Abstract

Aim of the present study was to longitudinally evaluate the quality of the mental representations of the interpersonal relationships in adolescents hosted in residential care centers. Moreover, the nature of their adjustment to the institutional daily routines was taken into account. On the basis of the attachment theory, we found that experimenting secure relationships with the mentors allowed these subjects to better re-organize their cognitive and affective images of the previous experiences with parents. Nevertheless, adolescents didn't change, during time, their negative behaviours toward the institutional rules.