The adjudicated delinquent boys, between 13 and 16 years old on admission, come from rural or small town backgrounds, and had committed at least one criminal offense. All the boys had received indefinite sentences with maximums of longer than 1 year. The statewide policy grants youths serving indefinite sentences release after they have earned a specific number of points for conforming behavior, while violations cause them to lose points. After the first 15 days of confinement, the boys were allowed a 3-hour visit once a week with family and relatives. After a specified number of earned points, they were allowed one 8-hour visit a week on designated days. The research measured the number of family visits, number of major and moderate infractions each boy made, and length of time each child passed in custody to earn his release. The child's sense of family attachment showed no relationship to whether he had committed a major infraction. Visiting has the greatest impact on the behavior of the more alienated youths, reducing their immature defiance, abusive language, and childish social behavior with peers. Those expressing greater initial estrangement from their families felt the impact of family visits most. Study results suggest that family visits seem to have an important relationship to behavior modification. 9 references.