In recent years there has been a rapidly expanding literature on the role of beverage alcohol in the adolescent subculture. Consequently, it is now possible to posit several generalizations with respect to the factors associated with the use and nonuse of intoxicants within this population group.1 Virtually untouched, however, are studies of the drinking habits of young people of different racial and ethnic background. Accordingly, the focus of this paper is to make a comparative analysis of the social factors related to the use and the nonuse of alcohol by a sample of white and Negro high school students in two Mississippi communities.