Santé mentale au Québec, Volume 32, Issue 2, pp. 97-114
An explanatory survey conducted among 68 child welfare workers of the Montreal Youth Centre - Research Institute reveals that 39% of the 1030 children in their charge have at least one parent suffering from a mental health problem. Among these parents, 48% of mothers and 30% of fathers have a personality disorder, the majority of them suffering from a borderline personality disorder. This problem is of a strong concern because of its magnitude, its impact on children and workers, and the difficulties to intervene on parents in the context of authority and among an improperly adapted organization. A few benchmarks are presented to guide such intervention as well as future challenges and implications.