Developmental disabilities across the world: A scientometric review from 1936 to 2020

Performance-enhancing substances in sport: A scientometric review of 75 years of research

The use of performance-enhancing substances not only undermines the core values of sports but also poses significant health risks to athletes. In a fast-evolving doping environment, where sport professionals are constantly seeking novel and illegal means to bypass doping tests, and new substances are regularly detected on the drug market, it is crucial to inform authorities with updated evidence emerging from scientific research. The current study aims to (i) outline the structure of knowledge in the literature on performance enhancers in sports (i.e., most active countries, main sources, most productive authors, and most frequently used keywords); (ii) identify the most impactful documents in the field; and (iii) uncover the main domains of research in the literature. To do so, we conducted a comprehensive scientometric analysis of the literature on doping, sourcing our data from Scopus. Our research involved a document co-citation analysis of 193,076 references, leading to the identification of the 51 most influential documents and seven key thematic areas within the doping literature. Our results indicate that the scientific community has extensively studied the most prevalent doping classes, such as anabolic agents and peptide hormones, and little is still known about the use of contaminated supplements or other types of enhancers identified as emergent trends. Concurrently, technological advancements contributed to the development of more sophisticated doping detection techniques, using blood or urine samples. More recently, the focus has shifted towards the athlete biological passport, with research efforts aimed at identifying biomarkers indicative of doping. The dynamic nature of doping methods underlines the necessity for more robust educational campaigns, aiming at raising awareness among sports professionals and their entourage about the dangers of doping and the intricacies of its control mechanisms.

Fifty years of research on questionable research practises in science: quantitative analysis of co-citation patterns

Questionable research practises (QRPs) have been the focus of the scientific community amid greater scrutiny and evidence highlighting issues with replicability across many fields of science. To capture the most impactful publications and the main thematic domains in the literature on QRPs, this study uses a document co-citation analysis. The analysis was conducted on a sample of 341 documents that covered the past 50 years of research in QRPs. Nine major thematic clusters emerged. Statistical reporting and statistical power emerged as key areas of research, where systemic-level factors in how research is conducted are consistently raised as the precipitating factors for QRPs. There is also an encouraging shift in the focus of research into open science practises designed to address engagement in QRPs. Such a shift is indicative of the growing momentum of the open science movement, and more research can be conducted on how these practises are employed on the ground and how their uptake by researchers can be further promoted. However, the results suggest that, while pre-registration and registered reports receive the most research interest, less attention has been paid to other open science practises (e.g. data sharing).

Culture and the assumptions about appearance and reality: a scientometric look at a century of research

Introduction

People represent the world in terms of two constructs: how something appears on the surface (appearance) and what it is underneath that surface (reality). Both constructs are central to various bodies of literature. What has not been done, however, is a systematic look at this collection of literature for overarching themes. Motivated by this research gap, the present scientometric review aimed to identify the common themes that penetrate through a century of scholarly work on appearance and reality. In doing so, this review also sketched a scientometric outline of the international network, pinpointing where the work was carried out.

Methods

With CiteSpace software, we computed an optimized document co-citation analysis with a sample of 4,771 documents (1929-2022), resulting in a network of 1,785 nodes.

Results and discussion

We identified impactful publications, summarized major intellectual movements, and identified five thematic clusters ("Perception of Counseling Services", "Appearance and Reality in Sociocultural Evolution," "Cultural Heritage and Identity," "Media and Culture," and "Cultural Identity"), all with theoretical and pragmatic implications which we discuss. A deeper look at these clusters reveals new empirical questions and promising directions for future research.

Identifying major research themes in the literature on developmental disabilities in Middle Eastern countries: A scientometric review from 1962 to 2023

Developmental disabilities have been widely studied in higher-income countries. However, most individuals with these conditions live in low- and middle-income countries and they are reportedly under-represented in the scientific literature. To tackle this issue, previous research has provided insight into the thematic developments in the research on developmental disabilities in Africa by means of a scientometric approach to reviews. The current work aims to extend the scientometric approach to investigate the main interests in the literature on developmental disabilities conducted in Middle Eastern countries. A total of 1110 documents were retrieved from Scopus and their patterns of co-citation were analysed with the CiteSpace software. Research in Developmental Disabilities emerged to be the main source in the sample of downloaded documents. Furthermore, a total of six main thematic domains and the four most impactful documents in the literature were identified. Results showed that research on developmental disabilities in the Middle East has been mainly focused on uncovering the genetic basis of this group of conditions. The study of clinical profiles, diagnosis, management, and treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities have been so far under-investigated and represents material for future studies.

Sleep Profiles in Eating Disorders: A Scientometric Study on 50 Years of Clinical Research

Sleep and diet are essential for maintaining physical and mental health. These two factors are closely intertwined and affect each other in both timing and quality. Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are often accompanied by different sleep problems. In modern society, an increasing number of studies are being conducted on the relationship between eating disorders and sleep. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of this field and highlight influential papers as well as the main research domains in this area, a scientometric approach was used to review 727 publications from 1971 to 2023. All documents were retrieved from Scopus through the following string "TITLE-ABS (("sleep" OR "insomnia") AND ("anorexia nervosa" OR "bulimia nervosa" OR "binge eating" OR "eating disorder*") AND NOT "obes*") AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE, "English"))". A document co-citation analysis was applied to map the relationship between relevant articles and their cited references as well as the gaps in the literature. Nine publications on sleep and eating disorders were frequently cited, with an article by Vetrugno and colleagues on nocturnal eating being the most impactful in the network. The results also indicated a total of seven major thematic research clusters. The qualitative inspection of clusters strongly highlights the reciprocal influence of disordered eating and sleeping patterns. Researchers have modelled this reciprocal influence by taking into account the role played by pharmacological (e.g., zolpidem, topiramate), hormonal (e.g., ghrelin), and psychological (e.g., anxiety, depression) factors, pharmacological triggers, and treatments for eating disorders and sleep problems. The use of scientometric perspectives provides valuable insights into the field related to sleep and eating disorders, which can guide future research directions and foster a more comprehensive understanding of this important area.

Understanding Sleep Disturbances in Prostate Cancer-A Scientometric Analysis of Sleep Assessment, Aetiology, and Its Impact on Quality of Life

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United Kingdom. While androgen-deprivation therapy is the most common treatment for prostate cancer, patients undergoing this treatment typically experience side effects in terms of sleep disturbances. However, the relation between prostate cancer and sleep and the way in which sleep interventions may benefit oncological patients is underinvestigated in the literature. The current study aims to review in a data-driven approach the existing literature on the field of prostate cancer and sleep to identify impactful documents and major thematic domains. To do so, a sample of 1547 documents was downloaded from Scopus, and a document co-citation analysis was conducted on CiteSpace software. In the literature, 12 main research domains were identified as well as 26 impactful documents. Research domains were examined regarding the link between prostate cancer and sleep, by taking into account variations in hormonal levels. A major gap in the literature was identified in the lack of use of objective assessment of sleep quality in patients with prostate cancer.

Hikikomori: A Scientometric Review of 20 Years of Research

The Japanese term hikikomori was first used to describe prolonged social withdrawal in the 1990s. Since then, research across the world have reported similar prolonged social withdrawal in many countries outside Japan. This study systematically analyses the evolution of literature on hikikomori in the past 20 years to gain a better understanding of the development of the knowledge base on hikikomori since it garnered attention in Japan. Findings from the scientometric review indicate many perspectives on the etiology of hikikomori including cultural, attachment, family systems and sociological approaches. However, similarities with modern type depression, a novel psychiatric syndrome, have been proposed and there are signs of a recent paradigm shift of hikikomori as a society-bound syndrome rather than a cultural-bound syndrome unique to Japan. As research into hikikomori continues to grow, results from the review also highlight the need for a more universally shared definition of hikikomori in order to better consolidate cross-cultural research for meaningful and valid cross-cultural comparisons which can help to promote evidence-based therapeutic interventions for hikikomori.

Developmental disabilities in Africa: A scientometric review

BACKGROUND

Developmental disabilities are disproportionately more investigated in higher-income countries. However, global prevalence of developmental disabilities indicate that a large proportion of individuals with disabilities reside in low- and middle-income nations.

AIMS

The present work therefore aims to conduct a scientometric review to survey available literature on developmental disabilities in low- and middle-income countries belonging to the continent of Africa.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

A literature search was conducted on Scopus, where a total of 1720 relevant publications (and an accompanying 66 thousand references) were found, representing research conducted between 1950 to 2022. Then, document co-citation analysis was performed to chart significant co-citation relationships between relevant articles and their cited references.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

The generated network based on document co-citation analysis revealed a total of 14 distinct thematic research clusters and 12 significant documents that have been frequently cited in the literature on developmental disabilities in Africa.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The scientometric review revealed a trend of broadening research towards systems of care, away from a medical model of disease. It is projected that future research will continue to capitalise on inter-disciplinary strengths to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of developmental disability from all levels - individuals, families, to communities.

Exploring mediational roles for self-stigma in associations between types of problematic use of internet and psychological distress in youth with ADHD

BACKGROUND

Several studies have linked the problematic use of the Internet (PUI) to psychological distress. Youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are considered a particular disadvantaged population with a high risk of developing PUI, psychological distress, and self-stigma. Nonetheless, the interrelationships of PUI, self-stigma, and psychological distress in adolescents with ADHD are not well understood.

AIMS

This study investigated whether self-stigma mediates relationships between different forms of PUI, such as problematic gaming (PG), problematic social media use (PSMU), problematic smartphone use (PSPU), and psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress), in children with ADHD.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

We recruited 100 youth with ADHD (mean age=10.80 [SD=3.07] years; 84 boys) from psychiatric outpatient clinics in Taiwan. All participants were assessed for PUI (via Internet Gaming Disorder-Short Form for PG, Bergan Social Medica Addiction Scale for PSMU, and Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale for PSPU), self-stigma (via Self-Stigma Short-Scale), and psychological distress (via Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale).

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

The results of path and bootstrapping analyses indicated that self-stigma mediated the associations between PSMU and PSPU, but not PG, and depression, anxiety, and stress.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This study expands the extant literature by revealing that self-stigma mediates the association between specific forms of PUI and psychological distress in adolescents with ADHD. Interventions aimed at reducing self-stigma and PUI, particularly PSMU and PSPU, may help decrease psychological distress among adolescents with ADHD.

The Genetic Side of the Mood: A Scientometric Review of the Genetic Basis of Mood Disorders

Mood disorders are highly heritable psychiatric disorders. Over the years, many genetic polymorphisms have been identified to pose a higher risk for the development of mood disorders. To overview the literature on the genetics of mood disorders, a scientometric analysis was performed on a sample of 5342 documents downloaded from Scopus. The most active countries and the most impactful documents in the field were identified. Furthermore, a total of 13 main thematic clusters emerged in the literature. From the qualitative inspection of clusters, it emerged that the research interest moved from a monogenic to a polygenic risk framework. Researchers have moved from the study of single genes in the early 1990s to conducting genome-wide association studies around 2015. In this way, genetic overlaps between mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions emerged too. Furthermore, around the 2010s, the interaction between genes and environmental factors emerged as pivotal in understanding the risk for mood disorders. The inspection of thematic clusters provides a valuable insight into the past and recent trends of research in the genetics of mood disorders and sheds light onto future lines of research.

Mental Health of Mothers of Children with Neurodevelopmental and Genetic Disorders in Pakistan

This study examined maternal mental health in mothers of children with neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders in Pakistan; maternal education and affiliate stigma were also tested. It was hypothesised that mothers of children with neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders would experience high levels of depression, anxiety and affiliate stigma, and that these variables would be mediated by the level of maternal education. Seventy-five mothers of children with neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders were recruited from “Special Needs” schools in Lahore and Islamabad. The results showed that the majority of mothers were clinically depressed and a large majority of mothers were clinically anxious. The distribution of mothers with clinical anxiety was significantly different among mothers with different levels of education (p < 0.05). Furthermore, mothers with higher levels of education had less affiliate stigma. This result suggests that maternal education may be a protective factor of mental health in mothers of children with neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders. Limitations, implications and future research are discussed.

The Interaction between Serotonin Transporter Allelic Variation and Maternal Care Modulates Instagram Sociability in a Sample of Singaporean Users

Human social interactions ensure recognition and approval from others, both in offline and online environments. This study applies a model from behavioral genetics on Instagram sociability to explore the impact of individual development on behavior on social networks. We hypothesize that sociable attitudes on Instagram resulted from an interaction between serotonin transporter gene alleles and the individual’s social relationship with caregivers. We assess the environmental and genetic components of 57 Instagram users. The self-report questionnaire Parental Bonding Instrument is adopted to determine the quality of parental bonding. The number of posts, followed users (“followings”), and followers are collected from Instagram as measures of online social activity. Additionally, the ratio between the number of followers and followings (“Social Desirability Index”) was calculated to estimate the asymmetry of each user’s social network. Finally, buccal mucosa cell samples were acquired, and the polymorphism rs25531 (T/T homozygotes vs. C-carriers) within the serotonin transporter gene was examined. In the preliminary analysis, we identified a gender effect on the number of followings. In addition, we specifically found a gene–environment interaction on the standardized Instagram “Social Desirability Index” in line with our predictions. Users with the genotype more sensitive to environmental influences (T/T homozygotes) showed a higher Instagram “Social Desirability Index” than nonsensitive ones (C-carriers) when they experienced positive maternal care. This result may contribute to understanding online social behavior from a gene*environment perspective.

From the Cradle to the Web: The Growth of “Sharenting”—A Scientometric Perspective

“Sharenting” is an internet trend in which parents report detailed information or repeatedly post pictures, videos, and other content about their children on social media. Due to the duality of sharenting, which takes place online but has offline consequences, it is essential to understand the implications of sharenting for real-world parenting and child development. The present work analyzes references in the existing literature and links among published articles to better understand sharenting, evidence for it, and major topics associated with it and to uncover the gaps in the literature. Citation analysis of the current literature mainly focuses on risks and benefits related to sharenting practices, especially for the children, and on ethical and privacy concerns. Future studies should investigate the psychological mechanisms that drive sharenting-related behaviors in parents and multidisciplinary approaches to the phenomenon. With a broader perspective on these issues, practitioners and professionals in family studies will be able to delineate guidelines for informative interventions to increase awarenes about the causes and consequences of publicly sharing child content.

Knowledge Map of Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development: A Visual Analysis Using CiteSpace

Spatial planning has become an important measure for countries and regions to promote sustainable development. However, there remains a lack of systematic and quantitative research on spatial planning worldwide. In this study, CiteSpace was used to perform bibliometric analysis and visualization research on the Web of Science core collection and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. It was found that: (1) The number of papers published in global spatial planning research shows an increasing trend, especially after 2018, with China showing an obvious increasing trend. (2) Globally, the United States has the largest number of relevant research results, and Italy has the most cooperation with other countries. The highest research output is from developed countries, while that of developing countries is relatively weak. (3) There is some intersection among countries, disciplines, and authors but it is not strong, indicating that cooperation should be strengthened. (4) Through keyword cluster, timeline, and time zone analysis, global development can be roughly divided into three stages: the first stage is characterized by the study of spatial planning system theory, the second stage is characterized by building green infrastructure and providing ecological services, and the third stage is characterized by an emphasis on public participation and the establishment of justice mechanisms. China’s development corresponds to three stages: the theory and experience learning stage, the spatial planning system focused on economic development stage, and the integration of multiple plans and the sustainable development exploration stage. (5) There are differences in burst words between the world and China, indicating that there are great differences in research hotspots in different countries’ periods and conditions.

Interpersonal Synchrony in the Context of Caregiver-Child Interactions: A Document Co-citation Analysis

Social interactions accompany individuals throughout their whole lives. When examining the underlying mechanisms of social processes, dynamics of synchrony, coordination or attunement emerge between individuals at multiple levels. To identify the impactful publications that studied such mechanisms and establishing the trends that dynamically originated the available literature, the current study adopted a scientometric approach. A sample of 543 documents dated from 1971 to 2021 was derived from Scopus. Subsequently, a document co-citation analysis was conducted on 29,183 cited references to examine the patterns of co-citation among the documents. The resulting network consisted of 1,759 documents connected to each other by 5,011 links. Within the network, five major clusters were identified. The analysis of the content of the three major clusters-namely, "Behavioral synchrony," "Towards bio-behavioral synchrony," and "Neural attunement"-suggests an interest in studying attunement in social interactions at multiple levels of analysis, from behavioral to neural, by passing through the level of physiological coordination. Furthermore, although initial studies on synchrony focused mostly on parent-child interactions, new hyperscanning paradigms are allowing researchers to explore the role of biobehavioral synchrony in all social processes in a real-time and ecological fashion. Future potential pathways of research were also discussed.