Visual analysis of college students’ suicide based on Web of Science and CiteSpace software: A bibliometric review from 2002 to 2022

Medicine (Baltimore). 2026 May 22;105(21):e45873. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000045873.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: College students’ suicide is a major global public health problem. However, no visualization study on college students’ suicide has been reported. This study aimed to explore the hotspots and emerging trends in the field.

METHODS: Relevant publications between 2002 and 2022 were searched from the Web of Science Core Collection on April 1, 2023. CiteSpace, Microsoft Excel, and Joinpoint software were used to analyze research trends and hotspots in this field.

RESULTS: A total of 2262 publications were included in this study. The number of publications related to college students’ suicide has increased rapidly and may increase exponentially in the future. The United States led the way in this field, and the top 10 institutions were all from the United States. However, cooperation between different institutions was weak. The authors with the most publications and the most cited author were Hirsch Jameson K and Beck AT, respectively. Journal of Affective Disorders and Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior were the most published and cited journals in this field. A keyword cluster analysis revealed research focuses on suicidal ideation and thoughts, suicide prevention, medical students, mental health, perceived burdensomeness, stigma, and mobile health.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the study of college student suicide is receiving increasing attention from researchers. Cooperation and communication between countries, institutions, and authors need to be strengthened to accelerate in-depth research in this field. The results of this study can provide guidance and reference for researchers in choosing research directions in this field.

PMID:42175418 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000045873