Child Welfare and Adoption
Child Welfare and Adoption is a research topic within Safety Research. Science Explorer counts 19k research works in it since 1950. 22.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the mental health, developmental trajectories, attachment, and transition to adulthood of children and youths in the foster care and child welfare system. It covers topics such as the impact of institutionalization, effects of early deprivation, behavior problems, intervention strategies, and outcomes for youth aging out of foster care.
- Foster Care
- Child Welfare
- Mental Health
- Attachment
- Adoption
- Institutionalization
- Behavior Problems
- Intervention
- Developmental Trajectories
- Transition to Adulthood
- Research works
- 19k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 4.3k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 22.9% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +14% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Child Welfare and Adoption research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (1k and 321 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 1k works
- 2 United Kingdom 321 works
- 3 Brazil 257 works
- 4 Australia 184 works
- 5 Canada 153 works
- 6 Spain 78 works
- 7 Germany 65 works
- 8 Portugal 59 works
- 9 Sweden 56 works
- 10 Norway 55 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Child Welfare and Adoption research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publishes the most Child Welfare and Adoption research, followed by University College London and Monash University.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 16 works
- 2 University College LondonUnited Kingdom 14 works
- 3 Monash UniversityAustralia 14 works
- 4 Stockholm UniversitySweden 14 works
- 5 Cardiff UniversityUnited Kingdom 14 works
- 6 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 13 works
- 7 The Ohio State UniversityUnited States 12 works
- 8 Universidade de São PauloBrazil 12 works
- 9 Hebrew University of JerusalemIsrael 12 works
- 10 University of TorontoCanada 11 works
Who are the leading researchers in Child Welfare and Adoption?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Child Welfare and Adoption include Dante Cicchetti, Charles A. Nelson and Victoria Clarke.
- 1 Dante Cicchetti United States 2.7k citations
- 2 Charles A. Nelson United States 2.5k citations
- 3 Victoria Clarke United Kingdom 2.5k citations
- 4 Michael Rutter United Kingdom 2.2k citations
- 5 Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Netherlands 1.9k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Child Welfare and Adoption research done?
The largest centres of Child Welfare and Adoption research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), New York (United States), Melbourne (Australia) and São Paulo (Brazil). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Adelaide.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 London United Kingdom 67 works
- 2 New York United States 42 works
- 3 Melbourne Australia 41 works
- 4 São Paulo Brazil 40 works
- 5 Toronto Canada 28 works
- 6 Chicago United States 27 works
- 7 Montreal Canada 27 works
- 8 Adelaide Australia 27 works
- 9 Sydney Australia 27 works
- 10 Brisbane Australia 24 works
Where it is the local speciality
- AdelaideAU · 26.6 works8.2×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Child Welfare and Adoption than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Child Welfare and Adoption?
Among universities, judged by research, Stockholm University, Cardiff University and University College London score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stockholm UniversitySweden | 77.9 | 31.0% | 14.9× | 14 | +37.5% |
| 2 | Cardiff UniversityUnited Kingdom | 75.3 | 20.5% | 11.4× | 14 | +172.0% |
| 3 | University College LondonUnited Kingdom | 73.3 | 35.6% | 3.6× | 14 | +269.8% |
| 4 | University of JohannesburgSouth Africa | 68.7 | 25.4% | 6.9× | 13 | +215.2% |
| 5 | Monash UniversityAustralia | 66.7 | 34.8% | 6.0× | 14 | +3.2% |
| 6 | Hebrew University of JerusalemIsrael | 59.8 | 23.8% | 9.9× | 12 | -15.1% |
| 7 | Tel Aviv UniversityIsrael | 48.6 | 26.9% | 5.2× | 8 | +174.1% |
| 8 | University of BirminghamUnited Kingdom | 47.8 | 39.7% | 4.9× | 8 | -20.6% |
| 9 | Florida State UniversityUnited States | 44.4 | 13.7% | 9.4× | 9 | +85.0% |
| 10 | Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States | 42.1 | 26.8% | 3.9× | 11 | +46.8% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Child Welfare and Adoption research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 14% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Child Welfare and Adoption.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.