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ABOUT THE JOURNAL
The JCPCA is a quarterly publication edited by the AITANA research group of Miguel Hernández University (Elche, Spain). The JCPCA publishes original and unpublished works with scientific rigor, written in English, that contribute to basic or applied knowledge in the fields of psychopathology, assessment, and psychological treatment of children and adolescents.
TYPES OF WORKS
The RPCNA publishes empirical articles that meet high methodological standards and make a significant contribution to knowledge in any area of clinical and health psychology applied to the child and adolescent field. Articles must not exceed 6,000 words (including title, abstract, references, figures, tables, and appendices) and should be structured as follows: Introduction, Method (Participants, Instruments, Procedure, Statistical analysis), Results, Discussion, References, and Tables and Figures.
WRITING AND FORMAT
Files to be submitted
Authors must submit three files:
Complete manuscript. This document should include all sections in the order described in the Manuscript structure section.
Anonymized manuscript. This document should include only the following sections: Title and Subtitle, Introduction, Method (Participants, Instruments, Procedure, Statistical analysis), Results, Discussion, References, and Tables and Figures. Any information that could identify the authors (e.g., institution, ethics approval number) must be removed.
Suggested reviewers. Authors must provide the full name and email of two or three researchers they consider suitable for reviewing their work. The final decision to consider these suggestions will rest with the journal’s editors. Recommendations for reviewers:
Suggest individuals whose opinions you value regarding your article.
You do not need to personally know the proposed reviewers; they will not be informed that you suggested them.
Avoid suggesting colleagues or coauthors.
Recommend experts familiar with the topic and willing to dedicate time to the review.
Ensure diversity among the suggested reviewers in terms of gender, career stage, and geographic location.
MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE
Manuscripts must be double-spaced, in Times New Roman font size 12, with 3 cm margins and left-aligned text. Authors should strictly adhere to APA publication standards (7th edition). Templates for formatting documents are provided below:
Manuscripts should include the following sections, each starting on a new page:
1. Title page
(with complete details for the full manuscript and limited details for the anonymized version)*.
2. Abstract
On the second page of the manuscript, the abstracts (in Spanish and English) and 3–5 key terms or keywords should be included. Abstracts must not exceed 200 words and should be structured into four sections: Background, Method, Results, and Conclusions.
3. Introduction
4. Method
(Participants, Instruments, Procedure, Statistical analysis).
5. Results
6. Discussion
including subsections for Strengths and limitations, and Conclusion. These subsections do not need separate pages.
7. Funding and Conflict of interest*
8. References
9. Tables and figures
* For the anonymized manuscript: The title page should only include the study’s title and running title. Section 7 (Funding and Conflict of interest) should not be included.
ETHICS AND LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY
The opinions expressed in the works are the sole responsibility of the authors.
Published works must follow ethical principles of psychological practice, the ethical standards of the responsible human experimentation committee, and the guidelines of the World Medical Association and the Declaration of Helsinki.
Authors are responsible for complying with the ethical and legal requirements of the institution where the work was conducted, such as obtaining the corresponding consents and authorizations from affected individuals or institutions.
Patient studies must not include real names or initials of patients.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission when reproducing material (images, figures, etc.) from other publications.
Authors must explicitly indicate compliance with these requirements in their manuscript (e.g., ethics committee approval, informed consents from parents and participants).
Parties involved in an RPCNA publication—authors, reviewers, and editorial team members—must adhere to our ethics policy and respect the statements based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practices for Journal Editors (COPE; Committee on Publication Ethics, 2011). See the Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.
COPYRIGHT
Manuscripts must be unpublished; partially or fully published works, or those under review or consideration by another journal, will not be accepted.
Authors must report any related works to the submitted manuscript, whether Partial or full, to assess potential redundancy and data duplication. Related works must be submitted to the journal’s editorial board along with the manuscript and cited in the new manuscript. Presentations at conferences will not be considered redundant publications.
Authors are responsible for obtaining necessary permissions to use copyrighted material, including material from the internet.
Submission and publication of a manuscript imply that authors transfer all rights to RPCNA.
The journal holds printing and reproduction rights by any form or medium for published works. Authors remain responsible for their expressed opinions.
PUBLICATION COSTS (ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGES, APC)
The publication costs (APC) amount to 250 euros per article, plus VAT (Value Added Tax)
SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS
Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word format to rpcna@umh.es. Submissions undergo an anonymous double-blind review by two external expert reviewers in the thematic area of the work. To ensure anonymity, author details appear only on the first page, excluded from the evaluation process. Authors should avoid any identifying information in the text.
Using the evaluation template, reviewers will provide feedback, which may result in: acceptance, acceptance with minor changes, rejection with the possibility of resubmission (major changes), or rejection. In cases of disagreement between reviewers, the editor will decide on the manuscript’s acceptance.
Upon receipt, acknowledgment will be sent to the corresponding author within five days. Manuscripts undergo plagiarism detection (Turnitin) before potential publication. Within one week of submission, authors will be informed if the manuscript proceeds to the review process. A response regarding the evaluation process will be provided within approximately 30 days.
Final acceptance may depend on improvements or modifications suggested by the editorial board. Accepted works will be published immediately in the Online First section until included in the next available issue. The estimated time from initial submission to publication is two months, subject to holiday periods coinciding with the review process.
