Eleven years with Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

After eleven years of unwavering dedication and hard work from all parties involved, the Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology (SJCAPP) has successfully established itself as a prominent journal in the field. As the sole journal in the Nordic region dedicated exclusively to child and adolescent psychiatry, we take pride in its evolution, recognizing the critical need for such a journal in Denmark and the broader Nordic countries.

Our journal is currently indexed in reputable databases such as PubMed Central, PsychInfo, and others. Notably, it has been part of Clarivate Analytics - Emerging Sources Citation Index for almost four years, leading to the recent attainment of the first official Journal Impact Factor (JIF) in 2023, an impressive 1.9. This achievement reflects the high quality and impact of the 38 articles published in 2020 and 2021 having 67 citations in 2022. This good achievement continues as the 39 articles published in 2021 and 2022, have received more 50 citations at the moment. This will increase until the final calculation time point in April 2024.

Maintaining a commendable 40% rejection rate, we are committed to publishing only the best articles. Looking ahead, our next milestone is securing inclusion in Scopus, a goal that hinges on increasing submissions of high-quality articles to the Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology.

Our commitment to openness is evident through our classification as a Diamond open-access journal, allowing free access for authors. This has been made possible through grants from NOP-HS Journal Grants, a private donation via Stiftelsen barnforskningen vid Astrid Lindgrens barnsjukhus, and financial support from the Psychiatric Research Foundation. While the NOP-HS journal grants have concluded, necessitating alternative funding sources, we remain steadfast in our commitment to maintaining the journal as a non-profit entity.

To cover direct publication costs, we’ve introduced a reasonable article processing charge (APC) of 600 Euros per article. This fee, significantly lower than comparable journals, is made feasible by the voluntary contributions of our editorial team. We trust that researchers and clinicians will find this fee acceptable and continue to submit their manuscripts to SJCAPP.

Looking forward, we aim to enhance the journal’s organizational structure by establishing stronger affiliations with universities and potential collaborations with Nordic child and adolescent psychiatric and psychological associations. While this year brought the joy of achieving an outstanding first JIF, it also posed challenges with the implementation of the Author Payment Charge (APC) system. After thorough deliberation, we have signed a new three-year contract with our publisher, Sciendo, and anticipate the full functionality of the APC system in the coming months.

During this transitional period, we will send invoices to authors post-acceptance of manuscripts until the system is fully operational. We remain optimistic about the future of the Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology and extend our gratitude for the continued support from the research and clinical communities.