ALL 907 YOUTH WERE ADMINISTERED A YOUTH ALCOHOL ABUSE SURVEY, WHILE A SUBSAMPLE OF 98 RUNAWAYS AND 251 RUNAWAYS COMPLETED A LIFE EVENTS INVENTORY DEVELOPED IN THE COURSE OF THE STUDY. SIMPLE FREQUENCY AND CROSS-TABULATION ANALYSIS REVEALED SIMILARITIES IN THE REPORTED BEHAVIOR OF RUNAWAY AND NONRUNAWAY DRINKING PATTERNS. OF THE YOUTH IN EACH GROUP, 80 PERCENT DRINK, AND 60 PERCENT OF EACH REPORTED DRINKING REGULARLY. ALMOST ONE-FOURTH OF THE YOUTH IN EACH GROUP DRINK WITH THE PURPOSE OF GETTING DRUNK AND 1 OUT OF 10 DRINK MORE THAN THEIR FRIENDS; 10 PERCENT OF EACH HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AFTER DRINKING, USUALLY FOR DRUNK DRIVING OR CREATING A DISTURBANCE. THE FREQUENCY OF LIQUOR CONSUMPTION FOR BOTH GROUPS WAS NEARLY IDENTICAL. FORTY PERCENT OF THE RUNAWAYS AND NONRUNAWAYS PREFERRED TO DRINK BEER AND ONE-THIRD DRANK FIVE OR MORE BOTTLES OR CANS AT ONE SITTING. PARENTAL ALCOHOL USE OR ABUSE, WHEN SEEN AS A PARENTAL ROLE MODELING PROCESS, WAS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN YOUTH'S DRINKING. A REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON RUNAWAYS IS PROVIDED, ALONG WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE DEFINITION OF LIFE STRESS AND ALCOHOL ABUSE. THE SURVEY INSTRUMENTS ARE ALSO PROVIDED, AS ARE TABULAR AND GRAPHIC DATA. REFERENCES ARE FOOTNOTED. (KBL)