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Because delinquents have consistently been shown to function at lower stages of moral reasoning than nondelinquents, it was hypothesized that adolescents at risk for juvenile delinquency would benefit both cognitively and behaviorally from an intervention designed to accelerate moral reasoning development. Subsequent to participation in a cognitively based moral reasoning development program (16-20 weekly 45-min sessions), adolescents identified by teachers as aggressive and/or disruptive (compared with matched and randomly assigned nonparticipating controls) demonstrated (a) advance in moral reasoning stage and (b) improvement on several behavioral indexes, including behavior referrals, tardiness, academic performance, and police/court contacts (results approached significance for teacher ratings). For a subgroup, 1-year follow-up data showed significant effects for moral reasoning, behavior referrals, and academic performance, as well as teacher ratings and absenteeism. Moral reasoning change scores were associated with all outcome change scores for pre-to posttest and with grades for posttest to follow-up.

In a court‐mandated, child‐focused class for divorcing parents, parental mastery of skills taught were evaluated both immediately after the class and 6 months later. Parents perceived the classes to be realistic and useful. Skills were effectively learned and were maintained over the evaluation period. Parents reported that they were successful in dramatically lowering exposure of their children to parental conflict. Relative to a comparison group of parents divorcing the year before the classes were initiated, parents completing the class were better able to work through how they would handle difficult child‐related situations with their ex‐spouses and were willing to let their children spend more time with the other parent. Few gender differences were observed—mothers perceived the class as more realistic; fathers showed greater improvement on some skills. Similarly, interest level in further training was not predictive of class benefits, suggesting that enthusiasm for parenting training is probably not essential.

Functional family therapy, based on Alexander's model for treating families of juvenile delinquents, was provided to 27 rural, lower socioeconomic status delinquents and their families. A comparison group of 27 delinquents received only probation service. Outcome during adulthood was measured by the number of offenses committed during a 32-month period following the 28-month adolescent follow-up period reported on by Gordon, Arbuthnot, Gustafson, and McGreen. The delinquents who had received family therapy showed a rate of 9% for adult criminal offenses, while those delinquents who had received only probation services had a rate of 41%. These results were consistent with the study's previously reported adolescent follow-up rates. Procedural differences between Alexander's work and the present approach are noted, and may account for the current study's lower rate of recidivism.