This study of alcoholic patients with and without secondary depression showed that the two groups were almost identical in demographic characteristics, early-life antisocial problems, quantity and frequency of drinking, and family history of affective disorder. The depressed patients reported slightly more alcoholism in their first-degree male relatives and tended to have more alcohol-related life problems. The only significant difference between the two groups was that the depressed patients were heavier users of drugs other than alcohol. Thus severe depression in alcoholics may be related to a greater intake of drugs in addition to alcohol.