Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior
Open Access

William J McCarthy

Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research and Psychology Department, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Biography

McCarthy was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1919. When he was 15, McCarthy stole a car and took Boston police on a high-speed chase. He ditched the car near the offices of Teamsters Local 25 and hid in the cab of a tractor-trailer truck. When the driver returned, McCarthy talked him into taking him to New York City. McCarthy and the driver became friends, and McCarthy learned to drive a big rig. In 1936, McCarthy stole a blank baptismal certificate and faked his birth date so he could qualify for a chauffeur's license.

Research Interest

Dr. McCarthy and colleagues recently completed a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of California's Senate Bill 19 Pupil Nutrition Act. He also currently directs the evaluation of California's tobacco use education efforts in the state's public middle and high schools, as he has for the previous 6 years. He and his colleagues are examining telephone counseling and lay health worker modalities for providing low-cost, high-impact lifestyle counseling to low-income patients of local community health centers to reduce their risk of cancer and diabetes.

Publications