Abstract

SIQUEIRA, Aline Cardoso  and  DELL'AGLIO, Débora Dalbosco. Back to the Original Family: Risk and Protective Factors in the Reunification Process of the Family of an Institutionalized Adolescent. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2007, vol.17, n.3, pp. 134-146. ISSN 0104-1282.

The aim of this study was to investigate risk and protective factors in the family reunification process of a 12-year-old adolescent who had been under protective shelter for six months due to a suspicion of sexual abuse from her stepfather and, after the period of six months, returned to her original family. The data were collected through interviews with the adolescent, her mother, some of the shelter's employees, a social assistant working in a NGO, the Guardianship Council and the school's teacher. The methodology of ecological insertion was followed in this case for five months. The results showed expressive and numerous risk factors in the family, resulting in the adolescent's return to the shelter. It was concluded that the ecological transition process that the adolescent experienced, from the shelter to her home, happened in an inappropriate way, since the conditions for a healthy development in the family context had not been guaranteed. Thus, the study discusses the need for public policies that ensure that these transitions will be monitored, so that the reunification of these families can happen safely and definitively.

Keywords : Family reunification; Institutionalization; Adolescence.

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