Household dysfunction and child outcomes in the Nordic countries: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Aims: This article provides a bibliometric analysis of the literature on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) related to household dysfunction (parents' substance abuse, physical or mental illness, death, criminality, and divorce/separation) in five Nordic countries. We identify: 1) main patterns and characteristics of the literature on household dysfunction ACEs and child outcomes; 2) highlight research gaps, topics and approaches for future inquiry on these ACEs.

Methods: A systematic search for peer-reviewed articles published from 1998 to 2022 in English was conducted in seven databases. Information from the articles was extracted using a coding matrix that included variables related to country, specific household dysfunction ACE(s) occurring before 18 years, child outcome(s), method, data source(s) and whether resilience or protective factors were assessed. Bibliometric analyses were used to summarize the literature patterns.

Results: A total of N=5003 publications were identified and n=342 publications were included in the analysis. n=112 publications studied two or more ACEs of interest. Divorce/separation was the most common individual ACE (n=97), whereas parental criminality was the least common (n=9). n=197 publications studied child mental health outcomes, whereas educational (n=41) and labour market (n=11) outcomes were less represented. Few (n=36) studies included protective factors.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest a notable increase in research on household dysfunction adversities in the Nordic countries over the past two decades, focusing mainly on health-related outcomes. Future research should investigate less represented adversities, functional outcomes and protective factors. Interdisciplinary and new methodological approaches can provide fresh insights into this public health challenge.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; household dysfunction; incarceration; labour market; mental health; parents; resilience; school completion; somatic health.

Figure 1.

Flow diagram of identification, screening and inclusion process. ACE: adverse childhood experience.

Figure 2.

Household dysfunction ACEs (disaggregated) and number of publications. Grey vertical bars represent the number of publications with a specific household dysfunction ACE or combination of these ACEs. Coloured horizontal bars visualize how many times a specific ACE occurs across publications. Dots indicate whether the ACEs of interest are studied individually (single dot) or together with other ACEs of interest (dots connected with black solid lines). ACE: adverse childhood experience.

Figure 3.

Child outcomes (disaggregated) and number of publications. Grey vertical bars represent the number of publications with a specific child outcome or combination of outcomes. Coloured horizontal bars visualize how many times a specific outcome occurs across publications. Dots indicate whether outcomes are studied individually (single dot) or together with other outcomes (dots connected with black solid lines). qual: qualitative.