ABSTRACT
The work of the RAND group has the potential of becoming a benchmark in our development of a comprehensive policy to reduce violence in this country. The RAND group presents strong empirical evidence that preventive interventions directed at parents and/or children during childhood and adolescence can significantly reduce subsequent rates of serious crime. Among the most reasonable candidates for a prevention program, the RAND group concluded that parent training with young offenders was a relatively inexpensive and a highly effective preventive intervention for serious crime. Doubling the original cost estimate would be more in the ballpark and would still put parent training as quite an economical "prevention" intervention option relative to the other alternatives. Despite the problems with treating child antisocial behavior problems via parent training as children get older, there is evidence that parent training can be effective even with chronically offending delinquents.
