Institutionalization and psychological suffering: notes on the mental health of institutionalized adolescents in Brazil.

This article examines the relationship between the institutionalization of needy children and adolescents and the resulting psychological suffering. Individuals who have been institutionalized for long periods suffer from increased fragility in psychological structure, becoming more vulnerable and at risk as a direct consequence of the treatment they receive in such institutions. The work described here is part of the Research Program on Adolescents, Mental Health and Culture, which is being conducted at the Child and Youth Care and Rehabilitation Center at the Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil (CARIM/IPUB/UFRJ).