Brief Report: Doctoral Training Origins of Authors Publishing in Journal of Pediatric Psychology: Historical Trends 1976–2006

Abstract

To identify historical trends in the field of pediatric psychology by examining the training origins of authors publishing in Journal of Pediatric Psychology since its formation in 1976. The researchers sampled four publication years (1976, 1986, 1996, and 2006) and recorded the authors of each published article. They obtained each author's doctoral training institution using information provided in the article, the American Psychological Association Membership Directory, or the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database and counted authorship totals for each institution in each year. Four institutions (Case Western Reserve University, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, and Purdue University) produced authorship entries in 3 of the 4 years sampled. The number of articles being published, the number of authors per article and the number of institutions consistently increased. The current study provided a historical perspective on graduate training and scholarly productivity in the field of pediatric psychology. Future research should investigate interesting trends revealed, such as how core groups of pediatric psychology scholars have contributed to the notable growth in institutions, specific programs within institutions, and authors published over the last 30 years.