The aim of this exploratory study is to describe the school and social adaptation of at-risk students between the ages of 4 and 7 in the context of high stress family life. Among the 12 families with the highest stress, the authors identified two distinct groups of children based on the indices of mental health problems at age 7. These two groups were clearly delineated by the presence of internalized symptoms and by hyperactive behaviour in the at-risk group. Some intra-individual and relational pre-cursors at age 4 were considered as risk and as protective factors. Other variables of school adaptation as self esteem and sentiments towards school at age 7 were also analyzed. The results show the importance of the quality of feelings of attachment at a young age and a balance between positive and negative factors of parental educational practices for the student’s future adaptation. Following the analysis, it appears important to take into account a student’s perception in evaluating school and social adaptation. The results are discussed in light of the current definition of resilience.