ABSTRACT
The elimination or modification of unwanted behavior is a frequent goal of psychotherapy. Although assessment of psychotherapeutic effectiveness is an extremely complex matter, there seems to be rather general agreement that orthodox clinical procedures have not proven very effective in dealing with adolescent behavior disorders. One of the most well-known, extensive, therapeutic and research efforts, the Cambridge-Somerville project (McCord, McCord, and Zola, 1959; Powers and Witmer, 1951), had but marginal success. An evaluation of results based on psychological tests, school adjustment reports, and court records 3 years after termination showed no significant difference between treatment and control groups.
