A scientometric review of positive youth development research in China

Abstract

The positive youth development (PYD) approach is increasingly embraced by researchers in China. In this study, we conducted a scientometric analysis of publications retrieved from Web of Science (WOS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The initial search yielded a total of 2122 PYD-related publications (2006–2025). After screening, 406 publications from the WOS database and 206 from the CNKI database were finally included in the analysis. The analysis covered both English and Chinese articles, and examined publishing, collaboration networks, research hotspots, and research trends. Several observations are highlighted from this study. First, the study suggests that The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Beijing Normal University are the core hubs of international and domestic research groups, respectively. Second, through keyword co-occurrence clustering analysis, research themes in WOS and CNKI were identified. Third, this study outlined the trends and hotspots of PYD research in China through keyword co-occurrence analysis, burst detection, and co-citation analysis. Results showed that research from the WOS database focused on intervention evaluation and theoretical exploration focusing on PYD, while the publications in the CNKI database transitioned from conceptual introduction to the combination of basic education and labor education policies. This study systematically synthesizes the characteristics and development of PYD research in China, offering an empirical basis for future research and practical intervention.