Journal of Abnormal Psychology®
The Journal of Abnormal Psychology® publishes articles on basic research and theory in the broad field of abnormal behavior, its determinants, and its correlates. The following general topics fall within its area of major focus:
- psychopathology—its etiology, development, symptomatology, and course;
- normal processes in abnormal individuals;
- pathological or atypical features of the behavior of normal persons;
- experimental studies, with human or animal subjects, relating to disordered emotional behavior or pathology;
- sociocultural effects on pathological processes, including the influence of gender and ethnicity; and
- tests of hypotheses from psychological theories that relate to abnormal behavior.
Theoretical papers of scholarly substance on abnormality may be appropriate if they advance understanding of a specific issue directly relevant to abnormal psychology and fall within the length restrictions of a regular (not extended) article. The priority is empirical papers.
Each article should represent an addition to knowledge and understanding of abnormal behavior in its etiology, description, or change.
In order to improve the use of journal resources, it has been agreed that the Journal of Abnormal Psychology will not consider articles dealing with the diagnosis or treatment of abnormal behavior, and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology will not consider articles dealing with the etiology or descriptive pathology of abnormal behavior.
Therefore, a study that focuses primarily on treatment efficacy should be submitted to the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. However, a longitudinal study focusing on developmental influences or origins of abnormal behavior should be submitted to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Editor
Sherryl H. Goodman
Emory University
Associate Editors
Timothy A. Brown
Boston University
Laurie Chassin
Arizona State University
Jeffery N. Epstein
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Kate Harkness
Queen's University, Canada
Jutta Joormann
University of Miami
Pamela K. Keel
Florida State University
Kathryn E. Keenan
University of Chicago
Scott O. Lilienfeld
Emory University
Angus W. MacDonald, III
University of Minnesota
Thomas Widiger
University of Kentucky
Michael A. Young
Illinois Institute of Technology
Consulting Editors
Arpana Agrawal
Washington University School of Medicine
Ananda B. Amstadter
Virginia Commonwealth University
Andrey P. Anokhin
Washington University School of Medicine
Timothy B. Baker
University of Wisconsin
Deanna M. Barch
Washington University
Theordore P. Beauchaine
Stony Brook University
Christopher G. Beevers
University of Texas at Austin
Howard Berenbaum
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jack J. Blanchard
University of Maryland
Christopher R. Bowie
Queen's University, Canada
Brendan Bradley
University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Chris Brewin
University College London, United Kingdom
Jeffrey D. Burke
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Lee Anna Clark
The University of Notre Dame
Craig R. Colder
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
David A. Cole
Vanderbilt University
Meredith E. Coles
Binghamton University
Arin Connell
Case Western Reserve University
Patrick J. Curran
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
John J. Curtin
University of Wisconsin
Tim Dalgleish
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
John F. Edens
Texas A&M University
Thalia C. Eley
Kings College, London
Erika E. Forbes
University of Pittsburgh
Paul J. Frick
University of New Orleans
Brandon E. Gibb
Binghamton University (SUNY)
Eva Gilboa-Schechtman
Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Diane C. Gooding
University of Wisconsin
Eric L. Granholm
San Diego VA Healthcare System
Jeffrey M. Halperin
Queens College, CUNY
Benjamin Hankin
University of Denver
K. Paige Harden
University of Texas
Allan R. Harkness
The University of Tulsa
Elizabeth P. Hayden
University of Western Ontario, Canada
Paula Hertel
Trinity University
Brian M. Hicks
University of Michigan
Tom Hildebrandt
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Christine I. Hooker
Harvard University
William P. Horan
University of California, Los Angeles
Jay G. Hull
Dartmouth College
Jonathan D. Huppert
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Andrea M. Hussong
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Kristina M. Jackson
Brown University
Sheri L. Johnson
University of California, Berkeley
John G. Kerns
University of Missouri
Merel Kindt
University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Kevin M. King
University of Washington
E. David Klonsky
University of British Columbia, Canada
Kelly L. Klump
Michigan State University
Roman Kotov
Stony Brook University
Maria Kovacs
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Ann Kring
University of California, Berkeley
Willem Kuyken
University of Exeter, United Kingdom
Benjamin B. Lahey
University of Chicago
Junghee Lee
University of California-Los Angeles
Zina Lee
University of the Fraser Valley, Canada
Kenneth E. Leonard
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Brett T. Litz
Boston University
Peter Lovibond
The University of New South Wales, Australia
Gitta Lubke
University of Notre Dame
Steven J. Lynn
Binghamton University
Kristian E. Markon
University of Iowa
Christopher S. Martin
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Douglas Mennin
CUNY Hunter College
Richard Milich
University of Kentucky
Gregory Miller
University of Delaware
Joshua D. Miller
University of Georgia
Mark W. Miller
Boston University School of Medicine
Susan Mineka
Northwestern University
Nicholas J. Moberly
University of Exeter, United Kingdom
Brooke S.G. Molina
University of Pittsburgh
Scott M. Monroe
University of Notre Dame
Joseph P. Newman
University of Wisconsin
Joel Nigg
Oregon Health & Science University
Matthew K. Nock
Harvard University
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
Yale University
Robin Nusslock
Northwestern University
Brian P. O'Connor
University of British Columbia-Okanagan, Canada
Michael W. O'Hara
University of Iowa
Thomas Oltmanns
Washington University
Christopher J. Patrick
Florida State University
Thomas M. Piasecki
University of Missouri-Columbia
Diego A. Pizzagalli
Harvard Medical School
Michael F. Pogue-Geile
University of Pittsburgh
Jason M. Prenoveau
Loyola University
Jennifer P. Read
University at Buffalo, SUNY
Angela M. Reiersen
Washington University
Thomas L. Rodebaugh
Washington University in St. Louis
Jonathan Rottenberg
University of South Florida
Ayelet Meron Ruscio
University of Pennsylvania
John Ruscio
The College of New Jersey
Randall Salekin
University of Alabama
Charles A. Sanislow
Wesleyan University
Michael Sayette
University of Pittsburgh
Larry J. Seidman
Massachusetts Mental Health Center
Stewart A. Shankman
University of Illinois at Chicago
Kenneth J. Sher
University of Missouri-Columbia
Jennifer Skeem
University of California, Irvine
Steven M. Silverstein
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Leonard J. Simms
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Tim Slade
University of New South Wales, Australia
Wendy S. Slutske
University of Missouri-Columbia
Gregory T. Smith
University of Kentucky
Stephanie D. Stepp
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Michael K. Suvak
Suffolk University
Casey Taft
Boston VA Medical Center
Steven Taylor
University of British Columbia, Canada
Jennifer J. Thomas
Massachussetts General Hospital
Andrew Tomarken
Vanderbilt University
Timothy Trull
University of Missouri-Columbia
Edelyn Verona
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Irwin D. Waldman
Emory University
Edward R. Watkins
University of Exeter, United Kingdom
David Watson
University of Notre Dame
Erika J. Wolf
National Center for PTSD & Boston University
Stephen A. Wonderlich
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Kevin D. Wu
Northern Illinois University
K. Lira Yoon
University of Maine
Richard Zinbarg
Northwestern University
Manuscript Coordinator
Yuniko Tonge
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Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.
Submission
Beginning 2012, the completion of the Author Checklist (PDF, 38KB) that signifies that authors have read this material and agree to adhere to the guidelines is now required. The checklist should follow the cover letter as part of the submission.
Submit manuscripts electronically (in .rtf or .doc format) via the Manuscript Submission Portal.
Sherryl H. Goodman, PhD
Editor, Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Department of Psychology
Emory University
36 Eagle Row
Atlanta, GA 30322
General correspondence may be directed to the Editor's Office.
In addition to postal addresses and telephone numbers, please supply electronic mail addresses and fax numbers, if available, for potential use by the editorial and production offices.
Masked Reviews
Masked reviews are optional and must be specifically requested in the cover letter accompanying the submission. For masked reviews, the manuscript must include a separate title page with the authors' names and affiliations, and these ought not to appear anywhere else in the manuscript.
Footnotes that identify the authors must be typed on a separate page.
Make every effort to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to authors' identities.
If your manuscript was mask reviewed, please ensure that the final version for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.
Types of Articles
Most of the articles published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology® are reports of original research, but other types of articles are acceptable.
- Short Reports of replications or of failures to replicate previously reported results are given serious consideration.
- Comments on articles published in the journal are also considered.
- Case Studies from either a clinical setting or a laboratory will be considered if they raise or illustrate important questions that go beyond the single case and have heuristic value.
- Manuscripts that present or discuss theoretical formulations of psychopathology, or that evaluate competing theoretical formulations on the basis of published data, may also be accepted.
The Journal of Abnormal Psychology publishes articles on basic research and theory in the broad field of abnormal behavior, its determinants, and its correlates.
The following general topics fall within its area of major focus:
- psychopathology - its etiology, development, symptomatology, and course
- normal processes in abnormal individuals
- pathological or atypical features of the behavior of normal persons
- experimental studies, with human or animal subjects, relating to disordered emotional behavior or pathology
- sociocultural effects on pathological processes, including the influence of gender and ethnicity
- tests of hypotheses from psychological theories that relate to abnormal behavior
Thus, studies of patient populations, analyses of abnormal behavior, case histories, and theoretical papers of scholarly substance on deviant personality and emotional abnormality would all fall within the boundaries of the journal's interests.
Each article should represent a significant addition to knowledge and understanding of abnormal behavior in its etiology, development, or description.
In order to improve the use of journal resources, it has been agreed by the two Editors concerned that the Journal of Abnormal Psychology will not consider articles dealing with diagnosis or treatment of abnormal behavior, and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology will not consider articles dealing with the etiology or descriptive pathology of abnormal behavior.
Therefore, a study that focuses primarily on treatment efficacy should be submitted to the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. However, a longitudinal study focusing on developmental influences or origins of abnormal behavior should be submitted to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Articles of five different types will be considered for publication in the Journal: Brief Reports, Regular Articles, Extended Articles, Case Studies, and Commentaries.
- Brief Reports must not exceed 5,000 words in overall length. This limit includes all aspects of the manuscript (title page, abstract, text, references, tables, author notes and footnotes, appendices, figure captions) except figures. Brief Reports also may include a maximum of two figures. For Brief Reports, the length limits are exact and must be strictly followed.
- Regular Articles typically should not exceed 9,000 words in overall length (excluding figures).
- Extended Articles are published within regular issues of the Journal (they are not free-standing) and are reserved for manuscripts that require extended exposition beyond the normal length restrictions of a Regular Article. Typically, Extended Articles will report multiple experiments, multifaceted longitudinal studies, cross-disciplinary investigations, or studies that are extraordinarily complex in terms of methodology or analysis. Any submission that exceeds a total of 12,000 words in length automatically will be considered for publication as an Extended Article.
- Case Studies and Commentaries have the same length requirements as Brief Reports.
Cover Letters
All cover letters must contain the following:
- the full postal and email address of the corresponding author;
- the complete telephone and fax numbers of the same;
- the proposed category under which the manuscript was submitted;
- a statement that the authors complied with APA ethical standards in the treatment of their participants and that the work was approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board(s);
- a statement that the material is original – if findings from the dataset have been previously published or are in other submitted articles, the distinctiveness of the submitted manuscript needs to be detailed and, if a reanalysis of data, a justification provided;
- whether or not the manuscript has been or is posted on a web site;
- that APA style (Publication Manual, 6th edition) has been followed;
- the disclosure of any conflicts of interest with regard to the submitted work;
- a request for masked review, if desired, along with a statement ensuring that the manuscript was prepared in accordance with the guidelines above.
Authors should also specify the overall length of the manuscript (in words) and indicate the number of tables and figures that are included in the manuscript.
Manuscript Preparation
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition). Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 3 of the Publication Manual).
Review APA's Checklist for Manuscript Submission before submitting your article.
Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual.
Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations and tables.
Display Equations
We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.
To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:
- Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
- Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.
If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.
Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.
Tables
Use Word's Insert Table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.
Submitting Supplemental Materials
APA can now place supplementary materials online, available via the published article in the PsycARTICLES® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online Material for more details.
Abstract and Keywords
All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on a separate page. After the abstract, please supply up to five keywords or brief phrases.
References
List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the References section.
Examples of basic reference formats:
Journal Article:
Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225–229. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225
Authored Book:
Mitchell, T. R., & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1987). People in organizations: An introduction to organizational behavior (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Chapter in an Edited Book:
Bjork, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory. In H. L. Roediger III & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of memory & consciousness (pp. 309–330). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Figures
Graphics files are welcome if supplied as Tiff, EPS, or PowerPoint files. The minimum line weight for line art is 0.5 point for optimal printing.
When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.
Original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay
- $255 for one figure
- $425 for two figures
- $575 for three figures
- $675 for four figures
- $55 for each additional figure
Permissions
Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including, for example, test materials (or portions thereof) and photographs of people.
Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 47KB)
Publication Policies
APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.
See also APA Journals® Internet Posting Guidelines.
APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).
Download Disclosure of Interests Form (PDF, 38KB)
Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to transfer the copyright to APA.
Download Publication Rights (Copyright Transfer) Form (PDF, 83KB)
Ethical Principles
It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish "as original data, data that have been previously published" (Standard 8.13).
In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that "after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release" (Standard 8.14).
APA expects authors to adhere to these standards. Specifically, APA expects authors to have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years after the date of publication.
Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical standards in the treatment of their sample, human or animal, or to describe the details of treatment.
Download Certification of Compliance With APA Ethical Principles Form (PDF, 26KB)
The APA Ethics Office provides the full Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct electronically on their website in HTML, PDF, and Word format. You may also request a copy by emailing or calling the APA Ethics Office (202-336-5930). You may also read "Ethical Principles," December 1992, American Psychologist, Vol. 47, pp. 1597–1611.


