THE GOODWIN STUDY EXAMINED 55 SUBJECTS WITH ALCOHOLIC BIOLOGICAL PARENTS (PROBANDS) AND 78 CONTROLS WITH NO ALCOHOLIC PARENTS WHO WERE ADOPTED INTO FOSTER HOMES BEFORE 6 WEEKS OF AGE AND HAD NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEIR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS. BOTH PROBANDS AND CONTROLS CAME FROM SIMILAR SOCIAL CLASS BACKGROUNDS, WERE RAISED IN SIMILAR TYPES OF FOSTER HOMES, AND WERE DIAGNOSED AS ALCOHOLICS AT APPROXIMATELY 30 YEARS OF AGE. STUDY DATA SHOWED THAT 20 PERCENT OF THE OFFSPRING OF ALCOHOLIC BIOLOGICAL PARENTS WERE ALCOHOLICS IN ADULTHOOD, AS COMPARED TO ONLY 5 PERCENT OF THE CONTROLS. GOODWIN MADE THREE POINTS IN DEFENSE OF HIS DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA USED TO DISTINGUISH HEAVY AND PROBLEM DRINKERS FROM ALCOHOLICS: (1) THE PSYCHIATRIST DOING THE DIAGNOSING WAS BLIND AS TO WHOM PROBANDS AND CONTROLS WERE; (2) THE CATEGORY OF ALCOHOLISM WAS VALIDATED USING CORROBORATIVE DATA; AND (3) HEAVY OR PROBLEM DRINKING AND ALCOHOLISM, BEING ON A CONTINUUM, MAY BE QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT. THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THOSE WHO SUBSCRIBE TO A DISEASE CONCEPTION OF ALCOHOLISM OVER THE POSSIBILITY OF CONTROLLED SOCIAL DRINKING FOR RECOVERED ALCOHOLICS. SUCH DRINKING IS POSSIBLE, BUT THE MAJOR ISSUE IS WHETHER IT IS THERAPEUTICALLY PRACTICAL. DATA ON THE DRINKING PATTERNS OF PROBANDS AND CONTROLS ARE TABULATED, AND GOODWIN'S CRITERIA FOR DRINKING CATEGORIES ARE LISTED. REFERENCES ARE CITED. (DEP)