Get your Child Maltreatment 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 Maltreatment goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Child Maltreatment 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 Maltreatment. 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 Maltreatment 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 Maltreatment 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 Maltreatment 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 ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
| Element | Child Maltreat requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract of 150 words. Should be included between the title and main body of the manuscript, and should concisely state the purpose of the research, major findings, and conclusions. For clinical trials, the trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract |
| Main text | Regular articles: no more than 35 double-spaced pages (inclusive of title page auto-generated by the system, abstract, tables, figures, and references). Brief reports: no more than 15 double-spaced pages (inclusive of title page auto-generated by the system, abstract, tables, figures, and references). Reviews of the literature: no more than 52 double-spaced pages. The journal is interested primarily in empirical reviews (i.e., meta-analyses, systematic reviews) rather than narrative, descriptive reviews. Manuscripts should use 12 pt. Times New Roman font for the main body text and references |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Minimum of 4-5 keywords required, listed after the abstract. Keywords should be as specific as possible to the research topic |
| References | APA (American Psychological Association) reference style. Manuscripts should be prepared and formatted according to the guidelines in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) |
| Peer review | Double-anonymized (also called double-blind). The journal adheres to a rigorous double-anonymized reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties. At least two independent reviews are required for a manuscript to reach a Revise or Accept decision |
| Submission | mc.manuscriptcentral.com/childmaltreatment |
Read the Child Maltreatment 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 Maltreatment in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Child Maltreat 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 Maltreatment journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Child Maltreatment guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).