Conference Program

Out-of-home children are often exposed to adverse childhood experiences, which heighten the risk of educational poverty and emotional and behavioral problems. (Jozefiak et al., 2016; Seker et al., 2021). However, resilience-oriented perspectives highlight the role of some protective factors in promoting their adjustment and social inclusion (Ricchiardi & Coggi, 2019; Cassibba et al., 2023).

This study, part of RESILAB project, addresses two objectives: (a) to identify practices aimed at reducing educational poverty among adolescents in residential care, and (b) to examine the protective factors that promotes their positive outcomes.

A mixed-methods research combined data from focus group discussions and interviews with 9 professionals and questionnaires completed by 61 adolescents aged 11–17 (55.7% male) living in residential communities in Southern Italy, as well as their care workers. The measures examined included adverse childhood experiences, mentoring relationships, adolescents’ sense of belonging to the residential setting, attachment, hope, resilience, and emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Qualitative analysis identified three main strategies used to counteract educational poverty.

Educational relationships: building a supportive alliance between adolescents and educators through empathy, counseling, and a nurturing relational environment.

Structured educational planning: implementing individualized educational plans, annual activity programs, and practices that promote self-regulation and social competence.

Participatory and networked approaches: encouraging cooperative learning within residential care and fostering collaboration with schools, local organizations, social and health services.

Quantitative analyses showed that adolescents’ difficulties were positively associated with adverse experiences (r = .34, p <.05) and negatively associated both with the time spent in residential care (r = −.35, p <.01) and with a stronger sense of belonging to the community (r = −.29, p < .05), suggesting that living for a longer period within a care setting that fosters a sense of belonging may support psychosocial recovery. Consistently, among protective factors, secure attachment (r = −.36, p < .01) and hope (r = −.60, p <.01), were negatively associated with emotional and behavioral difficulties, while no significant association emerged between mentoring and adolescents’ adjustment. However, mentoring was positively associated with adolescents’ sense of belonging to the residential setting (r = .37, r = .43, r = .43, p < .01) and with resilience (r = .39, r = .37, p < .01).

Overall, the findings highlight the importance of strengthening relational and contextual protective factors to counteract educational poverty and promote adjustment among adolescents in residential care. Residential communities can serve as key educational environments that mitigate the impact of adverse experiences, foster resilience, and support more positive developmental and educational trajectories for vulnerable adolescents.

From this perspective, residential care is part of a broader educational community in which multiple actors share responsibility for supporting the development of vulnerable minors. Strengthening these collaborative networks is crucial both during residential care and in supporting young people’s transition to adulthood and social inclusion.