Editorial Policies & Guidelines

The Journal of Marital and Family Therapy is published in accordance with the purposes of the sponsoring organization, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, in January, April, July, and October to advance the professional understanding of marital and family functioning and the most effective psychotherapeutic treatment of couple and family distress. Toward that end, the Journal publishes articles on research, theory, clinical practice, and training in marital and family therapy. Articles are selected on the basis of appropriateness, clarity, significance, timeliness, and contribution to the field of marital and family therapy. Papers published in the Journal are selected from papers submitted directly to the JMFT editor. Authors need not be members of the AAMFT. No remuneration is paid for accepted manuscripts.

Evaluation of Manuscripts

Manuscripts are accepted for consideration with the understanding that they have not been published previously and are not being considered simultaneously for publication elsewhere. The right to reject any manuscript or return it to the author for format, style, or other revisions before accepting it for publication is reserved by the editor. Papers should be submitted in a form that will permit masked review. The author’s name and other obvious identifying notations should appear only on a detachable title page. Manuscripts may be submitted electronically as an e-mail attachment in rich text format (.rtf) to jmft@nsu.nova.edu. Manuscripts may also be submitted by mailing four copies to the JMFT editorial office. The Editorial Office acknowledges receipt of the manuscripts and reaches a decision concerning publication as quickly as possible. Page proofs will be sent to authors and must be returned within 48 hours. Changes are limited to the correcting of printing errors, spelling, dates, and grammar. Substantive changes such as adding phrases, sentences, and paragraphs are not permitted.

Format for Manuscripts

Please refer to a current issue of the Journal for examples of the format and style elements described below. Manuscripts should be formatted for 8.5" x 11" paper with 1 inch margins on all sides. The entire manuscript, including footnotes, references, and quoted materials should be double spaced. Total manuscript length, including references, tables, and figures, should not ordinarily exceed 30 pages using a 12-pt. font.

Order of Manuscripts

Title page. The title page should give the title of the article and each author's name along with his/her primary (current) professional affiliation. Underneath a short dividing line at the bottom of the page please provide:

(1)   A sentence about each author that includes author's name, highest earned degree, current professional or departmental affiliation, and location

(2)   Any changes in affiliation subsequent to the time of the study

(3)   Prior presentations of the paper, grants, or thanks and acknowledgments

(4)   Contact information including name of author, complete mailing address, and e-mail if desired.

Abstracts. A separate page should give an abstract of not more than 120 words, describing the paper’s topic, method, and conclusions or implications. All words in the abstract must be italicized.

Text. Following the introduction, papers should be divided into appropriate sections with headings. First-order headings should be centered on a separate line, bold, all caps. Second-order headings should be placed on a separate line, begin with the left margin, and be completely italicized. Third-order headings should begin on the same line with the first sentence of the section, be indented five spaces, have only the first word capitalized, end with a period, and be italicized, as in this paragraph.

References. Citations should be given in the text by enclosing in parentheses the surname of the author(s) and the year of the publication. The page numbers are included when a direct quote is used. Example: (Caldera, 2000, p. 156). References for all citations should be typed, double-spaced, and listed alphabetically beginning on a separate sheet following the text. References should be in hanging indent format. Journal and book titles are italicized. Page numbers must be included for book chapters.

Notes. Notes should be typed, double-spaced, and numbered consecutively on a separate sheet following the references. Notes should be used rarely.

Figures (tables, charts, graphs). Figures of all kinds should be kept to a minimum. Each figure should be given on a separate sheet. The desired location of figures in the text should be noted, and figures should be numbered appropriately so that they correspond to mention of them in the text.

Style. The style of the Journal calls for formal usage. Contractions, slang, and abbreviations should be omitted, except in cases of direct quotation or when usage is specifically demanded by the context and set forth in quotation marks. The use of the first person should be avoided unless it facilitates greater clarity in expression than would use of another form. All accepted manuscripts are subject to editing. The guide for style is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). This guide can be obtained from the Order Department, American Psychological Association, PO Box 92984, Washington, DC 20090. Articles not in this format will be returned to authors for revision.

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Questions concerning all editorial matters should be directed to the editor.