THE SAMPLE WAS COMPOSED OF 1000 NEW ADMISSIONS TO THE YOUTH RECREATION AND CORRECTION CENTER, YARDVILLE, NEW JERSEY. TRENDS WITH RESPECT TO RACIAL COMPOSITION, AGE, EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, AND MENTAL LEVEL (IQ) WERE EXAMINED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF TWO CONTRADICTORY VIEWS OF SOCIAL COMPETENCE OF THE ADDICT - THAT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ADDICTION OCCURS IN RESPONSE TO ACCUMULATED SOCIAL DEPRIVATIONS, AND THAT HEROIN USERS TEND NOT TO BE FROM THE MOST DEPRIVED ELEMENT OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT. STUDY FINDINGS IN GENERAL, SUPPORT THE VIEW OF THE ADDICT AS BEING MORE SOCIALLY COMPETENT THAN HIS NON-ADDICT OFFENDER PEER. HEROIN ADDICTS WERE FOUND TO BE OLDER, BETTER EDUCATED, AND MORE INTELLIGENT THAN NONADDICTS. IN ADDITION, THE RACIAL COMPOSITION OF BOTH THE ADDICT AND NONADDICT SAMPLES BECAME INCREASINGLY NON-WHITE IN COMPOSITION AND BETTER EDUCATED, NON-ADDICTS BECAME INCREASINGLY OLDER, AND NO SIGNIFICANT TRENDS WITH RESPECT TO INTELLIGENCE TOOK PLACE. IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS FOR A MODEL OF ADDICTION AND REHABILITATION ARE DISCUSSED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)