Tracie O. Afifi

Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences University of Manitoba

  • Winnipeg MB

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

Contact

Social

Biography

Dr. 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 mental and physical health correlates of both family violence and problem gambling. Dr. Afifi has published over 75 peer-reviewed journal publications and presented research findings in over 90 national and international conference proceedings. Dr. Afifi 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, Dr. Afifi is interested in studying mental and physical health correlates of physical punishment, protective factors related to resilience following child maltreatment, and effective child maltreatment interventions. In the area of problem gambling, Dr. Afifi is interested in studying 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.

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Childcare
Health and Wellness
Health Care - Services
Philanthropy
Social Services
Public Policy
Public Safety

Areas of Expertise

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

Accomplishments

CIHR New Investigator Award

2013-01-01

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

Merit Award in Research

2013-01-01

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

Education

University of Manitoba

Ph.D.

Community Health Sciences

2009

Dissertation: problem gambling among women in Canada.

University of Manitoba

M.Sc.

Science

2003

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

University of Manitoba

B.Sc.

Science

1999

Affiliations

  • Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation
  • United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child

Media Appearances

Half of Canadian soldiers faced childhood abuse, study indicates

CBC News  online

2016-01-27

"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...

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

CJob  online

2016-01-27

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...

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The Case Against Spanking

Maclean's  online

2015-12-30

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...

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Articles

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

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