World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Child Abuse and Neglect
H-index 41

Child Abuse and Neglect

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Psychology 70 407 538 37
Medicine 1130 90 92 21

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 641
Documents by Best Scientists*: 714
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 27
SCIMAGO H-index: 184
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.497
Impact Factor: 3.4

Overview

Top Research Topics at Child Abuse & Neglect?

Child abuse, Suicide prevention, Injury prevention, Psychiatry and Human factors and ergonomics are the subjects of interest in Child Abuse & Neglect. It explores topics in Child abuse which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Developmental psychology, Neglect, Sexual abuse and Clinical psychology. The work on Developmental psychology tackled in the journal brings together disciplines like Social support, Social psychology and Social environment.

The studies in Neglect featured incorporate elements of Child protection and Child neglect. The research on Sexual abuse featured in it combines topics in other fields like Sexual violence and Human sexuality. The journal addresses concerns in Clinical psychology which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Psychological intervention and Anxiety.

Concepts in Occupational safety and health, as well as related topics in Family medicine, are covered in the Suicide prevention research presented in the journal. In addition to Injury prevention research, the journal aims to explore topics under Foster care, Context (language use), Demography and Pediatrics. The in-depth study on Psychiatry also explores topics in the intersecting field of Domestic violence.

  • Child abuse (55.28%)
  • Suicide prevention (43.37%)
  • Injury prevention (40.60%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (2897 citations)
  • Identification of child maltreatment with the Parent–Child Conflict Tactics Scales: Development and psychometric data for a national sample of American parents. (1643 citations)
  • Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors (1541 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Child Abuse & Neglect:

The most cited publications tackle a plethora of topics, such as Child abuse, Sexual abuse, Psychiatry, Victimology and Suicide prevention. The journal articles with studies in Child abuse featured incorporate elements of Developmental psychology, Neglect and Clinical psychology. The journal articles explore topics in Sexual abuse which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Sexual violence and Human sexuality.

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Child Abuse & Neglect (based on the number of publications) are:

  • David Finkelhor (63 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • David P.H. Jones (46 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • John M. Leventhal (37 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Joel S. Milner (35 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Barbara Fallon (31 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Child Abuse & Neglect (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Boston Children's Hospital (150 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Colorado Denver (115 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • University of Toronto (105 papers) published 10 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of New Hampshire (102 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (91 papers) published 9 papers at the last edition, 7 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 1.60% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 15.95% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 13.24% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 15.68% of all publications and 55.14% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Child Abuse & Neglect Research

One key aspect not covered is the career aspect after studying Child Abuse & Neglect. As a student or researcher, you may gain a significant amount of knowledge and understanding in this field, but knowing how to apply it in a professional setting is crucial. Professionals in this field can explore a wide range of opportunities. These may include roles in law enforcement, clinical psychology, social work, child advocacy, or medical fields. Particular positions may be as social workers, first responders, child protective services workers, clinicians, and more. One specific opportunity worth exploring is becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). A BCBA uses the principles of learning and behavior to help people develop social skills, learning skills, and life skills, all of which can be invaluable in dealing with the aftermath of child abuse and neglect. Their work includes creating treatment plans, consulting with other professionals and family members, and conducting research to continuously advance scientific understanding of human behavior. This can be a very rewarding career path, offering a tangible way to make a difference in affected children's lives. For those interested in becoming a BCBA, learning about this process is essential. It involves acquiring the proper education (typically a Master's degree or higher), gaining a substantial amount of supervised practical experience, and passing the BCBA certification exam. The details of this process, including the requirements and best paths for completion, can be found in our dedicated article on how to become a bcba in arkansas online. In summary, the field of Child Abuse & Neglect offers various career opportunities that not only provide a way to make a living, but also allow making a positive impact on the community and individual lives.

Top Publications

  • Child maltreatment and depression: A meta-analysis of studies using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

    Kathryn L. Humphreys;Joelle LeMoult;John G. Wear;Hannah A. Piersiak

    (2020)
    496 Citations
  • Effects of maltreatment on coping and emotion regulation in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic review.

    Meredith A. Gruhn;Bruce E. Compas

    (2020)
    250 Citations
  • Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), peer victimization, and substance use among adolescents

    Tracie O. Afifi;Tamara Taillieu;Samantha Salmon;Isabel Garcés Davila

    (2020)
    175 Citations
  • Frequencies and patterns of adverse childhood events in LGBTQ+ youth

    Shelley L. Craig;Ashley Austin;Jill Levenson;Vivian W.Y. Leung

    (2020)
    129 Citations
  • Questioning the use of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) questionnaires

    John D. McLennan;John D. McLennan;Harriet L. MacMillan;Tracie O. Afifi

    (2020)
    115 Citations
  • Is the psychological impact of exposure to COVID-19 stronger in adolescents with pre-pandemic maltreatment experiences? A survey of rural Chinese adolescents.

    Jing Guo;Mingqi Fu;Danxia Liu;Bo Zhang

    (2020)
    108 Citations
  • Trends in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the United States.

    David Finkelhor

    (2020)
    101 Citations
  • Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) research: A bibliometric analysis of publication trends over the first 20 years

    Shannon Struck;Ashley Stewart-Tufescu;Aleiia J.N. Asmundson;Gordon G.J. Asmundson

    (2021)
    96 Citations
  • Telemental health for child trauma treatment during and post-COVID-19: Limitations and considerations.

    Nicole Racine;Cailey Hartwick;Delphine Collin-Vézina;Sheri Madigan;Sheri Madigan

    (2020)
    95 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

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