This volume was prepared for the National Institute on Drug Abuse as a part of a Research Issues Series. The issues of drug use and abuse have generated many volumes of words, all written in an attempt to explain the problem and suggest the solution. Data have been generated by researchers from many disciplines, each looking at a particular aspect of an issue. This book summarizes the major research findings in the area of drugs and family/peer influence which have been published during the last 15 years. The volume is organized to provide the reader with the purpose, methodology, findings, and conclusions of previous studies done in this area. Topics include: (1) the world of youthful drug use --groups and gangs; (2) becoming a marijuana user--predictions; (3) the family of the addict --influence and interactions; (4) Horatio Alger's children--parents as models; and (5) developmental factors--childhood experience. (Author/PC)