Although there is a strong experiential sense among people in the substance abuse prevention field that Hispanic adolescents may be particularly at-risk for the abuse of licit and illicit drugs, this concern has produced only limited research or culturally sensitive, ethnically targeted prevention efforts. The following factors hinder the development of an appropriate approach to substance abuse prevention among Hispanic adolescents: (1) unavailability of much research data on the mind altering substance use patterns of this population; (2) lack of culturally appropriate models for Hispanic adolescents; and (3) tendency to lump all Spanish speaking people as Hispanic, regardless of country of origin. The Hispanic Health Council's Alcohol Unit surveyed the drinking patterns of 210 Hartford, Connecticut, Hispanic adolescents and their mothers. They found that while alcohol is a problem for some of Hartford's Puerto Rican students under the age of 18, the number is small, especially in comparison with other non-Hispanic adolescent populations. The Peer Prevention Project, designed to ensure that alcohol consumption among Hispanics remained low, provided after-school training courses for students in a junior high school located in an economically depressed, predominantly ethnic minority neighborhood. Pre- and post-tests indicate that the Project had a beneficial influence on the participants: there was a notable increase in reported frequency of the use of tobacco, and liquor for the control group, but no change for the Peer Leadership group. (BJV)