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Review
. 2021;12(9):2099-2116.
doi: 10.1007/s12671-021-01681-x. Epub 2021 Jul 16.

Trends and Developments in Mindfulness Research over 55 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications Indexed in Web of Science

Anuradha Baminiwatta  1 , Indrajith Solangaarachchi  2
Affiliations
Review

Trends and Developments in Mindfulness Research over 55 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications Indexed in Web of Science

Anuradha Baminiwatta et al. Mindfulness (N Y). 2021.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to identify historical developments, active research areas, and emerging trends within scientific literature on mindfulness published so far, using bibliometric methods. We also aimed to identify prominent journals, authors, organizations, and countries in the field of mindfulness.

Methods: Articles or reviews which mention mindfulness in the title, abstract, or keywords were identified using the Web of Science. A descriptive summary of the literature was obtained from the Web of Science Analysis tool. Country collaboration, co-authorship, and keyword co-occurrence networks were visualized using VOSviewer. CiteSpace, which uses document co-citation analysis, was used to identify emerging trends and transient patterns in the literature.

Results: From 1966 to 2021, 16,581 publications on mindfulness were identified. There has been an exponential growth of publications since 2006. Almost half (47%) of the publications were in psychology and about one-fifth (20.8%) in psychiatry. The most prolific journal was Mindfulness (contributing 7% of all publications) and the most prolific author was Eric L. Garland. The vast majority of publications originated from Western countries but representation from Asian countries has increased. The most frequently co-occurring keywords were meditation, depression, stress, and anxiety. Co-citation analysis of the early period (1966-2015) revealed how scholarly work on spiritual themes has inspired early mindfulness research. Recent trends (2016-2021) revealed a rising interest in mechanisms and moderators, long-term meditation, neuroscientific studies, and smartphone/online delivery of interventions.

Conclusions: This comprehensive bibliometric study summarized and visualized 55 years of mindfulness research, revealing pivotal points, active research areas, and emerging trends.

Keywords: Bibliometrics; Co-citation analysis; Mindfulness; Patterns; Trends.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number of publications on mindfulness indexed in Web of Science 1966–2020
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Co-authorship networks among the top 100 authors with strongest co-authorship links
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Contributions (%) by countries to mindfulness research in the early (1966–2015) and recent (2016–2021) periods
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Collaboration networks among countries producing mindfulness research. The size of circles represents the total link strength of each country and the thickness of lines indicates the link strength between countries
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Top 10 strongest citation bursts for countries 1966–2021. The duration of burst is indicated by the red line along the timeline
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Major research areas (co-citation clusters) in mindfulness literature during 1966–2015. a Cluster view shows 19 co-citation clusters (in different colors), labelled by an algorithm. b Timeline view shows the temporal progression of activity in each cluster
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Major research areas (co-citation clusters) in mindfulness literature during 1966–2015. a Cluster view shows 14 co-citation clusters (in different colors), labelled by an algorithm. b Timeline view shows the temporal progression of activity in each cluster
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Top 25 publications with the strongest citations bursts (1966–2021). The duration of burst is indicated by the red line along the timeline
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Keywords co-occurrence clusters in mindfulness literature. Five clusters are shown in different colors. The size of circles indicates the total link strength of each keyword
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Top 50 keywords with the strongest citation bursts. The duration of burst is indicated by the red line along the timeline
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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