A Bibliometric Review of Research on Children and Adolescents' Mental Health Following Parental Migration

Background and Purpose: The scale of global migration is increasing, and it's natural for parents to seek a secure future for their children. While typically, migrants’ life is associated with multiple deprivations such as high rates of discrimination, earning low income, possessing limited assets, and poor living conditions, they also often face the difficult decision to leave their families behind, which can lead to a host of vulnerabilities for both the workers and their loved ones. Our research intended to focus on the growing mental health issues faced by children and adolescents (CAA) following parental migration, in extreme cases, potentially leading to mental health issues and suicide. The following RQs were addressed: (1) How has the research topic evolved, and what is the impact of influential journals on the CAAMH domain? (2) What is the intellectual structure of the CAAMH domain? (3) What new research topics have emerged in recent years in the CAAMH domain?

Methods: Using a database of 425 English-language publications from Scopus and Web of Science published between 1972 and 2025 (as of March 2025), we employed descriptive and bibliometric analyses using PRISMA Guidelines, explicit inclusion criteria of words. We utilised a Pivot table and constructed a Combo Chart to reflect the grand total number of articles and the evolution of the top 10 journals. We used VOSviewer software version 1.6.20 to conduct the co-occurrence analysis.

Results: Our findings highlight three distinct evolutionary periods, with a notable increase in the third. The influential journals in this field are Social Science and Medicine, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Children and Youth Services Review, and Journal of Youth and Adolescence. The domain's intellectual structure is mapped into eight clusters using network visualisation. These clusters cover topics such as “Health Impact of Migration”, “Health and Age”, “Migrant Mobility”, “Parent-Child Relations”, “Wellbeing”, and “Socioeconomic Status”. The recent trends identified in the three clusters, Family Dynamics, Mental Health and Well-being, and Social Exclusion, demonstrate the multidimensional nature of migration's impact on CAA. The findings helped us to provide future research directions, from the longitudinal impact of parental migration to policy implications on CAA.

Conclusions and Implications: The multiple publications in the sample dataset provide robust evidence that parental migration is associated with an increased risk of different types of mental health problems, including aggression among adolescents, worsening psychosocial well-being, increased exposure to violence, impact on educational development, and risky behaviors. This bibliometric analysis of parental migration reveals a concerning link to increased mental health risks in children, highlighting the need for further interdisciplinary research, particularly regarding suicide risk, in light of growing global migration patterns. Policymakers can bring this issue to the attention of the public during policy and national strategy development for effective early prevention and intervention. The collaboration between service providers, national organizations, and donors could develop and deliver effective support systems for both migrants and left-behind children and adolescents, focusing on strengthening resilience, nurturing family relationships, and addressing challenges like mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.