This study examined Toughlove, the controversial self-help organization for parents and out-of-control adolescents. Six small group Toughlove meetings containing an average of 8 members for each were observed, and questionnaires were completed by 75 Toughlove parents from 8 states. Variables examined include the roles of empathy, assertiveness training, separation, overcoming guilt, organizational influences, and the therapeutic process. Assertiveness training and community support were found to be key factors in the Toughlove process, and they were found to be effective in changing certain antisocial adolescent behaviors. Less important were the variables of separation, overcoming guilt, and organizational influences. A traditional therapeutic relationship played little part in the group's process. Parents' self-report inventories suggested significant reductions of nine of their children's antisocial behaviors between the month prior to joining Toughlove and the most recent month. Tasks for future research include the validation of parents' reports of their children's behavior, measures of assertiveness and self-esteem gained by group members, and a comparison of these results with those of a more traditional therapeutic approach. (LLL)