGICAL PARENTS AND ALCOHOLISM IN THE SONS THEY PLACED FOR ADOPTION. CRIMINAL RECORDS SHOW NO CORRELATION BETWEEEN BIOLOGICAL PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN. THE FINDINGS SUPPORT THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THERE IS A GENETIC DETERMINANT FOR ALCOHOLISM, BUT NOT FOR CRIMINALITY (DEFINED AS REPEATED OFFENSES RESULTING IN LONG PRISON SENTENCES). THE FINDINGS ALSO SUGGEST THAT CRIMINALITY IS MORE LIKELY A CONSEQUENCE OF ALCOHOL ABUSE THAN A MANIFESTATION OF GENETIC PREDISPOSITION. IMPLICATIONS ARE DISCUSSED AND COMPARED WITH CONCLUSIONS DRAWN BY OTHER RESEARCHERS. SUPPORTING DATA AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--IKM)