The study examined the increase of drinking from 1964 to 1975 among teenagers enrolled in two high schools in different sociocultural rural areas of Mississippi. The sample was composed of students in two high schools located in a "wet" county and a "dry" county. A questionnaire was administered to 525 students in 1964 and 793 in 1975. Both years, participation was voluntary and respondents completed the questionnaire in small groups of 25 to 40. The dependent variable, "drinker", was considered to be a regular user of alcoholic beverages. Three types of independent variables were used to measure the amount of change by social categories of adolescent drinkers: socio-demographic factors (sex, race, age, and socioeconomic status), religiosity, and parental and peer influences. Findings included: 60% of the respondents in 1975 were classified as "drinkers" compared to 37.5% in 1964, an increase of 22.5%; increase in the proportion of drinkers occurred by sex, race, age, socioeconomic status, religious behavior, parental attitudes, and peer influence; the largest increases were for whites, males, and those in the youngest age group; and religious attitudes and peer influence remained very good predictors of adolescent drinking. (Author/NQ)