Including youth perspectives in youth participatory action research on childhood exposure to intimate partner violence: When good intentions face barriers

Child Abuse Negl. 2026 Apr 24;176:108035. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.108035. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Challenges in accessing youth can hinder the inclusion of their perspectives in youth participatory action research (YPAR) on childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (CEIPV). Yet, involving them in CEIPV YPAR can benefit both the youths and society.

OBJECTIVE: This article explores the challenges of accessing youth in CEIPV YPAR, in which directly concerned young people were invited to participate as lived experience co-researchers.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Conducted in Québec, Canada, this study draws on the perspectives of IPV victims-two youths and seven mothers-along with discussions with practitioners and entries from the student-researcher’s journal.

METHODS: Semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 50 min were conducted with youth and mothers either individually or in mother-child dyads, all in remote settings. Transcripts of these interviews, along with the student-researcher’s journal, were analyzed using content analysis in NVivo.

RESULTS: The challenges encountered were related to: (1) the social problem of IPV itself; (2) the institutions in contact with families affected by IPV and their organizational contexts; and (3) the young people and their lived realities. Key obstacles included gatekeeping, the effects of IPV, and practitioners’ difficulties in detecting IPV. Youth may also refuse to participate. Moreover, since community organizations working with youth are often heavily solicited by researchers, many declined recruitment requests.

CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to understanding how future strategies can better include youth perspectives in CEIPV YPAR through both microsocial and broader systemic changes.

PMID:42033959 | DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.108035