Recent advances in the study of life stress and social support suggest a new approach to the drug abuse client recidivism problem which encompasses the need for naturalistic, interactional studies. A longitudinal study was conducted with 49 ex-clients of a heroin detoxification program to test the hypothesis that experiencing life stress in the absence of social support leads to psychiatric symptomatology and drug use. Three interviews were conducted with each participant, the first occurring one month following discharge from the program, with two subsequent interviews at monthly intervals thereafter. Female drug abusers reported a greater number of stressful life events, and tended to become depressed. Male subjects had a greater tendency to exhibit anxiety. (Author/HLM)