Get your Child Abuse and Neglect paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 3 August, 2026
Submitting to Child Abuse and Neglect goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Child Abuse and Neglect guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Child Abuse and Neglect. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Child Abuse and Neglect journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Child Abuse and Neglect guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Child Abuse and Neglect guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | Child Abuse Neglect requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract, no more than 250 words. For Research Articles and Reviews: structured format including sections - Background, Objective, Participants and Setting, Methods, Results (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical significance), and Conclusions. For Medical Reports: same structured format (250 words max) with same sections. For Discussion Articles: unstructured abstract that clearly outlines the issue or gap, the discussion approach, key messages and implications |
| Main text | Medical Reports: 3,000 words (excluding abstract, tables, figures, references or appendices), up to 5 figures or tables. Research Articles and Reviews: no word/page limit stated in the guide. Discussion Articles: reference states 'follows the same word length' which appears to refer to 3,000 words but is ambiguous |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 1 to 6 keywords required for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using 'and' or 'of'). Abbreviations in keywords only if firmly established in the field |
| References | APA style (American Psychological Association). References should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020). Citations in text follow APA style; reference list arranged alphabetically then chronologically |
| Peer review | Double anonymized (double-blind) peer review. Author identities are concealed from reviewers and vice versa |
| Submission | submit.elsevier.com/CHIABUNEG |
Read the Child Abuse and Neglect guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Child Abuse and Neglect in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Child Abuse Neglect papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Child Abuse and Neglect journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Child Abuse and Neglect guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.