The American Psychological Association has indexed its 5 millionth record in its APA PsycInfo® database of scholarly psychology literature, representing an important milestone not only for the organization but for psychological science.
“This achievement is a reflection of the growth of peer-reviewed research in the behavioral sciences, as well as the work of our expert staff, whose dedication to maintaining APA’s meticulous standards has contributed to the sustained success of the database,” said Jasper Simons, APA’s chief publishing officer. “We remain committed to enhancing discovery and usage of essential psychological research to support scientists, educators and students in their efforts to address society’s most pressing issues.”
APA PsycInfo is the world's largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Focused on the interdisciplinary aspects of the worldwide behavioral and social science research and literature, it is an indispensable resource for locating scholarly research findings in psychology and related fields across a host of academic disciplines.
The achievement of 5 million records highlights APA’s continued role as the leading publisher of critical psychological research at a time when behavioral science is increasingly in the forefront of important societal issues such as social and racial injustice, substance use disorders, suicide rates, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. APA PsycInfo is a single, comprehensive source that delivers the peer-reviewed content and abstracts students and researchers need to conduct and learn from this vital scientific research.
“We recognize that access to credible, timely psychological research is more critical than ever. Our goal is the continued dissemination of authoritative research to amplify the voice of psychology, advance the research and application of psychology, and prepare the discipline for the future,” said Simons.
The 5 millionth entry indexed was “The Mental Health Implications of COVID-19 for Adolescents: Follow-Up of a Four-Wave Longitudinal Study During the Pandemicopens in new window,” by Kalee De France, PhD, Dale Stack, PhD, and Lisa Serbin, PhD, Concordia University; Gregory Hancock, PhD, University of Maryland, College Park; and Tom Hollenstein, PhD, Queen’s University. It was published online May 24 in American Psychologist.
From its beginnings in 1927 as Psychological Abstracts®, APA PsycInfo has been — and continues to be — an unparalleled resource for psychological and behavioral research throughout scholarly and professional fields. The coverage of abstracts from books, journals and dissertations from the 16th century to the present provides a comprehensive look at the evolution of psychology. APA PsycInfo continues to keep researchers current with the indexing of the “first posting” of journal articles — allowing for access to the earliest publication of peer-reviewed research.
This achievement was the result of over eight decades of detailed abstracting and indexing of international literature in the field of psychology and its related disciplines. Since reaching 4 million records in 2015, 160 new journals and more than 8,600 new books have been added to APA PsycInfo, bringing overall journal coverage to more than 2,280 journals. All of these changes have been necessary to cover the expanding and increasingly interdisciplinary literature of interest to psychologists and other social scientists around the world.