Purpose and Methods: The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of ideal self-image of juvenile delinquents, by means of Q-sorts. Q-sort cards used here, consist of 40 self-referent statements, and subjects are requested to classify cards in accordance with the likeliness to their ideal self-image.
Subjects: Delinquents (Group D)………174boys admitted into juvenile reform and training school. Age 14-19 Mean IQ=95 Non-Delinquents (Group ND)………133 boys in the training course of an electric power company. Age 15-18 Mean IQ=115
Results: (1) The appraisals to each statement between two groups are same for the emotional traits but not for the social traits.
(2) The correlations of ideal self-image are very high between each member of Group ND, but very low between each member of Group D.
The results of this study suggest that the value system of juvenile delinquents is very different one another.