Society's tolerance for all behaviors associated with the use of substances appears to be diminishing. The current wave of health awareness has created the pervasive attitude that anyone who engages in substance use has the potential for developing an obsessive addiction. Past research has provided evidence supporting the importance of personality, social, and environmental variables as predictors of substance use. This study integrated several of these variables into a comprehensive, conceptual framework designed to differentiate types of substance users and test simultaneously their relationship to substance use and abuse. Subjects included 104 adults from a random survey of household residents and 37 adults from substance abuse treatment programs. User status; substance use/quantity-frequency; disenchantment with ordinary life; control beliefs in life areas and substance use; personality hardiness; self-esteem; and positive/negative perceptions of personal, social and environmental conditions were assessed. Overall the results of the study provide strong support for the proposed model, linking motivations, intensity styles, and relationships with substances, along with various personality factors (e.g., self-esteem, personal control beliefs, hardiness, and need for stimulation/need for escape), and perceptions and appraisals of social-environmental conditions, to both substance use and abuse. Furthermore, the results of the study suggest that there are distinct differences with regard to these factors between non-users, users, abusers, and dependents. (Author/ABL)