The study of human development and behavior from a life-span perspective is an area of growing interest, and the family is a natural laboratory for this study. Research in the area of drug abuse demonstrates that drug use is not limited to any one population segment or age group, but is pervasive across population subgroups. More and more evidence suggests that the family is clearly implicated in the initiation, maintenance, cessation, and prevention of drug abuse by its members. Systems, intergenerational, and life-cycle studies of the past have relevance to a life-span perspective and can provide a database from which more specific life-span-oriented studies may be conducted. Life-span oriented drug abuse research must identify and understand the complex variables which can contribute to the development of drug abuse during an individual's lifetime. Through the family, the complex roles on drug abusing behaviors of societal institutions, peer groups, and developing technology can be studied. As a first step toward the integration of a life-span orientation with more traditional drug abuse research approaches, several content-related and methodological questions must be explored. (NRB)