Exploring the mental well-being of higher educational institutions students: a bibliometric analysis

Mental health and well-being are vital for the success of students, especially in higher education contexts. The last decade has witnessed a growing concern related to the mental health and well-being of higher education institutions (HEIs) students worldwide. However, the literature related to this research domain remains fragmented and diverse despite the advancement in this domain of research. The present study aims to provide insight into the research conducted in this area in the last two decades, i.e., 1993 to 2023. Scopus database was used to arrive at the key research articles, identified through a thorough keyword string search. Citation and co-citation analysis were conducted to arrive at the results and analysis of the study. The results of the study reveal that the number of documents has shown an upward trend, especially a steep increase since 2020 that indicates the social and economic consequences of COVID-19 have accelerated mental health-related challenges. Also, no country with a low-income economy has contributed to this domain which raises the concerns regarding the health of students residing in developing countries. The co-citation network reveals five clusters that represent key research clusters and emerging trends in mental well-being and HEIs students. The five themes are mental health: an overview; role of higher education institutes in promoting good mental health; stress and depression in students; effect of COVID-19 on mental well-being; and diet and mental well-being. future research opportunities are also discussed.