Objective: The aim of our study was to describe selected characteristics such as cohesion and adaptability of 100 families of hospitalised adolescents and to test hypotheses inferred from Olson Circumflex Model of the Family System.

Method: The subjects were 100 families of adolescents aged 14-19 years hospitalised in the department of psychiatry with clinical diagnoses of psychosis, neurosis, personality and conduct disorders and anorexia nervosa. Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluative Scales - Faces III were used to assess families under study.

Results: No statistically significant difference was found in levels of cohesion of families of hospitalised adolescents and families with healthy adolescents, while adaptability of these families was statistically different. More families perceived themselves as chaotic than rigid.

The results are discussed in the context of system theory and the adaptation of the family system to the illness of one of its member.

(Paper presented at the Second International Congress of Adolescentology Milano 94: Adolescence and Family. Milan, Italy, November 18-19, 1994).

Key Words: Hospitalised adolescents, family, cohesion, adaptability.