The role of risk perceptions and personality in adolescents' participation in alcohol-related risk taking (including the consumption of alcohol and alcohol use in connection with driving or riding in a car) was investigated using covariance structure modeling. The modeling analysis indicated that factors pertaining to perceptions that the benefits of using alcohol outweigh the risks, grade level, and desired independence were the only variables to directly affect participation. Personality characteristics (sensation seeking, ego control, independence, and achievement-orientation) were found to indirectly influence participation through their direct influence on adolescents' perceptions of benefits and risks associated with alcohol use. This model applied equally well to boys and girls. These findings are integrated within a social marketing framework and offer strategies to reduce alcohol-related risk taking among adolescents.