Grant: Operating Grant: Data Analysis Using Existing CDN Databases and Cohorts

A child in Manitoba witnesses intimate partner violence (IPV) every two hours. Children who grow up in households with IPV are more likely to have behavioural problems, high stress levels, and trouble with school. There is less research that follows children through their childhood and into adulthood to describe longer term effects of growing up in an environment with IPV. Our goal is to describe the relationship between physical, mental, educational, and social outcomes in childhood and young adulthood among children whose mothers are exposed to IPV compared to their peers who have not been exposed to IPV. We will also identify factors that may protect these children from experiencing worse outcomes. We will use existing data at the Manitoba Center for Health Policy to identify women who pressed charges for IPV before their child turned 18 years old. We will compare outcomes of their children to children of mothers who do not press charges for IPV. Child outcomes will be measured for up to 20 years after IPV charges. We will examine the child's risk of having a future mental or physical health disorders and determine how IPV exposure impacts children's school performance. We will assess factors that may protect children from the harmful effects of IPV exposure, such as their mother not being diagnosed with a mental disorder or only pressing charges for IPV once. This will help doctors, social workers, and educators best support children following negative childhood experiences. The results will also be important to help advocate for social programming and support for these youth.