In Portugal, youth at risk tend to be placed in residential care for long periods of time, during which peers assume a status close to that of family. However, these adolescents often present deficits in emotional regulation, which can compromise the quality of their relationships with peers. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between emotional dysregulation experienced by institutionalized adolescents and their own perception of peer attachment, testing whether the length of stay moderates this relationship, for boys and girls independently. Data was collected from a sample of 100 Portuguese adolescents (71 boys; 29 girls), aged 12-18, living in residential care for 43 months average (SD= 43.14). They responded to the Abbreviated Dysregulation Inventory, which measures cognitive, affective and behavioral dysregulation, and the peer version of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, which measures communication, trust and alienation. Only cognitive dysregulation accounted for the variability of perceived attachment to peers, in the total scale and in communication and trust. When the level of cognitive dysregulation reported by the adolescents is high, there is a positive effect of length of stay in the previous relationships, but only for boys. Results outline how length of placement contributes to youth at risk to reach certain outcomes. They also emphasize the need to develop specific interventions in residential care contexts to address specific characteristics such as gender differences, in order to continuously promote positive interactions with peers in these contexts.

A navegação consulta e descarregamento dos títulos inseridos nas Bibliotecas Digitais UC Digitalis, UC Pombalina e UC Impactum, pressupõem a aceitação plena e sem reservas dos Termos e Condições de Uso destas Bibliotecas Digitais, disponíveis em https://digitalis.uc.pt/pt-pt/termos.Conforme exposto nos referidos Termos e Condições de Uso, o descarregamento de títulos de acesso restrito requer uma licença válida de autorização devendo o utilizador aceder ao(s) documento(s) a partir de um endereço de IP da instituição detentora da supramencionada licença.Ao utilizador é apenas permitido o descarregamento para uso pessoal, pelo que o emprego do(s) título(s) descarregado(s) para outro fim, designadamente comercial, carece de autorização do respetivo autor ou editor da obra. Na medida em que todas as obras da UC Digitalis se encontram protegidas pelo Código do Direito de Autor e Direitos Conexos e demais legislação aplicável, toda a cópia, parcial ou total, deste documento, nos casos em que é legalmente admitida, deverá conter ou fazer-se acompanhar por este aviso. Emotional dysregulation as AbstractAdolescents who live in residential care tend to have a development characterized by insecure and ambivalent emotional experiences. In addition, they frequently exhibit levels of emotional dysregulation that potentially compromise the quality of their interpersonal relationships. Considering that in this context the peer group has an important role in providing emotional support, the present study aimed to analyse the levels of emotional dysregulation of adolescents living in residential care and to explore its predictive role in the perception of the attachment to peers. The sample is composed of 100 adolescents (71 girls; 29 boys) living in residential care, aged between 12-18 years old. Measures included the Portuguese versions of the Abbreviated Dysregulation Inventory and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (peer version only). The levels of dysregulation were not high, and adolescents displayed a higher affective than a behavioural dysregulation. Only cognitive dysregulation negatively accounted for the variability of communication, trust and perception of attachment to peers in general. This is understandable, since cognition has an important role in managing negative emotions and controlling their behavioural outputs. Albeit modest, the results encourage the promotion of emotional regulation as a means of fostering secure interpersonal relationships in residential care.Keywords: adolescents; residential care; emotional dysregulation; peer attachment