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Traits are the most commonly used measurement units of personality in empirical research. Given that numerous longitudinal studies have demonstrated that personality traits are related to the onset and course of different adjustment problems in children, adolescents, and adults, personality trait questionnaires are also increasingly used for clinical assessment in various intervention settings. It is thus important for psychosocial intervention professionals to have a good understanding of the personality trait approach. However, the personality trait construct continues to be misunderstood. This article attempts to clarify and to define rigorously this construct by reviewing the major postulates of the personality trait approach. Discussing these postulates allows identifying the major controversies about the existence, validity, and practical usefulness of personality traits. Even though conceptual and methodological problems are still to be resolved, the available empirical studies demonstrate that traits have reached a satisfactory scientific status and constitute fundamental measurement units of human personality which are useful for both research and clinical practice.

Keywords: trait de personnalité, tempérament, postulats théoriques, évaluation, problèmes d'adaptation, psychopathologie, personality trait, temperament, theoretical postulates, assessment, adjustment problems, psychopathology

SUMMARYA good deal of recent research suggests that a period of mounting life stress is a precursor of many physical illnesses, including episodes of coronary heart disease (CHD). It should be possible then, by monitoring levels of stress to predict when a high risk individual is likely to suffer a further illness episode, and in some cases to prevent the episode by alleviating stress producing problems.Based on this concept, we have telephone-monitored (at monthly intervals) 37 CHD patients discharged from the coronary unit of the Montreal General Hospital. Stress was measured using a 20-item, self-report scale (Goldberg), and charted for each patient over a seven month period. When a patient's stress rose above a critical level he received a home visit by the project nurse, who investigated his problems and attempted to alleviate them. Interventions varied from simple reassurance to referral for psychiatric treatment or legal aid.Monitoring stress in this way revealed a picture remarkably like the theoretical model. None of the 15 consistently low-scoring patients required rehospitalization. Eleven patients had low scores at the time of discharge, but their scores rose above the critical level in subsequent months. Nine of them responded in a gratifying way- to the home visit and subsequent intervention by the nurse, and none required rehospitalization. The one patient of this type who did require hospitalization had not received a home visit because no nurse was available at the time. Four of the nine patients with consistently high scores required eight rehospitalization s for CHD episodes. These patients seemed to be chronically stressed, and often required continuous support from the nurse.Our study suggests that life stress may be more important than the traditional physical risk factors (obesity, smoking, hypertension, family history of CHD, lack of exercise) in the etiology of recurrent CHD when patients receive adequate medical care.Some of our findings suggest that the nurse's interventions do reduce rehospitalizations, but a large scale controlled study is called for.We conclude that this technique is worth further evaluation, both as a research method and as a practical device for the prevention of rehospitalization of CHD patients and of other types of episodic illnesses.

SUMMARYIn this article, the author outlines the characteristics of "burn out". A short historical concept is presented and defined through its phases, clinical symptoms, etiology and treatment. Throughout his article, the author supports his thesis with drawn examples from the medical profession.

The article first presents the definition of French self-help groups (GEM) and the standards of their functioning as specified by the ministerial circular of August 5, 2005 which founded them and gave them legal existence, and by complementary regulations. Then the author, who has also carried out theoretical research on the subject, presents the place from where he speaks. He was one of the founders of Convivial Citizen's Spaces, initiated before the legislation and regulations were passed, and which served as a model. The author was inspired in this process by the movement of disabled people, in particular that of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry. The article endeavors to show the paradox of implementing a self-help group in an authentic way for the users, acknowledged and regulated by the psychiatric system which, at the same time, aims at social control of users. But can we do without this social recognition?

Keywords: Groupes d'entraide mutuelle, espaces conviviaux citoyens, santé mentale, psychiatrie, vie autonome, pairémulation, démocratie, contrôle social, Self-Help Groups, Convivial Citizen's Spaces, mental health, psychiatry, independent living, peer counselling, democracy, social control

In recent years, the incidence of suicide by minors has assumed alarming proportions even though these cases fall within the purview of the health and social services system. Have lawmakers put in place sufficient measures to adequately protect suicidal minors? Do health and social workers know how to properly carry them out? In answer to these questions, the writer examines three legal avenues applicable to suicidal minors and demonstrates that the laws in place are coherent and complementary. She then analyses the present framework for suicide intervention and points out a lack of concert as well as a misunderstanding and misapplication of legislation within the social and medical system itself. As a result, she concludes that a juridical solution to the problem of a high incidence of suicide among minors does not lie in legislative amendments. The writer indicates how both the system and its workers should apply existing law in the management of suicide risks. Finally, she brings out elements that should be included in all intervention plans in order to ensure better co-operation between services in the hope that this will contribute to decreasing the incidence of death by suicide of minors in Quebec.