Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health (CAPMH) – The official journal of IACAPAP- Reaches New Heights
Authors: Andreas Witt1, Gerrit van Schalkwyk2, Jörg M. Fegert1
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm
2University of Utah
Dr. Witt is currently deputy editor and appointed to be Editor in Chief of CAPMH. Dr. van Schalkwyk is currently associate editor and appointed to be Editor in Chief of CAPMH. Dr. Fegert is currently the Editor in Chief and founding editor of CAPMH.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health (CAPMH) is the official journal of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) and is affiliated with the European Association for Forensic Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychology and other involved Professions (EFCAP). CAPMH is an open access, online journal that provides an international platform for rapid and comprehensive scientific communication on child and adolescent mental health issues from diverse cultures and contexts. The journal is peer reviewed and has held an impact factor since 2015. Additionally, it is indexed by PubMed, PubMed Central, EMBASE, Scopus, PsychINFO and Google Scholar.
The aim of the journal is to increase the knowledge base related to the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of mental health conditions in children and adolescents, and aims to integrate basic science, clinical research and the practical implementation of research findings (1). Further, the journal offers a platform for reporting factors and mechanisms that help children and adolescents to maintain their mental health. As such, the journal is a rich venue for a multidisciplinary audience; this includes psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists, neuroscientists, and allied disciplines. The journal will consider publication of research articles, reviews, commentaries and case reports.
One outstanding attribute of CAPMH as the first worldwide open access journal in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, is its international focus. This is reflected by the international editorial board, submissions, publications, and accesses from all over the world. The thematic series that specifically focused on child and adolescent psychiatry in Africa is a great example of this focus. The editors particularly encourage authors from countries less represented in the child and adolescent psychiatry literature to submit their work.
The journal was founded in 2007 on the initiative of Prof. Fegert as Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Benedetto Vitiello (Italy) as Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and Prof. Goldbeck and Jacinta Tan (UK) as Associate Editors. The journal is an independent journal within the open access publishing company BioMed Central. In November 2021, Prof. Fegert will be stepping down from his role as Editor in Chief, and Dr. Gerrit van Schalkwyk (currently associate editor) and Dr. Andreas Witt (currently deputy editor) will be taking over as Editors in Chief. Prof. Fegert and the founding editors will continue to hold senior editorial positions in the journal and will support junior associate editors in their work. Dr. van Schalkwyk and Dr. Witt will continue to be supported by a team of fourteen editors and by a highly distinguished international editorial board.
The first issue of CAPMH was released in 2007. In February 2013, CAPMH was identified as the official journal of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP). Since its inception, the journal has grown rapidly and has received funding by different foundations. However, the journal also faced difficulties and setbacks as sadly Prof. Goldbeck, one of the founding editors, unexpectedly passed away in 2017. Additionally, CAPMH was under consideration to receive an impact factor in 2009 and 2011. Finally, an impact factor was received in 2015 (see figure 1). The current impact factor for 2020 increased to 3.033. With the new impact factor, the journal has climbed up to rank 37 in Pediatrics, ranks 91 in Psychiatry (SCIE) and remains at rank 66 in Psychiatry (SSCI). We invite the international child and adolescent mental health community to participate in the exciting work of this journal – whether as a reviewer, author, or even as a future member of our editorial team.
Figure 1. Development of the impact factor (IF) of CAPMH since 2015
The growth of the journal is also reflected by the submissions it receives. Especially, since the journal has received an impact factor, the number of submissions each year has dramatically increased (see figure 2). However, the number of published manuscripts has remained stable over the years, due to the rigorous prescreening and review process each manuscript has to undergo.
Figure 2. Development of submissions and acceptances since 2007
Besides the publication of incoming manuscripts, CAPMH focuses on a specific topic in child and adolescent psychiatry each year, and compiles at least one thematic series. The latest thematic series focuses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and is currently still accepting manuscripts. All thematic series can be accessed on the website.
All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo a prescreening process that is supervised by the editor in chief. During the process, manuscripts are thoroughly checked to make sure ethical and scientific standards are met. It is also important that they fit within the journals’ scope. Once manuscripts pass the prescreening process, the handling editor conducts an analysis of the content and initiates the peer review process. The editor-in-chief makes the final decision. Unfortunately, we have experienced increased difficulties in finding professionals who are suitable and willing to conduct peer reviews. This has become an even bigger challenge since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the journal is committed to the fast processing of submissions. This is reflected by the 201 days it takes a manuscript to go from its submission to acceptance and it only takes 13 days for a manuscript to go from its acceptance to publication.
However, open access publishing is not without costs. For accepted manuscripts, a processing charge applies. If the corresponding author’s institution participates in BMC’s open access membership program, some or all of the publication cost may be covered. Additionally, charges from low-income countries are routinely waived. For other countries, article-processing charge waivers or discounts are granted on a case-by-case basis to authors with insufficient funds.
We would therefore like to encourage all the members of IACAPAP to consider publishing with CAPMH and we are looking forward to future submissions. The reasons for publishing with CAPMH are evident and are as follows:
- High visibility of your work worldwide via internet
- Thorough and timely peer-review
- Included in PubMed
- Immediate or very fast publication upon acceptance
- Retention of the copyright by the authors
- Free accessibility and archiving (Pubmed inclusion within days)
References:
- Fegert, J. M., & Vitiello, B. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health–development of a new open-access journal. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2008, 2/22 doi:10.1186/1753-2000-2-22
