Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Jul;23(3):868-876.
doi: 10.1177/1524838020979846. Epub 2020 Dec 16.

The Relationship Between Children's Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and an Emotional-Behavioral Disability: A Scoping Review

Kristen E Ravi  1 , Beverly M Black  2
Affiliations
Review

The Relationship Between Children's Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and an Emotional-Behavioral Disability: A Scoping Review

Kristen E Ravi et al. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Children's exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is an adverse childhood experience that often results in academic, behavior, and mental health difficulties. This study reviewed the empirical studies examining the relationship between children's exposure to IPV and an emotional-behavioral disability (EBD). Studies were included in the review if they examined the relationship between exposure to IPV and EBD among children under 18. This research identified three empirical studies that analyzed the relationship between exposure to IPV and EBD. The review demonstrated that few studies had been conducted that explored the relationship between children's exposure to IPV and EBD and that most of the extant studies are dated. Findings from this review showed that children exposed to IPV were more likely to have EBD compared to other disabilities such as a learning disability, hearing disability, speech and language disability, and an intellectual disability. Higher frequency of violence exposure was associated with EBD. Practice implications include assessing children's functioning at school and discussing with families or caregivers the option of requesting an evaluation for EBD for children with severe emotional or behavioral difficulties. Special education evaluators assessing children for EBD should consider screening for children's exposure to IPV and providing resources for IPV. Future research should conceptualize the full range of IPV experiences and collect exposure data from children directly using a validated measure.

Keywords: children’s exposure to intimate partner violence; emotional and behavioral disorders; emotional disturbance; scoping review; witnessing domestic violence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

LinkOut - more resources