[Boost-users] shared_ptr misuse?

I have the contents of a shared pointer getting corrupted by a default constructor of another object. My best guess as to how this could be happening is that I am using references to shared pointers for coding convenience. Is it possible for code like the following to cause a problem? { boost::shared_ptr<my_class> &x = a.b.c.d.e.f.g; if (x.get() == NULL) { pointer_empty(); } else { other_actions(x->get()); } } PS: I found this in a header file (#define BOOST_VERSION 103000)