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Presented are 18 papers on predicting adolescent drug abuse. The papers have the following titles: "Current Issues in the Epidemiology of Drug Abuse as Related to Psychosocial Studies of Adolescent Drug Use"; "The Quest for Interpersonal Predictors of Marihuana Abuse in Adolescents"; "Assessing the Interpersonal Determinants of Adolescent Drug Use"; "Speculations on Possible Changes in Youthful Lifestyle between the 1960's and 1970's"; "A Psychological Approach toward the Meanings of Drug Use"; "An Approach to the Classification of the Lifestyles of Narcotic Abusers"; "Individualized Prediction as a Strategy for Discovering Demographic and Interpersonal/Psychological Correlates of Drug Resistance and Abuse"; "A Social Psychological Approach to Substance Abuse Construct Validity--Prediction of Adolescent Drug Use from Independent Data Sources"; "Computer Interview Questionnaires for Drug Use/Abuse"; "Personality Factors Related to Drug and Alcohol Use"; "Self-esteem as a Predictor of Adolescent Drug Abuse"; "Ego Mechanisms and Marihuana Usage"; "Chemical Substance Abuse and Perceived Locus of Control"; "Behavioral and Demographic Correlates of Drug Use among Students in Grades 7-12"; "Teenage Drug Use--A Search for Causes and Consequences"; "Predicting Time of Onset of Marihuana Use--A Developmental Study of High School Youth"; "Drug Use Research Items Pertaining to Personality and Interpersonal Relations--A Working Paper for Research Investigators"; and "Some Comments on the Relationship of Selected Criteria Variables to Adolescent Illicit Drug Use". (DB)

This volume of abstracts of major research and theoretical studies dealing with the relationship between drug use, criminal behavior and the law is concerned with criminal acts other than the possession of, or trafficking in, illicit drugs. Included are 107 selected studies categorized into seven major topic areas: Reviews and Theories, Drug Use and Criminal Behavior, Addiction and Criminal Behavior, Drugs and Delinquency, Crime and Female Drug Use, The Impact of Treatment Modalities and The Economics of Drugs and Crime. Some critical issues explored by the studies are raised in the following questions: (1) What kinds of crimes are committed by what types of drug users? (2) Is crime a necessary corollary to drug use? (3) What impact have changes in drug laws had on criminal behavior? Each abstract includes methodology, results and conclusions. Materials were identified through a comprehensive literature search of major clearinghouses, data bases, library collections and special bibliographies. (Author/EV)

With the proliferation of suicide prevention centers in the United States, the task of rapidly and effectively assessing an individual caller's suicide potential has become an important research problem. However, the social science researcher is often confronted with an ethical problem when the results of his predictive equations can be used to label people. It may be necessary to switch from predicting negative features to those which are positive and insulating. Predictaion instruments are best made for defined classes of persons. Longer lengths for the assessment instrument are not an advantage since research shows no relationship between predictive accuracy and amount of information available. Predictive instruments are relative to the persons involved, the criterion behavior to be predicted, and the social system in which the person and behavior are found. While predictive instruments can distinguish between different kinds of risks, estimate future risks, and form a baseline against which the outcomes of treatments can be judged, the challenge of predicting suicidal behavior remains. (JAC)