This study was conducted to measure the level of reliability of the MJPI, and to explore effects of faking test behavior, IQ and at random response on MJPI.

Findings were as follows :

(1) Reliability of MJPI was attested with a good level of internal consistency.

(2) Although it seemed to be easy to operate responses to questionnaire items of the MJPI in terms of social desirability, few delinquents made their responses socially desireble ones.

(3) The test behaviors of juvenile delinquents in the Juvenile Classification Home were not comparatively defensive. Many delinquents frankly showed their shortcomings.

(4) IQ was proved to be a significant factor to vary MJPI scores. The MJPI scores of the Sbs with IQ 69- were quite different from those of the Sbs with IQ 70+.

I proposed a “crisis theory” which comprises a conceptual framework for understanding and hypothesis for explaining crime and delinquency.

In the latter, I consider that the main task in bringing-up infants is “having a definite love-object” . Those infants who have definite love-objects become healthy, and internalize attachment, basic trust (Erikson), and guilt feeling. But, those who do not, have a crisis of maternal deprivation. Frequently their delinquency sqrings from personality disorders such as psychopath, or psychotic states, or from “affectionless character” (Bowlby). Next important task is “living under warm , protective circumstances and accumulating the readiness to independence” in childhood, and those brought-up appropriately in this way do not show serious behaviour problems , although some may demonstrate some minor unsocial types of problems. This task may be related to such psychological needs as love , safety , belongingness, curiosity, search and new experience. Those placed in cold or other inappropriate circumstances such as parental inability to provide consistent affection or insecurity of family life also show behaviour problems even if other options are available.

Those two failures to attain the tasks form a part of basic crisis. Delinquents in great basic crisis may feel difficulty in coping with daily social life and mandane affairs because of their personality problems and their general lack of living skills ; they do not have any feeling of security and belongingness.

Adolescent’s task is “becoming an adult” , which comprises four subtasks : establishment of gender identity , parental separation , joining membership and orientation to the way of life. Adolescence means a switchover from an adjustment of childhood (dependent , protected , obedient) to that of adulthood (independent , autonomous) , and brings anxiety and crisis to adolescents. So adolescent crisis is strong even for those who had no developmental problems in childhood. By experimentation youth must prove how far they can attain adulthood and sometimes this is realized by doing delinquency. However their anti-social behaviour is diminished in course of their development in proportion to their anxiety.

The adult’s task is “living contented in his way of life” . Crisis arises when task is not fullfilled.

I challenged to apply this theory to some case studies.

In this article, we analysed how families in Okinawa cope with their children’s vdelinquency by their asking shamans (yuta) for interpretations of causes of their children’s delinquency and advice on necessary rituals.

The subjects were family members of 70 juveniles who were detained in a juvenile classification home. At the formal interviews with family members, the degree and contents of their resort to yuta were also investigated informally. The major results are as follows :

1. 56% of the family members had already visited yuta and asked for the interpretation of causes of their children’s delinquency. To include family members who planned to visit yuta, 60% of the subjects resorted to yuta in their coping with delinquency of their children.

2. Yuta’s interpretations of causes of delinquency were classified into 11 categories. The main three ones were (a) Ugwanbusuku (insufficiency of worship) , (b) Shijitadashi (error of succession of ancestor memorial tablets), and (c) Jiichi, yashichi karano reisyou (evil from earth or house spirit) . Common feature of yuta’s interpretations is that delinquencies are thought to be caused by external supernatural factors such as ancestor’s spirit rather than juveniles’ personal traits and attitudes.

3. The functions of family members’ resort to yuta were to give them a cognitive consonance concerning causes of delinquency and a prospect of their children’s rehabilitation by rituals and to facilitate reintegraton of family members. The influence that yuta had on juveniles was only indirect one through change of family members’ cognition and attitudes. While the change of family members’ attitudes, which was caused under the influence of yuta, reduced juveniles’ personal tensions, it hindered juveniles from reality-testing and from deepening their self-insight.