Forty Years of Knowledge Development on Emotional Abuse and Suicide – AI-Assisted Bibliometric and Empirical Insights

Abstract

This bibliometric study investigates worldwide research patterns on emotional abuse and suicide in 898 papers from 1985 to 2025 using data from the Web of Science Core Collection analysed with VOSviewer to study keyword co-occurrence, thematic clusters, temporal development, and country-level collaboration. Five primary research clusters focusing on suicide, childhood trauma, depression, risk factors among adolescents, and emotion regulation were revealed by the analysis. The USA, Canada, China, and England were found to be core contributors in worldwide co-authorship networks. Additionally, an empirical observational analysis was performed on 50 anonymised inpatients from the Socola Institute of Psychiatry in Iasi, assessing the severity of depression (HAM-D), suicidal ideation (BSS) and clinical follow-up results over a period of nine months. In the empirical arm of this study, which involved 50 anonymised inpatients, depression severity scores (HAM-D) and suicidal ideation (BSS) showed significant reductions from admission to nine-month follow-up (p < 0.001), while residual depressive symptoms at discharge (HAM-D T1) independently predicted persistent suicidality (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.02–1.23, p = 0.014). Results point toward the intricate, multidisciplinary nature of the field and the increasing concentration on trauma-informed prevention approaches.