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REVIEW article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Autism
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1522299
This article is part of the Research Topic Enhancing the Social Skills and Social Competence for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder View all 3 articles
Knowledge mapping of autistic traits: a visual analysis via CiteSpace
Provisionally accepted
Fu-Qiang Qiao 1*
Tong-Tong Du 1
Yingao Guo 1
Ya-Jie Dong 2 Si-Ning Li 1
Xu Qiang 3 Duan-Wei Wang 4,5*- 1 School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China
- 2 Yangjialou Middle School, Tianjin, Tianjin, China
- 3 Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
- 4 Shandong Mental Health Center, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
- 5 Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the research hotspots and frontiers in the field of autistic traits (AT) between 1997 and 2024.Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) is used as a data source in the study, analyzing 1,044 academic articles on AT published between 1997 and 2024. The included articles were visually analyzed using CiteSpace 6.2.R4 software, which is used to map keywords and core literature related to AT and to analyze research progress and emerging hotspots in the field.Results: A total of 1,044 articles have been included in the analysis, and the total number of articles has demonstrated an upward trajectory. The nations of England, the USA, and Australia are at the vanguard of this body of literature. With regard to research institutions, the University of London has attracted considerable attention as a result of its substantial contributions to the field of AT. The most relevant research is published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.Conclusion: The scope of AT research has expanded considerably, encompassing psychology, education, and other disciplines. The research dimensions extend beyond behavioral, genetic, cognitive, and neural aspects to include environmental and hormonal factors. Furthermore, the study population has evolved from twins and the general population to focus on specific groups, such as individuals with psychiatric disorders. This broadening of focus has led to a significant increase in AT research in recent years. In sum, this study provides a comprehensive perspective that can inform and guide further in-depth research on AT.Keywords: autistic traits; citespace; visual analysis
Keywords: autistic traits, Citespace, visual analysis, Autism Spectrum Disorder, WOS = Web of Science
Received: 04 Nov 2024; Accepted: 02 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qiao, Du, Guo, Dong, Li, Qiang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fu-Qiang Qiao, School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan, China
Duan-Wei Wang, Shandong Mental Health Center, Jinan, 17035517, Shandong Province, China
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