Mapping the Scientific Landscape of Psychological Crisis Affecting Child Sexual Abuse Victims: A Bibliometric Analysis
Abstract
This study explores the intellectual overview of psychological crisis in child sexual abuse (CSA) victims. Bibliometric analysis was performed to identify three primary terms “psychological crisis”, “child sexual abuse”, and “victims” between 2014 and 2024 which yielded 2,058 documents from WoS and Scopus databases after applying filtration criteria. The results were generated through VOSviewer and Biblioshiny. The study identified CSA as predominated keyword (11%), while psychological crises denoted with terms like trauma, anxiety, depression, and PTSD (1%). The psychological crisis marked as prevalence provides major impacts in recent research, while CSA remains an emerging topic that is evolving into specific areas such as punishment, emotions, victim blaming, and decision-making. The co-citation and authorship identified Finkelhor and Cohen J as fundamental researchers on CSA and child trauma, while Lyon TD as an influential author on CSA. The findings suggest that the research on CSA and its emotional effect on victims offers significant opportunities for further exploration in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, alongside contributions from pioneer countries and established authors. The study concludes the need to advance research across several thematic areas in order to address existing knowledge gaps and advance scientific knowledge.
Downloads
References
Aakvaag, H. F., Thoresen, S., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Dyb, G., Røysamb, E., & Olff, M. (2016). Broken and guilty since it happened: A population study of trauma-related shame and guilt after violence and sexual abuse. Journal of Affective Disorders, 204, 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.06.004
Akintunde, T. Y., Musa, T. H., Musa, H. H., Musa, I. H., Chen, S., Ibrahim, E., Tassang, A. E., & Helmy, M. S. E. D. M. (2021). Bibliometric analysis of global scientific literature on effects of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 63(4), 102753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102753
Alaggia, R., Collin-Vézina, D., & Lateef, R. (2019). Facilitators and Barriers to Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Disclosures: A Research Update (2000–2016). Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 20(2), 260–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017697312
Alves, A. C., Leitão, M., Sani, A. I., & Moreira, D. (2024). Impact of Sexual Abuse on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Social Sciences, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13040189
Asif, R., & Nasir, A. (2024). Financial stability nexus of Islamic banks: an influential and intellectual science mapping structure. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 15(4), 569–589. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-07-2022-0167
Bajaj, V., Kumar, P., & Singh, V. K. (2022). Research in International Business and Finance Linkage dynamics of sovereign credit risk and financial markets : A bibliometric analysis. Research in International Business and Finance, 59(2022), 101566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2021.101566
Beltran, N. P. (2010). Long-term psychological consequences of child sexual abuse. Papeles Del Psicólogo, 31(2), 191–201.
Boloy, R. A. M., da Cunha Reis, A., Rios, E. M., de Araújo Santos Martins, J., Soares, L. O., de Sá Machado, V. A., & de Moraes, D. R. (2021). Waste-to-Energy Technologies Towards Circular Economy: a Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 232(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05224-x
Celik, G., Tahiroğlu, A., Yoruldu, B., Varmiş, D., Çekin, N., Avci, A., Evliyaoğlu, N., & Nasiroğlu, S. (2018). Recantation of Sexual Abuse Disclosure Among Child Victims: Accommodation Syndrome. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 27(6), 612–621. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2018.1477216
Chen, L. P., Murad, M. H., Paras, M. L., Colbenson, K. M., Sattler, A. L., Goranson, E. N., Elamin, M. B., Seime, R. J., Shinozaki, G., Prokop, L. J., & Zirakzadeh, A. (2010). Sexual abuse and lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 85(7), 618–629. https://doi.org/10.4065/mcp.2009.0583
Choi, S. S., Yang, S. B., Lim, M. H., Lim, J. Y., Kim, K. M., Lee, Y., Shim, S. H., Kim, M. S., & Chang, H. Y. (2023). Psychological aftereffects experienced by sexually abused children: Psychopathological characteristics revealed by the K-CBCL. Medicine, 102(38), E34699. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000034699
Cicchetti, D., & Handley, E. D. (2019). Child maltreatment and the development of substance use and disorder. Neurobiology of Stress, 10(January), 100144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.100144
Cobo, M. J., & Herrera, F. (2011). An approach for detecting , quantifying , and visualizing the evolution of a research field : A practical application to the Fuzzy Sets Theory field. Journal of Informetrics, 5(1), 146–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2010.10.002
Collin-Vézina, D., De La Sablonnière-Griffin, M., Sivagurunathan, M., Lateef, R., Alaggia, R., McElvaney, R., & Simpson, M. (2021). “How many times did I not want to live a life because of him”: the complex connections between child sexual abuse, disclosure, and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 8(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-020-00142-6
Côté, P. B., Flynn, C., Dubé, K., Fernet, M., Maheu, J., Gosslin-Pelerin, A., Couturier, P., Cribb, M., Petrucci, G., & Cousineau, M. M. (2022). “It Made Me so Vulnerable”: Victim-blaming and Disbelief of Child Sexual Abuse as Triggers of Social Exclusion Leading Women to Homelessness. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 31(2), 177–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2022.2037804
Dolev-Cohen, M., Ricon, T., & Levkovich, I. (2020). #WhyIDidntReport: Reasons why young Israelis do not submit complaints regarding sexual abuse. Children and Youth Services Review, 115(January), 105044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105044
Dong, X., Wei, X., Shu, F., Su, Q., Wang, J., Liu, N., & Qiu, J. (2022). A Bibliometric Analysis on Global Psychological and Behavioral Research Landscape on COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020879
Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133(5), 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070
Dworkin, E. R., Menon, S. V., Bystrynski, J., & Allen, N. E. (2017). Sexual assault victimization and psychopathology: A review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 56(3), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.06.002
Easton, S. D., Saltzman, L. Y., & Willis, D. G. (2014). “Would you tell under circumstances like that?”: Barriers to disclosure of child sexual abuse for men. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 15(4), 460–469. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034223
Florentino, B. R. B. (2015). As possíveis consequências do abuso sexual praticado contra crianças e adolescentes. Fractal : Revista de Psicologia, 27(2), 139–144. https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-0292/805
García-Lillo, F., Sánchez-García, E., Marco-lajara, B., & Seva-Larrosa, P. (2023). Renewable Energies and Sustainable Development : A Bibliometric Overview. Energies, 16(1211), 1–22.
Hailes, H. P., Yu, R., Danese, A., & Fazel, S. (2019). Long-term outcomes of childhood sexual abuse: an umbrella review. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(10), 830–839. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30286-X
Halvorsen, J. E., Tvedt Solberg, E., & Hjelen Stige, S. (2020). “To say it out loud is to kill your own childhood.” – An exploration of the first person perspective of barriers to disclosing child sexual abuse. Children and Youth Services Review, 113(11), 104999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104999
Huang, D., Liu, D., Wan, X., Zou, K., & Gong, X. (2024). A bibliometric and knowledge-map analysis of psychological violence from 2003 to 2022. Heliyon, 10(18), e37675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37675
Hudson, E., Pariseau-Legault, P., Cassivi, C., Chouinard, C., & Goulet, M. H. (2024). Mental Health Crisis: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 1908–1920. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13412
Jardim, A. V., Jardim, D. V., Chaves, B. R., Steglich, M., Marcela Otalora, G., Mithoefer, M. C., Da Silveira, D. X., Tofoli, L. F., Ribeiro, S., Matthews, R., Doblin, R., & Schenberg, E. E. (2021). 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Mdma)-assisted psychotherapy for victims of sexual abuse with severe post-traumatic stress disorder: An open label pilot study in Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 43(2), 181–185. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2020-0980
Kokol, P., & Blažun Vošner, H. (2019). Historical, descriptive and exploratory analysis of application of bibliometrics in nursing research. Nursing Outlook, 67(6), 680–695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2019.04.009
Kumpulainen, M., & Seppänen, M. (2022). Combining Web of Science and Scopus datasets in citation-based literature study. Scientometrics, 127(10), 5613–5631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-022-04475-7
Lev-Wiesel, R., Eisikovits, Z., First, M., Gottfried, R., & Mehlhausen, D. (2018). Prevalence of Child Maltreatment in Israel: A National Epidemiological Study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 11(2), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-016-0118-8
Lo Iacono, L., Trentini, C., & Carola, V. (2021). Psychobiological Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Current Knowledge and Clinical Implications. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15(December). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.771511
Lopez-Castroman, J., Melhem, N., Birmaher, B., Greenhill, L., Kolko, D., Stanley, B., Zelazny, J., Brodsky, B., Garcia-Nieto, R., Burke, A. K., Mann, J. J., Brent, D. A., & Oquendo, M. A. (2013). Early childhood sexual abuse increases suicidal intent. World Psychiatry, 12(2), 149–154. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20039
Maniglio, R. (2013). Child Sexual Abuse in the Etiology of Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review of Reviews. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 14(2), 96–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838012470032
Maniglio, R. (2015). Significance, Nature, and Direction of the Association Between Child Sexual Abuse and Conduct Disorder: A Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 16(3), 241–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014526068
Manukrishnan, & Bhagabati, K. (2023). Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Qualitative Study of the Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Adult Women’s Mental Health. Journal of Psychosexual Health, 5(4), 253–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/26318318231221948
Martinez-Garcia, A., Horrach-Rosselló, P., & Mulet-Forteza, C. (2023). Mapping the intellectual and conceptual structure of research on CoDa in the ‘Social Sciences’ scientific domain. A bibliometric overview. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 252(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2023.107273
Martschuk, N., Powell, M. B., Blewer, R., & Goodman-Delahunty, J. (2022). Legal decision making about (child) sexual assault complaints: the importance of the information-gathering process. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 34(1), 58–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2021.1978213
McElvaney, R., & Culhane, M. (2017). A Retrospective Analysis of Children’s Assessment Reports: What Helps Children Tell? Child Abuse Review, 26(2), 103–115. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2390
McElvaney, R., Greene, S., & Hogan, D. (2014). To Tell or Not to Tell? Factors Influencing Young People’s Informal Disclosures of Child Sexual Abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(5), 928–947. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260513506281
McElvaney, R., Lateef, R., Collin-Vézina, D., Alaggia, R., & Simpson, M. (2022). Bringing Shame Out of the Shadows: Identifying Shame in Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure Processes and Implications for Psychotherapy. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(19–20), NP18738–NP18760. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211037435
Milán-garcía, J., Caparrós-martínez, J. L., Rueda-lópez, N., & Valenciano, J. D. P. (2021). Climate change-induced migration : a bibliometric review. 3, 1–10.
Mio, C., Panfilo, S., & Blundo, B. (2020). Sustainable development goals and the strategic role of business: A systematic literature review. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(8), 3220–3245. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2568
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., Antes, G., Atkins, D., Barbour, V., Barrowman, N., Berlin, J. A., Clark, J., Clarke, M., Cook, D., D’Amico, R., Deeks, J. J., Devereaux, P. J., Dickersin, K., Egger, M., Ernst, E., Gøtzsche, P. C., … Tugwell, P. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Morrison, S. E., Bruce, C., & Wilson, S. (2018). Children’s Disclosure of Sexual Abuse: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research Exploring Barriers and Facilitators. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 27(2), 176–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2018.1425943
Mukherjee, D., Lim, W. M., Kumar, S., & Donthu, N. (2022). Guidelines for advancing theory and practice through bibliometric research. Journal of Business Research, 148(5), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.042
Mulet-Forteza, C., Lunn, E., Merigó, J. M., & Horrach, P. (2021). Research progress in tourism, leisure and hospitality in Europe (1969–2018). International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33(1), 48–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2020-0521
Narter, M. (2023). Crisis and resilience in psychology. Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture and Planning, 4((Special Issue)), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.47818/drarch.2023.v4si113
Nasir, A., Shaukat, K., Hameed, I. A., Luo, S., Alam, T. M., & Iqbal, F. (2020). A Bibliometric Analysis of Corona Pandemic in Social Sciences : A Review of Influential Aspects and Conceptual Structure. IEEE Access, 8(7), 133377–133402.
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2022). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Revista Panamericana de Salud Publica/Pan American Journal of Public Health, 46, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2022.112
Passas, I. (2024). Bibliometric Analysis: The Main Steps. Encyclopedia, 4(2), 1014–1025. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia4020065
Plastock, H., Bruce, C., & White, N. (2021). Survivors’ Decision-Making around Legal Initiation for Historic CSA: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 30(4), 482–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2021.1883788
Ramaswamy, S., Devgun, M., Seshadri, S., & Bunders-Aelen, J. (2023). Balancing the law with children’s rights to participation and decision-making: Practice guidelines for mandatory reporting processes in child sexual abuse. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 81(10), 103464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103464
Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., Abdollahi, A., & Treiblmaier, H. (2025). Telematics and Informatics The big picture on Instagram research : Insights from a bibliometric analysis. Telematics and Informatics, 73(December 2021), 101876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2022.101876
Sheehan, D., Holland, J., & Carr, A. (2024). The positive and negative effects of working with child sexual abuse for health and social care professionals: A systematic review. Child Abuse Review, 33(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2849
Shiau, W. L., Wang, X., & Zheng, F. (2023). What are the trend and core knowledge of information security? A citation and co-citation analysis. Information and Management, 60(3), 103774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2023.103774
Singh, M., Parsekar, S., & Nair, S. (2014). An epidemiological overview of child sexual abuse. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 3(4), 430. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.148139
Sivarajah, U., Kamal, M. M., Irani, Z., & Weerakkody, V. (2017). Critical analysis of Big Data challenges and analytical methods. Journal of Business Research, 70(8), 263–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.001
Solehati, T., Pramukti, I., Hermayanti, Y., Kosasih, C. E., & Mediani, H. S. (2021). Current of Child Sexual Abuse in Asia: A Systematic Review of Prevalence, Impact, Age of First Exposure, Perpetrators, and Place of Offence. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 9(T6), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021.7334
Tawiah, B., Ofori, E. A., Chen, D., Jia, H., & Fei, B. (2024). Sciento-qualitative study of zinc-iodine energy storage systems. Journal of Energy Storage, 79(11), 110086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.110086
Tener, D. (2018). The Secret of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse: Who Keeps It and How? Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 27(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2017.1390715
Theimer, K., & Hansen, D. J. (2020). Attributions of Blame in a Hypothetical Child Sexual Abuse Case: Roles of Behavior Problems and Frequency of Abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(11–12), 2142–2163. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517716943
Tran, B. X., Pham, T. Van, Ha, G. H., & Ngo, A. T. (2018). A Bibliometric Analysis of the Global Research Trend in Child Maltreatment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(7), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071456
Tsur, N., Najjar, A. A., & Katz, C. (2022). “Explode into small pieces”: Suicidal ideation among child sexual abuse survivors. Child Abuse and Neglect, 131(6), 105780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105780
Ullman, S. E. (2003). Social Reactions to Child Sexual Abuse Disclosures: A Critical Review. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 12(1), 89–121. https://doi.org/10.1300/J070v12n01_05
Viliardos, L., Murphy, N., & McAndrew, S. (2023). Mental health challenges facing male survivors of child sexual abuse: Implications for mental health nurses. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 32(2), 490–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13087
Wang, L., Ye, L., Jin, Y., Pan, X., & Wang, X. (2024). A bibliometric analysis of the knowledge related to mental health during and post COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 15(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1411340
Xie, L., Chen, Z., Wang, H., Zheng, C., & Jiang, J. (2020). Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Scientific Publications on Atlantoaxial Spine Surgery Based on Web of Science and VOSviewer. World Neurosurgery, 137, 435-442.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.01.171
Yan, E., & Ying, D. (2009). Applying Centrality Measures to Impact Analysis: A Coauthorship Network Analysis. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(10), 2107–2118. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi
Zimba, W., Menon, J., Thankian, K., & Mwaba, S. (2016). The psychological impact of child sexual abuse on primary caregivers. Medical Journal of Zambia, 43(3), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.55320/mjz.43.3.323
Copyright (c) 2025 Ellya Rakhmawati, Siti Firtriana, Dita Permata Aditya

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right to first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution that allows the sharing of articles published with the acknowledgement of authorship and the initial publication in this magazine.
2) The authors are authorized to make additional contracts separately for distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (for example, publication in an institutional repository or as a chapter of the book), as long as there is recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are authorized and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (for example, in institutional repositories or on their personal pages) at any time before or during the editorial process, as it increases the impact and reference of the published work.