Journal of Pediatric Psychology highlights
The new division journal editor welcomes the new asssociate editors and discusses the rebirth of the 2000-2002 Pioneers in Pediatric Psychology series
By Grayson N. Holmbeck, PhD
I am delighted to begin my term as editor and am particularly grateful to Dennis Drotar and his editorial team for handing over a superb journal with a high rate of submissions, a competitive rejection rate, and an excellent time-to-first editorial decision. I hope to continue to maintain this level of quality while continuing to publish methodologically strong research manuscripts.
Associate Editors
I am also pleased to report that the following individuals will be associate editors beginning in 2012: Dean Beebe, John Lavigne, Tonya Palermo, Lori Stark, Ric Steele, and Tim Wysocki. I think everyone will agree that I am particularly fortunate that Susan Wood has agreed to continue to serve as the editorial assistant for the journal.
2011 Stats
Under Dr. Drotar’s leadership, the data from 2011 are impressive. There were 292 submissions with an average time to decision of 25 days and an acceptance ratio of 35.6 percent. Of the 292 submissions, 245 were original research articles, 15 were literature reviews, and seven were case studies. Moreover, there were four special sections/issues on the following topics: Health Care Transitions (Pai and Schwartz, guest editors), Research Ethics in Pediatric Psychology (Drotar), Rural Health Issues in Pediatric Psychology (Janicke and Davis, guest editors), and Family Assessment in Pediatric Psychology (Barakat and Alderfer, guest editors).
During Dr. Drotar’s tenure, the reviewer mentoring program has flourished (with a paper reporting outcomes for this program being published in 2011). I hope to continue to support and expand this important mentoring program. Dr. Drotar has also provided an invaluable set of editorials that will be helpful to those who wish to submit their work to the journal in the future.
During 2012, Dr. Drotar and our editorial team will share journal oversight duties as he finishes processing manuscripts that were submitted in 2011.
Pioneers in Pediatric Psychology Series
I am also pleased to report that, with the editorial help of Michael Roberts, we will be reactivating the Pioneers in Pediatric Psychology series. Many of you may recall that, in 2000- 2002, papers were published by the following “pioneers” who made significant contributions to the field of Pediatric Psychology and the Society of Pediatric Psychology: Don Routh, Update JPP Journal of Pediatric Psychology Highlights By Grayson N. Holmbeck, PhD; Gary Mesibov, Gene Walker, and Denny Drotar. We will begin publishing these papers again later this year.
Let us know if you have ideas for authors who would be ideal for this ongoing series. We are asking authors to discuss “lessons learned” from their experiences in the pediatric psychology field and how some of their experiences were interwoven with the field’s historical development. We also ask them to share their wisdom by providing insights that might be beneficial to those who are still in training.
Special Issues
JPP’s editors will collaborate on several special issues each year. I also look to our readers to suggest (and perhaps edit or co-edit) special issues that will be of interest to our readership. Thus far, we have already distributed two calls for submissions.
The first, Innovative Treatment and Prevention Programs for Pediatric Overweight and Obesity, has a submission deadline of October 1, 2012. Please contact David Janicke or Ric Steele if you have questions about this special issue.
The other, Adherence, has a submission deadline of November 1, 2012 and seeks to highlight innovative approaches to the treatment or prevention of pediatric non-adherence as well as other issues relevant to this important topic. Additional information can be obtained from Lori Stark.
Additional Info
For any type of manuscript, review the instructions for authors before submitting your paper. Locate JPP papers by topic.
I look forward to serving you over the next five years and may be contacted with any questions.