Observing that plot and character changes in the daytime television serials has increased the teen and preteen share of soap opera audiences, a study compared demographic, personal experience, and attitudinal variables among adolescent soap opera fans, occasional viewers, and nonviewers. Data were collected from 230 students in the classrooms of four school systems, including a suburban and rural district in West Virginia, a rural area in New Hampshire, and a manufacturing town in Massachusetts. Variables included current and past soap opera viewing habits, other viewing habits, family and peer relationships, future aspirations, attitudes toward soap operas, and demographics. The results indicated that significantly more females view soap operas than do males. Occasional viewers and fans of soap operas watch more television overall than do soap opera nonviewers of either sex, and had been watching television for a significantly greater number of years than soap opera nonviewers. Adolescents who do not live with both parents watch more soap operas than do those living with both parents. Occasional viewers and nonviewers of soap operas were less likely than fans to have experienced peer relationships, such as going steady or fighting with friends. Viewing habits did not appear to affect future aspirations. Fans held more positive attitudes toward the genre than did occasional and nonviewers. The results indicated that adolescent soap opera viewers and nonviewers do not differ dramatically from one another. (HTH)