[Can adolescents with behavioral disorders be helped? Problems among young people--behavioral disorders--preventive...

Adolescents with serious behavioural disorders are often met with pessimism and neglect. Too often the prisons become the caretaker. The paper presents a follow-up study from a five year project in Buskerud county. The aim was to find alternatives for adolescents under 16 years of age with serious behaviour problems. The project included 70 youngsters aged 13-16. After a follow-up period of 3-7 years, 61% were found to be in a good situation without criminality or drug abuse. Child care communes and special foster homes were found to be most effective with a success rate of 80%.