CBT is a phrase that describes interventions that connect responses of an individual’s behavior to the process and content of their thinking. CBT became popular as a general approach to describing psychological intervention during the early 1970's. CBT has been used in many applications, from psychosomatically oriented illnesses to interpersonal development. CBT has been effective through interventions targeting youth. CBT interventions need to be developmentally appropriate given the context of the stage at which children are able to show flexibility in concept formation and ability to generalize from one set of circumstances to another. The major predictors of risk are early behavioral history, peer associates, early and current family conditions, interpersonal relationships, personal attitudes/values/beliefs, and school-based risk factors. The measures of general risk are the Risk/Need Inventory and the Youth Level of Service Inventory. General measures of risk and personality are helpful in the overall case planning and formulation of youth. Attitude inventories, such as the Criminal Sentiments Scale, address issues of thinking style and content that are consistent with a pro or antisocial orientation. Interventions that look at the multi-determined nature of youthful chronic offending have become important. Much of youthful offending is accounted for by the context in which the youth experiences systems of influence, the primary ones being family, peers, and school. Cognitive-behaviorally oriented interventions have shown themselves to be more effective than traditional psychotherapeutic or medical interventions. The specific aspects of CBT include knowledge of various concepts generally attributed to social learning theory (SLT). The fundamentals of SLT are the consistent ways of reacting to a variety of contexts and the product of experience with socializing agents, such as parents and peers. Specific examples of applying CBT principles in program development include social skills training, reduced aggression, and programs targeting sexually assaultive adolescents. Programs have been found to be effective both within the community as well as in residential settings. 1 footnote, 29 references