Emotional and relational regulation of children and youth in residential care

Abstract

Family relationships have been shown to play an important role in the way children/youth evaluate themselves, influencing their emotional and relational regulation, more specifically, their self-concept, self-esteem, perception of social support and behavior. In order to compare the adjustment of children/youth living in residential care and in family, 169 children/youth aged between 10 and 21 years were studied, 62 living in residential care units and 107 with their families, 93 females and 76 males. The Piers-Harris Self-concept Rating Scale, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Procidano and Heller's Perception of Social Support from Friends and Family and Buss and Perry's Aggressiveness Questionnaire were applied via google forms and in person. The results showed that children and youngsters in residential care show statistically significant differences from those who live with their families in all the parameters analyzed. They are more fragile in terms of self-concept (except for the anxiety domain) and self-esteem, show a lower perception of social support from peers and family, and show a higher perception of aggressiveness, both in general and in the instrumental, affective and cognitive dimensions. We conclude that all participants showed weaknesses in terms of anxiety management, and that institutionalized children/youth were more psychologically and relationally maladjusted and more aggressive, thus demonstrating the urgency for a multidisciplinary intervention in this population, by promoting personal and relational skills.