Abstract
This paper reviews the discussion on the "17-year-old problems" which went on in the Seinen Bukai (the research group for youth and adolescent problems) of Japanese Research Association of Psychological Science (JRAPS) to explore the future research tasks. At first, Adolescence in Japan was discussed from the viewpoint of history. The concept of adolescence has been established since the age of the Industrial Revolution. As adolescents were not thought grown-up or adult, they were alienated from society and driven to the peripheral area. They were likely to be eliminated from society as dangerous. Secondly, the problem was discussed from the viewpoint of student culture at junior high school. In 1996, both at school with serious problems and at those without problems, students supported those who had gone bad. In 2000, however, most students did not support those who had gone bad. Junior high school students tended to regard those who had gone bad as a different kind of students. Finally, the research group discussed mind change of juvenile delinquent girls living in reformatory. In this discussion, the loss of the basis for reliance, making negative self images and the difficulties in having sense of security in personal relationship were pointed out as unchanged aspects of juvenile delinquents. Contrarily, adhesion to their academic backgrounds, the lack of close friend, the lack of resistance to violence and the change in the relationship with their family were pointed out as their unchanged aspects. Based on the discussions above, a core problem of the recent youths and adolescents could be alienation. Especially, those who had gone bad were alienated and eliminated from society, school and family, and then driven to the peripheral area of their society. This alienation should be discussed further not only as youth and adolescent problem but that of those living in this modern society.
