Psychiatric journals as the mirror of the dominant psychiatric model

Abstract

Aims and methodHistorical trends in the conceptual domains underlying articles published in psychiatric journals are indicators of major psychiatric concerns and practices. Articles inThe American Journal of PsychiatryandThe British Journal of Psychiatryduring the periods 1947–51, 1967–71 and 2002–6 were classified into either a biomedical, psychological or social conceptual domain to determine which domains, if any, were dominant.ResultsInThe American Journal of Psychiatryone or two domains were dominant for two of the three periods. No domain was dominant inThe British Journal of Psychiatry.Clinical implicationsExamined against various scientific and social developments, American psychiatry appears more responsive to current social, scientific and commercial trends and impulses than British psychiatry.