The most viewed article on UVicSpace for June 2024 is a 2014 article initially published in the International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies titled A comprehensive review of the literature on the impact of exposure to intimate partner violence on children and youth (external link).
The review examined numerous studies that looked at the impact of witnessing intimate partner violence on children in multiple areas. The areas of impact that they focused on were: neurological disorders, physical health outcomes, mental health challenges, conduct and behavioral problems, delinquency, crime, and victimization, and academic and employment outcomes.
After their review they found that it was clear that “the potentially quite debilitating effects on a significant proportion of children and youth who witness or are exposed to intimate partner violence. That outcome indeed constitutes the major common theme emerging from the review. This was true no matter which categories of interest were examined.” They also confirmed that no matter the amount of exposure, all children who are exposed to intimate partner violence are at a greater risk of developing emotional and behavioral problems. The authors also noted that these impacts not only stay with the children who witness the violence, but seep into all aspect of their social world, it can be felt were they learn, work, and play.
The review was penned by UVic’s Dr. Sibylle Artz from the school of child and youth care, along with Sheila Porteous, a masters student from the school at the time. The review was a collaborative effort between experts from multiple institutions, such as Dr. Margaret Jackson and Dr. Katherine Rossiter from SFU, Alicia Nijdam-Jones from the FREDA Centre for research on Violence Against Women and Culture, and Dr. István Géczy from Northern Lights College.
The review was visited a total of 93 times during June, and 772 times throughout 2024. Interestingly, the countries where it was viewed most was the United States (177) then Australia (166) and then Canada (108). Regardless, the studies reach has spanned from the UK to Uganda. The city were most readers hailed from was Victoria British Columbia. Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia followed close behind.
Dr. Sibylle Artz is professor emeritus and former director of the school of child and youth care at the University of Victoria. She is also co-founder and editor of the International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies. Her areas of expertise include but are not limited to gender and violence, violence resilience, and collaborative community-based focused on the prevention of violence in peer-relationships, families, schools and communities and online. If you are interested in reading more of Dr. Artz work we recommend you check out her author page on our institutional repository UVicSpace!
