Global research trends on child and adolescent mental health in war-affected settings: A bibliometric and thematic evolution analysis

Armed conflict and forced displacement heighten mental health and psychosocial risks among children and adolescents, yet the evidence base is scattered across disciplines and regions. We conducted a Scopus-based bibliometric study (retrieved 19 December 2025) to map the field’s knowledge structure, collaboration, and thematic shifts. After screening and cleaning, 1,642 documents (indexing years 1969–2026) were analysed in VOSviewer using co-authorship networks (authors, institutions, countries) and author-keyword co-occurrence with association-strength normalization and threshold mapping. Thematic evolution was assessed through overlay visualisation by average keyword publication year. Output increased over the past decade and expanded into cross-disciplinary outlets. Core clusters focused on trauma/PTSD, depression and anxiety, displacement/refugees, resilience and coping, and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). Recent studies increasingly address scalable school- and community-based MHPSS, implementation, and culturally adapted measurement. This reproducible map highlights geographic and collaboration inequities and guides priorities for longitudinal and implementation research to support equitable, scalable responses.