Research hot topics and frontiers in social anxiety over the past decade: a CiteSpace bibliometric analysis based on Web of Science database from 2013 to 2023

Peng Zhang; Mingliang Wang; Lin Ding; Jianing Zhang; Yuqing Yuan; Xin Tian

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1421907

Research hot topics and frontiers in social anxiety over the past decade: a CiteSpace bibliometric analysis based on Web of Science database from 2013 to 2023

Front Psychiatry. 2024 Oct 23:15:1421907. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1421907. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Peng Zhang^{1

2

3}, Mingliang Wang², Lin Ding², Jianing Zhang², Yuqing Yuan², Xin Tian⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
² Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
³ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Student Mental Health and Intelligence Assessment, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
⁴ School of Foreign Languages, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.

Abstract

Objective: To understand the current study of social anxiety (SA) over the past decade, and to analyze the research hot topics and frontiers in this field.

Methods: CiteSpace 6.2.R3 was used to analyze the literature on SA collected in the Web of Science Core Collection database from 2013 to 2023.

Results: A total of 9940 literature were included after the screening, and the annual publication volume showed a steady increase. The results emphasize that Zvolensky MJ, Pine DS, and Heimberg RG are important authors in the field of SA. The United States has the highest number of publications, with the University of California System contributing the most. Research hotspots include cognitive impairment, risk factors, complications, neuroimaging, and intervention strategies. SA related to the "theory of mind", "bullying victimization", "mobile phone", "network analysis", "technology", and "satisfaction" are emerging research foci.

Conclusion: This study identifies the current situation and trends of SA research, and provides a reference for future research topics and directions.

Keywords: CiteSpace; Web of Science; bibliometric analysis; data visualization; social anxiety.

Publication types

Review