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

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 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.

A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Mindfulness and Meditation Research from 1900 to 2021

“…In this study, SCI-E and SSCI articles from 1900 to 2021 (4 March 2021) were searched, with “mindfulness *” or “meditation *” as the topic in the WOS core collection, and 19,752 articles were included. Therefore, Baminiwatta and Solangaarachchi (2021) [ 81 ] found that the first mindfulness article was “Mindfulness of Perception” published in 1966, and we found that the first article in the meditation field was “Experimental meditation” in 1963. Meditation and mindfulness are closely related, so the two articles can complement each other from different views.…”

“…Recently, another article using the bibliometric method to analyze mindfulness hotspots was published [ 81 ]. In contrast, the inclusion criteria of the two articles are different, and the final results are somewhat different.…”

“…In contrast, the inclusion criteria of the two articles are different, and the final results are somewhat different. For example, Baminiwatta and Solangaarachchi (2021) [ 81 ] searched for articles from 1966 to 2021 in the WOS core collection, with mindfulness as the topic. Finally, 16,581 articles were included.…”

Knowledge Mapping of Volunteer Motivation: A Bibliometric Analysis and Cross-Cultural Comparative Study

“…Through co-occurrence analysis of keywords, hotspots in a research field can be identified. Through evolutionary analysis, the development process and evolution trend of a research field can be learned (Ding and Yang, 2020;Baminiwatta and Solangaarachchi, 2021).…”

Visual Analysis of Uterine Adhesion Research Based on citespace: Bibliometric Analysis from 2006 to 2021

“…Bibliometrics is a subject which uses mathematical and statistical methods to quantitatively analyze information[18] [19]. It is a comprehensive knowledge system which integrates mathematics, statistics and philology that pays attention to quanti cation [20] [21]. It uses statistical indicators to measure the achievements in this research eld [22] [23].…”