SIXTEEN MULTIPROBLEM FAMILIES WERE SELECTED FOR STUDY, AND FAMILY TREES WERE DEVISED TO GIVE A QUALITATIVE ILLUSTRATION OF EACH FAMILY'S SOCIAL PATHOLOGY. CRIMINAL AND TRAFFIC OFFENSES OF THE FAMILIES WERE USED TO PROVIDE A QUANTITATIVE BASIS FOR STUDY. THE STRUCTURE OF AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE FAMILIES AND PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT WERE ASSESSED. THE ANALYSIS INCORPORATED 764 PERSONS, 546 OVER 12 YEARS OF AGE. THESE INDIVIDUALS HAD 1,173 MAJOR TRAFFIC CONVICTIONS AND 2,511 CRIMINAL OFFENSES. TRAFFIC OFFENSES WERE CATEGORIZED AS CAR STEALING, MOVING OFFENSES, NONMOVING OFFENSES, AND ALCOHOL AND ACCIDENTS. OF 158 KNOWN CAR STEALERS IN THE 16 FAMILIES, 34 PERCENT WERE 16 YEARS OF AGE AND UNDER AND 27 PERCENT WERE 21 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER. ILLITERACY AND OTHER HANDICAPS WERE RELATED TO THE INCIDENCE OF NONMOVING OFFENSES. ACCIDENTS WERE MORE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH MOVING OFFENSES THAN WITH NONMOVING OFFENSES. A TOTAL OF 56 ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED IN WHICH MEMBERS OF THE 16 FAMILIES WERE INVOLVED. IN 8 CASES, THE PERSON CONCERNED HAD AT LEAST 3 CONVICTIONS FOR VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AND 15 CASES HAD A MINIMUM OF 3 OFFENSES DUE TO ALCOHOL. AT LEAST 5 OF 14 PERSONS WHO HAD A MINIMUM OF 3 REPORTABLE ACCIDENTS WERE RECOGNIZED ALCOHOLICS. THE 16 FAMILIES WERE MORE INVOLVED IN CAR STEALING AND REPORTABLE ACCIDENTS THAN THE AVERAGE FAMILY. IT APPEARED THAT THEIR GENERAL LIFESTYLE REFLECTED THEIR DRIVING HABITS. CHILDREN IN THE FAMILIES OFTEN SUFFERED ISOLATION AT SCHOOL AND MANY HAD VOCABULARY DEFICIENCIES. THE STUDY FINDINGS INDICATE THAT DRIVING OFFENSES CAN BE USED AS A MEANS OF INDICATING SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FAMILIES, AND THE FINDINGS ARE RELATED TO THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL HANDICAP. SUPPORTING DATA ANND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. APPENDIXES GROUP TRAFFIC OFFENSES AS USED IN THE STUDY AND PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE COUNTRY OF TASMANIA. (DEP)