Families, Systems, & Health^®

Editor

Alexander Blount, EdD
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

Associate Editors

Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, MPH
University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain

Todd M. Edwards, PhD
University of San Diego

Rebecca A. Malouin, PhD, MPH
Michigan State University

Founding Editor

Donald A. Bloch
New York, NY

Department Editors

Book Reviews

William B. Gunn, Jr., PhD
New Hampshire Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency

Health Policy

Benjamin Miller, PsyD
University of Colorado Denver

Photography

Gonzalo Bacigalupe EdD, MPH

Poetry

Carol J. Edelstein
Northampton, MA

55-Word Stories

Colleen Fogarty, MD, MSc
University of Rochester Medical Center

Collaboration in Action

Jennifer L. Hodgson
East Carolina University

Angela L. Lamson
East Carolina University

Editorial Board

José Bayona MD, MPH
University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Melissa H. Bellin, PhD, MSW
University of Maryland

Robert Bor, DPhil
Royal Free Hospital, London, England

Lucy M. Candib, MD
Family Health Center of Worcester; University of Massachusetts Medical School

Frank Verloin deGruy, III, MD, MSFM
University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine

Suzanne Feetham, PhD, RN, FAAN
Children's National Medical Center, Washington DC; University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Charles R. Figley, PhD
Tulane University

Michael Fine, MD
HealthAccessRI

Jacqueline Fortes de Leff, MSc
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

David S. Hargrove, PhD, ABPP
Georgetown Family Center

Jeri Hepworth, PhD
University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Rodger S. Kessler, PhD
University of Vermont College of Medicine

Eliana C. Korin
Montefiore Medical Center / Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Patricia Lebensohn, PhD
University of Arizona

Larry Mauksch, MEd
University of Washington, Department of Family Medicine

Marcelo Pakman, MD
Amherst, MA

JoEllen Patterson, PhD
University of San Diego

Richard G. Roberts, MD, JD
University of Wisconsin

Patricia Robinson, PhD
Mountainview Consulting Group, Inc.

John Rolland, MD
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

Nancy B. Ruddy, PhD
Mountainside Family Practice Residency

George W. Saba, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Carlos Sluzki, MD
George Mason University

Julia A. Snethen, PhD, RN
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Peter Steinglass, MD
Ackerman Institute for the Family

Karen Weihs, MD
University of Arizona Medical Center

Manuscript Coordinator

Stephanie L. Pollock
American Psychological Association

Abstracting and indexing services providing coverage of Families, Systems, & Health^®

• Academic OneFile
• Academic Search Alumni Edition
• Academic Search Complete
• Academic Search Elite
• Academic Search Premier
• Academic Source Premier
• Alt-HealthWatch
• Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate
• CINAHL
• Consumer Health Complete
• Current Abstracts
• EBSCOhost MegaFILE
• EMBASE
• Excerpta Medica
• Expanded Academic ASAP
• Family Index
• Family Studies Abstracts
• General Reference Center Gold
• Health & Wellness Resource Center
• Health Reference Center Academic
• Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
• InfoTrac Custom
• Journals@Ovid
• MEDLINE
• Nursing and Allied Health Collection
• Nursing Resource Center
• ProQuest Central
• PsycINFO
• Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
• PubMed
• Sage Family Studies Abstracts
• SCOPUS
• Sociological Abstracts
• Sociological Collection
• Student Resource Center Gold
• SwetsWise All Titles
• TOC Premier

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

Submit manuscripts electronically (.rtf, .doc, or .pdf) via the Manuscript Submission Portal.

Alexander Blount, EdD
Editor, Families, Systems, & Health
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Worcester, MA 01655

General correspondence may be directed to the Editor's Office.

Do not submit manuscripts to the Editor's email address.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts are received with the understanding that they are not being submitted simultaneously to another publication. All case reports should protect patient confidentiality.

• Manuscripts should not exceed 30 pages, including title page, abstract, text, references, tables, and figures.
• Abstracts are limited to a maximum of 250 words.
• Pages should be double-spaced throughout.

Tables
Limit the use of tables to data that correlate specifically to article content or to communicate large amounts of data efficiently. Submit a separate page for each table; provide title for each table; indicate placement within text.

Footnotes
Indicate them by a superscript number at the appropriate place in the text. The numbered list of footnotes, typed double-spaced, should appear after the reference list.

References in Text
Cite author and date of works used. First citation may include up to five authors; in subsequent citations of 3+ authors, state surname of first author, then et al. and the publication date, e.g., Jones et al. (1994). Multiple citations must be listed in alphabetical order.

Title/Cover Page

Because Families, Systems, & Health^® uses a masked review system, the title page of the manuscript should include only the title, and the authors' names should not be included on any pages of the manuscript.

Please ensure that the final version for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.

The cover page should be used to provide identifying information about the authors.

In the cover letter

• Indicate full names of authors, in the order of their contributions, with lead author listed first
• Include affiliation and location during the study plus current affiliation and location if they changed since then.
• Indicate grant support the authors wish to acknowledge.

Editing and Final Proofs

After an article has been accepted for publication, it is edited for conformity of style to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.), clarity of presentation, coherence, punctuation, standard usage of terms, spelling, etc. The first author will receive the copyedited manuscript for review and must return it within two business days of receipt.

Reprint Orders

Authors may order reprints of their articles from the printer when they receive their copyedited manuscript for review.

Submitting a Manuscript in Spanish

In order to make Families, Systems, and Health meaningful to a wider audience, we would like to better represent some of the work on family systems, health delivery systems, and collaborative care that is being done in the Spanish-speaking world. To do this, we are making it possible for authors to submit manuscripts in Spanish.

We have made arrangements so that manuscripts can be reviewed by Spanish-speaking experts in the field and undergo editorial review and response in Spanish. Only when a manuscript has been accepted in a final form in Spanish will it need to be translated into English.

All publication will continue to be in English. At that time, the translation will be done by a professional translation service contracted by Families, System, & Health. THE TRANSLATION IS DONE AT THE AUTHORS' EXPENSE. (The current rate is $.18 per word [18 centavos de dolar], but that is subject to change.) The submission of a manuscript is done through the same portal as are manuscripts in English.

Instrucciones para los autores

Manuscript Preparation

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th 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.

Other Information

• Appeals Process for Manuscript Submissions
• Preparing Auxiliary Files for Production
• Document Deposit Procedures for APA Journals