Get your Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.5
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 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 Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 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 | J Clin Child Adolescent Psychol requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract of up to 250 words, presented in paragraph form. Must include four labeled sections: 1) Objective (brief statement of the purpose of the study); 2) Method (detailed summary of the participants, N, age, gender, ethnicity, as well as a summary of the study design, measures, and procedures); 3) Results (detailed summary of the primary findings that clearly articulate comparison groups if relevant); 4) Conclusions (description of the research and clinical implications of the findings). For randomized clinical trials or meta-analyses, the abstract must also be consistent with CONSORT or MARS guidelines respectively. Avoid abbreviations, diagrams, and reference to the text in the abstract |
| Main text | Regular Articles may not exceed 11,000 words (i.e., 35 pages), including references, footnotes, figures, and tables (but not including the title page, abstract, author note, footnotes, tables, and figures per the guide text). Brief Reports may not exceed 4,500 words for text and references (these limits do not include the title page, abstract, author note, footnotes, tables, and figures) |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Keywords are listed as a required element in manuscript structure (appearing after abstract), but the guide does not specify count, range, or whether they are author-supplied or editor-assigned |
| References | APA reference style (T&F standard APA format). The journal follows the text referencing style and reference list style detailed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association |
| Peer review | Double anonymous (double-blind). Once the paper has been assessed for suitability by the editor, it will then be double anonymous peer reviewed by two independent, anonymous expert referees, each delivering at least one report |
| Submission | rp.tandfonline.com/submission/create?journalCode=HCAP |
Read the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Clin Child Adolescent Psychol 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 Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.