Scope & Mission

The interest in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychology is growing and the complexity of factors explaining child and adolescent mental health is increasing. Consequently, Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry focuses on relationships between developmental processes, mental health and psychiatric illness with an ecological and evolutionary view. The journal aims to publish significant clinical and epidemiological studies linking developmental science with psychiatry, paying particular attention to the first two decades of life. It also publishes basic science findings relevant to this theme and works from allied disciplines (e.g., psychology, cognitive neuroscience, sociology, linguistics) that may have clinical impact or relevance. We strongly encourage developmental scientists and researchers from allied disciplines to bring their work to the attention of Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

In particular, we emphasize the value of longitudinal studies for increasing understanding of the development of psychiatric disorders, especially the new generation of such studies that incorporate conventional or high-throughput molecular genetics. As longitudinal studies increasingly include structural and functional brain imaging, these will enrich our understanding of brain development and the development of psychiatric disorders. We also value experimental studies from cognitive neurosciences or psychology that shed light on developmental processes relevant to our discipline. There is also a continuous need for careful phenomenological studies, clinical descriptions of new syndromes/psychopathologies, and studies investigating how changes in environmental risk factors and society, in general, may influence the development or expression of psychopathology.

Besides research articles, Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has the ambition to stay close to practitioners. Therefore, we are pleased to accept updated reviews of clinical relevance and case reports/series meaningful for practice.

Submission

Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is composed of the following Specialty Sections:

Copyright Statement