Abstract
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health problem (Gilbert et al. in Lancet 373(9658):167–180, 2009a. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61707-9; Singh et al. in J Fam Med Prim Care 3(4):430–435, 2014. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.148139; Veenema et al. in Int J Nurs Stud 52(4):864–881, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.10.017) and a risk factor for child development (Barth et al. in Int J Public Health 58(3):469–483, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0426-1). The present bibliometric analysis evaluated research performance and trends of CSA research from 1991 to 2017. The analysis was based on data extracted from Science Citation Index Expanded. The results revealed a progressive increase in the volume of indexed articles that sharply grows between 2009 and 2017. The majority of the papers analyzed were in the area of psychiatry. In total, these articles were published mostly in English and in 777 journals, the largest volume of articles were in the field of pediatrics. The journal authors come from 105 countries, with the United States ranking on the top in all bibliometrics indicators assessed, including number of articles produced by institution. Three thousand seven hundred and fourteen articles (3714) articles on CSA were utilized to calculate the Y-index for authors. From the authors, J.D. Bremner and G. Hornor have the highest contributions with a Y-index of 24 (0.7854). Other findings indicated that the peak of citations per publication occured in the 5th year. The most frequently cited and most impactful article was from Felitti et al. (Am J Prev Med 14(4):245–258, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8). Six of the ten highly cited papers maintained their impact according to the 2017 citations. Data also revealed that research trends in the field of CSA can be clustered into 11 categories, with violence being the one that concentrates the greatest number of terms used in the papers. The three main hotspots are sexual abuse, maltreatment and sexual development. Lastly, this article discusses the type of research that contributes to the body of knowledge about CSA and the challenges this poses for the projection of future studies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almuneef, M., Qayad, M., Aleissa, M., & Albuhairan, F. (2014). Adverse childhood experiences, chronic diseases, and risky health behaviors in Saudi Arabian adults: A pilot study. Child Abuse and Neglect,38(11), 1787–1793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.06.003.
Amado, B. G., Arce, R., & Herraiz, A. (2015). Psychological injury in victims of child sexual abuse: A meta-analytic review. Psychosocial Intervention-Intervencion Psicosocial,24(1), 49–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psi.2015.03.002.
Aprile, A., Ranzano, C., Rizorro, M., & Facchin, P. (2009). Child sexual abuse. Pitfalls in the substantiation process. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Baltussen, A., & Kindler, C. H. (2004). Citation classics in critical care medicine. Intensive Care Medicine,30(5), 902–910. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-004-2195-7.
Barth, J., Bermetz, L., Heim, E., Trelle, S., & Tonia, T. (2013). The current prevalence of child sexual abuse worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Public Health,58(3), 469–483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0426-1.
Behl, L. E., Conyngham, H. A., & May, P. F. (2003). Trends in child maltreatment literature. Child Abuse and Neglect,27(2), 215–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00535-5.
Bernstein, D. P., Ahluvalia, T., Pogge, D., & Handelsman, L. (1997). Validity of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in an adolescent psychiatric population. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,36(3), 340–348. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199703000-00012.
Bernstein, D. P., Fink, L., Handelsman, L., Foote, J., Lovejoy, M., Wenzel, K., et al. (1994). Initial reliability and validity of a new retrospective measure of child-abuse and neglect. American Journal of Psychiatry,151(8), 1132–1136. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.151.8.1132.
Bernstein, D. P., Stein, J. A., Newcomb, M. D., Walker, E., Pogge, D., Ahluvalia, T., et al. (2003). Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Child Abuse and Neglect,27(2), 169–190.
Bokhari, M., Badar, M., Naseer, U., Waheed, A., & Safdar, F. (2015). Adverse childhood experiences & impulsivity in late adolescence & young adulthood of students of university of the Punjab Lahore. Pakistan Journal of Professional Psychologists,6(1), 31–34.
Bolen, R. M., & Scannapieco, M. (1999). Prevalence of child sexual abuse: A corrective metanalysis. Social Service Review,73(3), 281–313. https://doi.org/10.1086/514425.
Browne, A., & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research. Psychological Bulletin,99(1), 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.66.
Chen, H. Q., & Ho, Y. S. (2015). Highly cited articles in biomass research: A bibliometric analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,49, 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.060.
Chiu, W. T., & Ho, Y. S. (2005). Bibliometric analysis of homeopathy research during the period of 1991 to 2003. Scientometrics,63(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-005-0201-7.
Chiu, W. T., & Ho, Y. S. (2007). Bibliometric analysis of tsunami research. Scientometrics,73(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-005-1523-1.
Choudhry, V., Dayal, R., Pillai, D., Kalokhe, A. S., Beier, K., & Patel, V. (2018). Child sexual abuse in India: A systematic review. PLoS ONE,13(10), e0205086. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205086.
Chuang, K. Y., Huang, Y. L., & Ho, Y. S. (2007). A bibliometric and citation analysis of stroke-related research in Taiwan. Scientometrics,72(2), 201–212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-1721-0.
Chuang, K. Y., Wang, M. H., & Ho, Y. S. (2011). High-impact papers presented in the subject category of water resources in the essential science indicators database of the institute for scientific information. Scientometrics,87(3), 551–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-011-0365-2.
Clarivate Analytics (2019). InCites journal citation reports. Retrieved January 31, 2019 from https://jcr.incites.thomsonreuters.com/JCRHomePageAction.action?
Domhardt, M., Munzer, A., Fegert, J. M., & Goldbeck, L. (2015). Resilience in survivors of child sexual abuse: A systematic review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse,16(4), 476–493. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014557288.
Dube, S. R., Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Chapman, D. P., Williamson, D. F., & Giles, W. H. (2001). Childhood abuse, household dysfunction, and the risk of attempted suicide throughout the life span: Findings from the adverse childhood experiences study. JAMA-Journal of the American Medical Association,286(24), 3089–3096. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.286.24.3089.
Dube, S. R., Anda, R. F., Whitfield, C. L., Brown, D. W., Felitti, V., Dong, M., et al. (2005). Long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse by gender of victim. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,28(5), 430–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.01.015.
Edwards, V. J., Holden, G. W., Felitti, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2003). Relationship between multiple forms of childhood maltreatment and adult mental health in community respondents: Results from the adverse childhood experiences study. American Journal of Psychiatry,160(8), 1453–1460. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.8.1453.
Elango, B., & Ho, Y. S. (2017). A bibliometric analysis of highly cited papers from India in Science Citation Index Expanded. Current Science,112(8), 1653–1658. https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v112/i08/1653-1658.
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,14(4), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8.
Finkelhor, D. (1979). What’s wrong with sex between adults and children? Ethics and the problem of sexual abuse. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,49(4), 692–697. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1979.tb02654.x.
Finkelhor, D. (1986). A sourcebook on child sexual abuse (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Fu, H. Z., & Ho, Y. S. (2014). Top cited articles in adsorption research using Y-index. Research Evaluation,23(1), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvt018.
Fu, H. Z., Wang, M. H., & Ho, Y. S. (2012). The most frequently cited adsorption research articles in the Science Citation Index (Expanded). Journal of Colloid and Interface Science,379(1), 148–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2012.04.051.
Fu, H. Z., Wang, M. H., & Ho, Y. S. (2013). Mapping of drinking water research: A bibliometric analysis of research output during 1992–2011. Science of the Total Environment,443, 757–765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.11.061.
Garfield, E. (1977). Introducing citation classics. The human side of scientific reports. Current Contents,1, 5–7.
Garfield, E. (1994). Scientography: Mapping the tracks of science. Current Contents: Social & Behavioural Sciences,7(45), 5–10.
Gilbert, R., Kemp, A., Thoburn, J., Sidebotham, P., Radford, L., Glaser, D., et al. (2009a). Child maltreatment 2: Recognising and responding to child maltreatment. Lancet,373(9658), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61707-9.
Gilbert, R., Widom, C. S., Browne, K., Fergusson, D., Webb, E., & Janson, S. (2009b). Child maltreatment 1: Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. Lancet,373(9657), 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61706-7.
Goodman, M. L., Martinez, K., Keiser, P. H., Gitari, S., & Seidel, S. E. (2017). Why do Kenyan children live on the streets? Evidence from a cross-section of semi-rural maternal caregivers. Child Abuse and Neglect,63, 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.10.018.
Greijer, S. and Doek, J. (2016), Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Luxenburg.
Haugaard, J. J. (2000). The challenge of defining child sexual abuse. American Psychologist,55(9), 1036–1039. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.9.1036.
Heim, C., Newport, D. J., Heit, S., Graham, Y. P., Wilcox, M., Bonsall, R., et al. (2000). Pituitary-adrenal and autonomic responses to stress in women after sexual and physical abuse in childhood. JAMA-Journal of the American Medical Association,284(5), 592–597. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.284.5.592.
Ho, Y. S. (2012). Top-cited articles in chemical engineering in Science Citation Index Expanded: A bibliometric analysis. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering,20(3), 478–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1004-9541(11)60209-7.
Ho, Y. S. (2013). The top-cited research works in the Science Citation Index Expanded. Scientometrics,94(3), 1297–1312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0837-z.
Ho, Y. S. (2014a). A bibliometric analysis of highly cited articles in materials science. Current Science,107(9), 1565–1572.
Ho, Y. S. (2014b). Classic articles on social work field in Social Science Citation Index: A bibliometric analysis. Scientometrics,98(1), 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-1014-8.
Ho, Y. S., & Fu, H. Z. (2016). Mapping of metal-organic frameworks publications: A bibliometric analysis. Inorganic Chemistry Communications,73, 174–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inoche.2016.10.023.
Ho, Y. S., & Hartley, J. (2016). Classic articles published by American scientists (1900–2014): A bibliometric analysis. Current Science,111(7), 1156–1165. https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v111/i7/1156-1165.
Ho, Y. S., & Kahn, M. (2014). A bibliometric study of highly cited reviews in the Science Citation Index Expanded™. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology,65(2), 372–385. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.22974.
Ho, Y. S., Siu, E., & Chuang, K. Y. (2016). A bibliometric analysis of dengue-related publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded. Future Virology,11(9), 631–648. https://doi.org/10.2217/fvl-2016-0057.
Hsieh, W. H., Chiu, W. T., Lee, Y. S., & Ho, Y. S. (2004). Bibliometric analysis of patent ductus arteriosus treatments. Scientometrics,60(2), 205–215.
Ivanović, D., & Ho, Y. S. (2016). Highly cited articles in the information science and library science category in Social Science Citation Index: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science,48(1), 36–46.
Jackson, A. M., & Deye, K. (2015). Aspects of abuse: Consequences of childhood victimization. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care,45(3), 86–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2015.02.004.
Kempe, C. H. (1978). Sexual abuse, another hidden pediatric problem—1977 C. Anderson Aldric lecture. Pediatrics,62(3), 382–389. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4084-6.
Li, Z., & Ho, Y. S. (2008). Use of citation per publication as an indicator to evaluate contingent valuation research. Scientometrics,75(1), 97–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-1838-1.
Lin, C. L., & Ho, Y. S. (2015). A bibliometric analysis of publications on pluripotent stem cell research. Cell Journal,17(1), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.22074/cellj.2015.512.
MacMillan, H. L., Wathen, C. N., Barlow, J., Fergusson, D. M., Leventhal, J. M., & Taussig, H. N. (2009). Child maltreatment 3: Interventions to prevent child maltreatment and associated impairment. Lancet,373(9659), 250–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61708-0.
Maniglio, R. (2009). The impact of child sexual abuse on health: A systematic review of reviews. Clinical Psychology Review,29(7), 647–657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.08.003.
Mao, N., Wang, M. H., & Ho, Y. S. (2010). A bibliometric study of the trend in articles related to risk assessment published in Science Citation Index. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 16(4), 801–824.
Marwaha, S., & Bebbington, P. (2015). Mood as a mediator of the link between child sexual abuse and psychosis. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology,50(4), 661–663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0966-1.
Mathews, B., & Collin-Vézina, D. (2017). Child sexual abuse: Toward a conceptual model and definition. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017738726.
Mo, Z. W., Fu, H. Z., & Ho, Y. S. (2018). Highly cited articles in wind tunnel-related research: A bibliometric analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research,25(16), 15541–15553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1766-z.
Mongeon, P., & Paul-Hus, A. (2016). The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: A comparative analysis. Scientometrics,106(1), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1765-5.
Narin, F. (1976). Evaluative bibliometrics: The use of publication and citation analysis in the evaluation of scientific activity. Cherry Hill, NJ: Computer Horizons Inc.
Nemeroff, C. B. (2016). Paradise lost: The neurobiological and clinical consequences of child abuse and neglect. Neuron,89(5), 892–909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.01.019.
Pereda, N., Guilera, G., Forns, M., & Gómez-Benito, J. (2009). The prevalence of child sexual abuse in community and student samples: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review,29(4), 328–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.02.007.
Popović, S. (2018a). Child sexual abuse in Croatia: A systematic review of research. Ljetopis Socijalnog Rada,25(1), 5–37. https://doi.org/10.3935/ljsr.v25i1.190.
Popović, S. (2018b). Child sexual abuse news: A systematic review of content analysis studies. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse,27(7), 752–777. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2018.1486935.
Pouris, A., & Ho, Y. S. (2016). A bibliometric analysis of research on Ebola in Science Citation Index Expanded. South African Journal of Science,112(3–4), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/20150326.
Pritchard, J. (1969). Statistical bibliography or bibliometrics? Journal of Documentation,25(4), 348–349.
Putnam, F. W. (2003). Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,42(3), 269–278. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.CHI.0000037029.04952.72.
Reading, R., Bissell, S., Goldhagen, J., Harwin, J., Masson, J., Moynihan, S., et al. (2009). Child maltreatment 4: Promotion of children’s rights and prevention of child maltreatment. Lancet,373(9660), 332–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61709-2.
Rehn, B., Lidström, J., Skoglund, J., & Lindström, B. (2007). Effects on leg muscular performance from whole-body vibration exercise: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports,17(1), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2006.00578.x.
Roche, D. N., Runtz, M. G., & Hunter, M. A. (1999). Adult attachment: A mediator between child sexual abuse and later psychological adjustment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,14(2), 184–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626099014002006.
Seto, M. C., Babchishin, K. M., Pullman, L. E., & McPhail, I. V. (2015). The puzzle of intrafamilial child sexual abuse: A meta-analysis comparing intrafamilial and extrafamilial offenders with child victims. Clinical Psychology Review,39, 42–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.04.001.
Singh, M. M., Parsekar, S. S., & Nair, S. N. (2014). An epidemiological overview of child sexual abuse. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care,3(4), 430–435. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.148139.
Smart, C. (1999). A history of ambivalence and conflict in the discursive construction of the ‘child victim’ of sexual abuse. Social & Legal Studies,8(3), 391–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/096466399900800306.
Stoltenborgh, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Alink, L. R. A., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2015). The prevalence of child maltreatment across the globe: Review of a series of meta-analyses. Child Abuse Review,24(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2353.
Stoltenborgh, M., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Euser, E. M., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2011). A global perspective on child sexual abuse: Meta-analysis of prevalence around the world. Child Maltreatment,16(2), 79–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559511403920.
Tanaka, M., Suzuki, Y. E., Aoyama, I., Takaoka, K., & MacMillan, H. L. (2017). Child sexual abuse in Japan: A systematic review and future directions. Child Abuse and Neglect,66, 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.02.041.
Tardieu, A. (1959). Étude médico-légale sur les attentats aux moeurs. Paris: J.B. Baillière.
Teicher, M. H., & Samson, J. A. (2016). Annual research review: Enduring neurobiological effects of childhood abuse and neglect. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,57(3), 241–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12507.
Tran, B. X., Pham, T. V., Ha, G. H., Ngo, A. T., Nguyen, L. H., Vu, T. T. M., et al. (2018). A bibliometric analysis of the global research trend in child maltreatment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,15(7), 1456. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071456.
United Nations (2015). UNESCO Science Report. Toward 2030. Paris.
Veenema, T. G., Thornton, C. P., & Corley, A. (2015). The public health crisis of child sexual abuse in low and middle income countries: An integrative review of the literature. International Journal of Nursing Studies,52(4), 864–881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.10.017.
Vega-Arce, M., & Núñez-Ulloa, G. (2018). Adverse childhood experiences: Bibliometric mapping of the scientific literature in the Web of Science. Revista Cubana de Información en Ciencias de la Salud,29(1), 25–40.
Walsh, K., Zwi, K., Woolfenden, S., & Shlonsky, A. (2018). School-based education programs for the prevention of child sexual abuse: A cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. Research on Social Work Practice,28(1S), 33–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731515619705.
Wang, M. H., Fu, H. Z., & Ho, Y. S. (2011). Comparison of universities’ scientific performance using bibliometric indicators. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science,16(2), 1–19.
Wang, C. C., & Ho, Y. S. (2016). Research trend of metal-organic frameworks: A bibliometric analysis. Scientometrics,109(1), 481–513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-1986-2.
Whittier, N. (2009). The politics of child sexual abuse. Emotion, social movements, and the state. New York: Oxford University Press.
World Health Organization (2011). Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire Pilot study review and finalization meeting, 4–5 May 2011, Geneva Meeting Report, WHO Headquarters, Geneva.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vega-Arce, M., Salas, G., Núñez-Ulloa, G. et al. Research performance and trends in child sexual abuse research: a Science Citation Index Expanded-based analysis. Scientometrics 121, 1505–1525 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03267-w
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03267-w