Interventions for adolescent substance abuse currently include social skills training components despite the fact that the nature and extent of social skills problems among adolescents who abuse substances has yet to be documented in the research. In the current investigation, 95 adolescents who were in treatment for substance abuse were compared with 97 normal adolescents on self-reports of social skills obtained using the Social Skills Rating System--Student Form (SSRS-S). Boys in treatment self-reported significantly greater deficits than normal boys on total social skills and on all four subscales. Girls in treatment self-reported significantly greater deficits on subscales labeled cooperation and assertion than normal girls but did not differ significantly from normal girls on subscales labeled empathy and self-control. Despite these reported differences, a majority of adolescents in the substance abuse treatment groups did not self-report social skills problems. Discussion focuses upon implications for assessment, prevention, and intervention. (Author)