This article highlights the main results of a comparative study regarding the occupational interests of institutionalized adolescents which are analyzed through the prism of J. Holland’s approach, defi ning them as forms of representation of professional personality characteristics. We proceeded from the fact that the developmental environment of institutionalized/non-institutionalized adolescents signifi cantly diff erentiates occupational interests. The research sample consisted of 192 adolescents, aged between 16 and 18 years with an average age of 16.94 years, of which 116 male and 76 female participants, the groups of adolescents (institutionalized and non-institutionalized) being homogeneous in terms of age and gender. The results obtained indicate that there are statistically signifi cant diff erences between the interests of adolescents depending on the environment to which they belong (institutionalized, non-institutionalized).