Experiences and needs of adolescents in residential care during times of COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact in Residential Care Homes (RCH), with dramatic changes in the lives of children and adolescents in out-of-home care. This qualitative study aimed to give voice to adolescents in Residential Rare (RC), exploring their perception about the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on their lives, regarding their routines and relationships in and out the RCH, schoolwork and contact with their families. Interviews were conducted with nine adolescents (M = 15 years old; SD = 1.42) living in RCH for an average of 3 years and 5 months. Data were analyzed according to the grounded theory methodology and led to the understanding that the pandemic has been perceived by the adolescents as a survival lesson. Two moments were identified, the "Beginning" and the "New Normal", through which the predominant feelings were fear, anguish, horror and fatigue and finally, reassurance and hope. Lessons were drawn from this experience. The restrictions imposed by the pandemic decreased their contact with families, introduced chaos in the RCH dynamics, and forced adolescents to remote learning, which was particularly difficult. The collected narratives contributed to the identification of areas of greater vulnerability among adolescents in RC that require urgent intervention but also shed light to the participatory role that they can have in the RCH dynamics.