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Working on data from a survey conducted through interviews with couples under surveillance for abuse and/or negligence towards their children conducted by various child protection services in France, the article shows that the strong bonds that constitute the networks of personal relations provide little help. Customarily defined as being those that the individual maintains with those closest to them, such strong bonds prove to be weak links in terms of social support, with the relation of confidence being built in particular with the social worker. The bond with the spouse appears impoverished, bringing into doubt the quality of the marital relation. The results are illustrated by a case study on a couple.