VENEZIA'S FAMILY INFORMATION TEST (FIT) IS THE ONLY CLINICAL INSTRUMENT KNOWN FOR DETERMINING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ACCORDING TO INFORMATION GIVEN BY THE JUVENILE ON HIS FAMILY. VENEZIA ASSUMES THAT PATHOLOGICAL INTRAFAMILIAL AUTHORITY RELATIONSHIPS SUFFICE TO EXPLAIN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, INVOLVEMENT IN DELINQUENCY IS CHARACTERIZED BY INDIFFERENCE TOWARD OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, AND THE AMOUNT OF FAMILY INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE JUVENILE'S FAMILY VARIES IN PROPORTION TO THE INTENSITY OF HIS INTEREST IN THEM. THE FIT IS AN INFORMATION TEST WITH FACTUAL IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONS AND A SYSTEM FOR ASCERTAINING SYSTEMATIC ERROR; THE 32 INTUITIVELY SELECTED QUESTIONS ARE GROUPED THEMATICALLY (SIBLINGS, PARENTS, FATHER, AND MOTHER) AND ARE SCORED ACCORDING TO THE SUBJECT'S DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY. ACCORDING TO RESULTS OF VENEZIA'S STUDY ON 312 DELINQUENT AND 100 NONDELINQUENT BOYS WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 14 1/2 YEARS LIVING IN LOS ANGELES, DELINQUENTS CAN BE CLEARLY DISTINGUISHED FROM NONDELINQUENTS, BUT THE CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION AS SUCCESSES OR FAILURE OF JUVENILES WHO UNDERGO TREATMENT REMAIN POORLY DEFINED. COMPARISON OF THE FIT SCORES WITH SCORES OF 2 TESTS FOR MEASURING DELINQUENCY AND OF 3 TESTS ASSESSING QUALITY OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AFTER ADMINISTRATION OF ALL TESTS TO 470 ADOLESCENT WARDS OF THE MONTREAL WELFARE COURT, AS WELL AS COMPARISON OF 2 EXTREME GROUPS ACCORDING TO THE FIT TESTS INDICATE THAT THE FIT IS NOT PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR DETERMINING DELIQUENCY AND THAT THE PERFORMANCE OF SUBJECTS ON THE FIT IS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED TO THE LEVEL OF FAMILY COHESION. A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY IS FURNISHED. --IN FRENCH. (KMD)