Dr. Tracie O. Afifi

Professor, Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. Afifi's research interests are in the areas of child maltreatment and problem gambling.

Media

2023 UM Distinguished Alumni Awards: Tracie Afifi

Research Rounds-Dr. Tracie Afifi

Dr. Tracie Afifi presented at a recent Research Rounds on her work "Understanding and Preventing Child Maltreatment in Canada"

The Case Against Spanking

Maclean's, December 30, 2015Online

URL: http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/the-case-against-spanking/

Does conceiving, giving birth to or raising a child give you the right to hit another human being? Under Canada’s current laws it does. However, among the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which the Liberal government has committed to follow, is a repeal of the “spanking law.” Currently, this law allows parents and caregivers in Canada to use force to discipline a child...

Physical punishment associated with poor health in adulthood

Global News, July 19, 2013Online

URL: http://globalnews.ca/video/729395/physical-punishment-associated-with-poor-health-in-adulthood

Tracie Afifi, an assistant professor of community health at the Unviersity of Manitoba, says children given harsh physical punishment are more likely to suffer obesity and some health problems as adults...

One in three Canadian adults has experienced child abuse: study

CTV News, April 22, 2014Online

URL: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/one-in-three-canadian-adults-has-experienced-child-abuse-study-1.1786838

"That might include more difficulties with mood disorders and anxiety disorder,” University of Manitoba child abuse researcher Tracie Afifi told CTV News. “They may be more likely to use substances including alcohol and drugs.”...

Link between spanking and health problems scientifically established

RCI, July 19, 2013Online

URL: http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2013/07/19/link-between-spanking-and-health-problems-scientifically-established/

“A lot of people have opinions on whether or not physical punishment is safe, and those opinions are usually based on their own experience. We would like for people to really consider [this information], not disregard it because it might not fit with what they currently do… This is real science”, says University of Manitoba researcher, Tracie Afifi...

Half of Canadian soldiers faced childhood abuse, study indicates

CBC News, January 27, 2016Online

URL: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/child-abuse-military-1.3421708

"We thought it was really an important finding," says Tracie Afifi, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and lead author of the research released Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry...

Currier: Child Abuse And The Connection To The Canadian Armed Forces

CJob, January 27, 2016Online

URL: http://www.cjob.com/2016/01/27/child-abuse-and-the-connection-to-the-canadian-armed-forces/

New research published in the Journal of American medical Association (JAMA) reveals a shockingly high number of Canada’s armed forces personnel were abused as children. Researcher Tracie Afifi of the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Community Health Sciences joined me in studio to talk about these stunning numbers. You can listen to that conversation right here...

1 in 3 Canadians suffered some form of child abuse linked to mental disorders

Global News, April 22, 2014Online

URL: http://globalnews.ca/news/1284295/1-in-3-canadians-suffered-some-form-of-child-abuse-linked-to-mental-disorders/

Tracie Afifi of the University of Manitoba says previous estimates were based on a nearly 25-year-old study from Ontario and more recent data from Quebec...

Trends in suicidal behaviour and use of mental health services in Canadian military and civilian populations

Published by Canadian Medical Journal

2016 In the context of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, substantial media attention has been placed on mental health and lack of access to treatment among Canadian Forces personnel. We compared trends in the prevalence of suicidal behaviour and the use of mental health services between Canadian military personnel and the general population from 2002 to 2012/13. Methods: We obtained data for respondents aged 18-60 years who participated in 4 nationally representative surveys by Statistics Canada ...

URL: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2016/05/24/cmaj.151047.abstract

The Risk of Men's and Women's Intimate Partner Violence Victimization Across Activity Limitation Types in Canada

Published by Partner Abuse

2016 Despite the growing body of research on violence against persons with activity limitations (ALs), only a handful of studies of intimate partner violence (IPV) and ALs have included men in their analyses. This study used a nationally representative sample of 15,010 Canadians to examine the risk of IPV against men and women with and without ALs. Results showed that, with controls for age and education, men and women with any type of AL faced an elevated risk of IPV victimization. Adjusting for perpetrator-related risk factors fully ...

URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/springer/pa/2016/00000007/00000002/art00005

The Temporal Relationship Between Faulty Gambling Cognitions and Gambling Severity in Young Adults

Published by Journal of Gambling Studies

2016 Disordered gambling in young adults is hypothesized as being related to mistaken gambling-related cognitions. Few studies have examined the temporal order of this relationship using longitudinal data. The purpose of this study is to understand the directionality of the relationship between gambling cognitions and gambling severity in a longitudinal sample of young adults. Young adults (N= 578), initially aged 18–21 years, completed the Manitoba Longitudinal Survey of Young Adults at two time points ...

URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-016-9605-y

Linking Typologies of Childhood Adversity to Adult Incarceration: Findings From a Nationally Representative Sample

Published by Educational Publishing Foundation

2016 Ecologically valid typologies of adverse child experiences (ACEs) were identified to investigate the link between ACEs and adultincarceration. In a nationally representative sample (N= 34,653, age 20+), latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted with childhood maltreatment (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, interpersonal violence [IPV] exposure, physical neglect) and caregiver maladjustment (substance use, incarceration, mental illness, and suicidal behavior) indicators. LCA identified a 5-typology model (1. Low Adversity ...

URL: http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2016-18400-001/

Individual-and Relationship-Level Factors Related to Better Mental Health Outcomes following Child Abuse: Results from a Nationally Representative Canadian Sample

Published by The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

2016 Child abuse can have devastating mental health consequences. Fortunately, not all individuals exposed to child abuse will suffer from poor mental health. Understanding what factors are related to good mental health following child abuse can provide evidence to inform prevention of impairment. Our objectives were to 1) describe the prevalence of good, moderate, and poor mental health among respondents with and without a child abuse history; 2) examine the relationships between child abuse and good, moderate, and poor ...

URL: http://cpa.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/06/03/0706743716651832.abstract

Biography

Dr. Tracie Afifi has developed two primary research interests in the areas of child maltreatment (including child abuse, neglect, physical punishment, and exposure to intimate partner violence) and problem gambling. She has used population-based data from Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands to investigate how mental and physical health correlates to family violence and problem gambling. Afifi has published over 75 peer-reviewed journal publications and presented research findings in over 90 national and international conference proceedings. She has participated in over 100 media interviews for print, radio, television, and social media resulting in over 1,500 known worldwide news stories. With regard to child maltreatment, Afifi is interested in protective factors related to resilience following child maltreatment, effective child maltreatment interventions, gender differences related to problem gambling, the incidence of problem gambling and trends over time, the impact of parental gambling problems on children, and the relationship between family violence and problem gambling.

Recognition/Reconnaissance

Merit Award in Research | Professional

In 2013, Dr. Afifi was the recipient of a Merit Award in Research from the University of Manitoba.

CIHR New Investigator Award | Professional

Dr. Afifi is currently holds a CIHR New Investigator Award (2013-2018).

Additional Titles and Affiliations

Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation

United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child

Expertise

  • Sociology
  • Psychology
  • Problem Gambling
  • Physical Punishment
  • Community Affairs
  • Domestic Violence
  • Child Maltreatment

Education/Éducation

  • University of Manitoba
    Community Health Sciences
    Ph.D., 2009

    Dissertation: problem gambling among women in Canada.


  • University of Manitoba
    Science
    M.Sc., 2003

    Thesis: focused on the relationship between child physical abuse and adolescent motherhood.


  • University of Manitoba
    Science
    B.Sc., 1999