Exploring the academic outcomes of children exposed to domestic violence using a systematic Literature Review

Children who are victims of trauma often experience poor academic performance either through form absences or grades. Likewise, children’s exposure to domestic violence, a trauma often unexpressed or recognized, negatively impacts their academic outcomes. With the high prevalence of children victimized by or witness to violence in the home at an early age, and education represented as a vehicle to quality of life, the successful academic outcomes of these traumatized youth are critical as a means to create restorative measures for the development of their self-efficacy and well-being into adulthood. The purpose of this study is to explore the number of articles in the professional literature of the academic outcomes of children exposed to domestic violence. A systematic literature review(SLR) using the Cochrane Model resulted in 21 peer-reviewed publications. The professional literature from sixs earch engines was limited to keywords “academic outcomes” and “domestic violence,” resulting in a mix of quantitative, qualitative and exploratory studies. The predominate theme that emerged from the SLR supported the assumption that exposure to domestic violence, like other forms of trauma, has a negative impacton academic outcomes. Moreover, there are opportunities to improve practice, policy, and academic outcomes for children exposed to domestic violence by recognizing their trauma and in so doing, perhaps, increase their well-being.