July Issues of American Psychiatric Association Journals Feature Systemic Racism; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19, 2021 – The July issues of two of the American Psychiatric Association journals, The American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Services are available online.

The American Journal of Psychiatry is the most widely read psychiatric journal in the world. Its July issue offers a collection of articles discussing the impacts of structural racism, socioeconomic deprivation and stigmatization on mental health. This includes the article From Womb to Neighborhood: A Racial Analysis of Social Determinants of Psychosis in the United States, which was featured at the APA Annual Meeting in May. Among other highlights:

• Dismantling Structural Racism in Psychiatry: A Path to Mental Health Equity
• Modification of Heritability for Educational Attainment and Fluid Intelligence by Socioeconomic Deprivation
• Sustained Effect of a Brief Video in Reducing Public Stigma Toward Individuals With Psychosis
• Association Between Benzodiazepine or Z-Drug Prescriptions and Drug-Related Poisonings Among Patients Receiving Buprenorphine Maintenance

“I am very excited about this issue of the Journal as it presents papers that are fundamental to understanding how structural racism negatively impacts our patients and the field of psychiatry,” said American Journal of Psychiatry Editor-in-Chief Ned H. Kalin, M.D. “Our Editors and Editorial Board are committed to using the Journal to combat the effects of structural racism, social injustices, and other inequities on mental health and well-being and this is an important step in that direction.”

Psychiatric Services, established in 1950, features research reports on issues related to the delivery of mental health services, especially for people with serious mental illness in community-based treatment programs. Its July issue features:

• The Role of Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists in Expanding Access to Care and Improving Patient Outcomes
• Community Inclusion and Social Determinants: From Opportunity to Health
• Integrating Videoconferencing Into Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Practical Strategies With Case Examples
• Addiction Medicine Practice-Based Research Network (AMNet): Building Partnerships
• Defining and Addressing Gaps in Care for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in the United States

“In addition to addressing the emerging role of pharmacists in psychiatric care, July’s issue of Psychiatric Services presents research on opportunities and gaps in the treatment of OCD and evidence that stigma responds to brief video interventions,” said Psychiatric Services Editor Lisa B. Dixon, M.D., M.P.H. “Part of our mission is to provide evidence-based practices to transform mental health service delivery, and these studies are very much in line with that goal.”

The American Journal of Psychiatry’s Impact Factor score is 18.112 and Psychiatric Services’ Impact Factor score is 3.084, both increases over last year (2020 Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate Analytics, 2021). Impact Factor is a bibliometric calculation measuring how much the work it publishes is cited by others.

Journalists who wish to access these publications should email press@psych.org.

American Psychiatric Association

The American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,400 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information please visit www.psychiatry.org.