Social representations of everyday life in Italian adolescents

ABSTRACT Introduction and theme: This study looks at the representations of everyday life in young adolescents (14- 16 years old) with the aim of highlighting paths of wellbeing or distress. Method: We distributed a battery of questionnaires and a task of free associations to the stimulus "everyday life" to a sample of 558 adolescents who attend schools in Matera (Italy). Results: A cluster analysis carried out on the results of the free associations task identified three groups of subjects: the "Concretes", the "Realists" and the "Pessimists". For each cluster we analysed the family climate (routines, rituals and communication with parents) and the levels of transgression and self-esteem. Conclusions: We confirmed the hypothesis that the three adolescents' representations of everyday life correspond to family climates differently characterised by routines, rituals and communication. The three clusters are also connected with different evaluations of self-esteem.