Conducted a literature review on recent studies using family therapy approaches for the treatment of conduct disorders in adolescents. Results from 7 studies conducted in 1989-1994 on the effects of family and marital therapies are included. An overview is also presented of 3 major theoretical approaches to family therapy: social learning family therapy, structural family therapy, and multitarget ecological treatment. Barriers to effective treatment are attrition and family stress and lack of social support. Costs of care are discussed, and a variety of systems of care in which family interventions are embedded are reviewed. Generally, results are supportive of family therapy for adolescent conduct disorders, although there are some negative findings.