Introduction:

Child abuse is a global problem that affects children’s development and can have consequences throughout their lives. Despite the need to research to eradicate this phenomenon, there has not been a bibliometric approach to its recent advances.

Method:

This study examined 16,708 articles on child abuse indexed in the Web of Science between 1991 and 2020 to establish research trends.

Results:

Child maltreatment is an active field, mainly influenced by the USA, Canada and the UK, and journals in the family studies category, especially Child Abuse & Neglect. The most relevant articles address the topic as part of Adverse Childhood Experiences or focus on its assessment. Considering the most relevant articles, the most studied topics (subjects, research, maltreatment and types of maltreatment, family and parenting, and disorders) and the main foci (maltreatment, research, sex, reporting, and sexual abuse), it is possible that the area is being restructured under the ecobiodevelopmental perspective, with emphasis on treatment and prevention. Its theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Conclusions:

This study updates research trends in the field of child maltreatment, providing a comprehensive overview that suggests an evolution toward the integration of multiple disciplines and approaches. The results highlight the importance of further research on this global problem, as well as the need to evaluate existing interventions to reduce its impact on children’s development.

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