Reframing child abuse and neglect research through a social work lens: a global bibliometric and thematic evolution...

Child neglect and abuse research has expanded rapidly, yet its development has rarely been mapped through a social work lens centered on child welfare and child protection systems. This study provides a bibliometric mapping of the child neglect and abuse literature within the social work context from 2000 to 2025.

Records were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus, merged, deduplicated, and screened, yielding a final dataset of 6,132 journal articles and reviews. Using bibliometrix and VOSviewer, annual publication and citation trends, co-authorship networks involving authors, institutions, and countries, co-citation structures, bibliographic coupling, keyword co-occurrence with overlay visualization, and thematic evolution across three periods (2000-2012, 2013-2019, and 2020-2025) were examined.

Publication output showed sustained growth, increasing from 109 publications in 2000 to 362 in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 5%. Collaboration was concentrated in high-income countries, with the United States serving as a central hub strongly connected to the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Conceptual mapping indicated a stable core around child abuse and child maltreatment, alongside a shift toward system- and prevention-oriented themes such as child welfare and child protection. Foster care emerged as a prominent motor theme, whereas juvenile justice appeared as a niche theme.

The findings demonstrate that the field has expanded while progressively re-centering on welfare and protection systems. The study provides an empirical baseline for future interdisciplinary research and practice-oriented knowledge translation.