In its most recent Strategic Plan, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2008) endorses a lifespan perspective for examining the characteristics and consequences of drinking behaviors at different stages of development. In this study we prospectively examined individual alcohol related problems and alcohol problem severity in Black and White young adults. Alcohol use behaviors typically change over time, particularly during the transition period from adolescence to adulthood. Adolescence includes the peak years for the initiation of drinking (i.e., ages 13–14) (Faden, 2006). Rates of alcohol use and intoxication increase during adolescence and continue to rise in the years after high school (Brown, et al., 2008; O'Malley, Johnston & Bachman, 1998). Epidemiological studies demonstrate a peak for alcohol use and heavy drinking in late adolescence and early adulthood, as well as the incidence and prevalence of alcohol abuse