Psychiatry Editor in Chiefs’ Publishing Practices in Their Own Journals

Justin N. Nguyen,¹ Robert T. Rubin^1,2

Objective

Several issues about scientific publishing, including integrity of peer review, honorary/ghost authorships, commercial influences, and inadequate disclosure of conflicts of interest, have been receiving increasing scrutiny.¹ The question arises as to how often journal editors in chief (EICs) publish research and review articles in their journals during their tenure compared with before and after their editorships.^2,3 If psychiatry EICs are publishing significantly more often during their tenure, might they be taking advantage of their position in their own journals? Our null hypothesis was that psychiatry EICs do not favor their own journals for self-publication.

Design

As an exploratory study, EICs’ publishing practices were examined for 7 general and specialty psychiatry journals (Amer J Psychiatry, Acta Neuropsychiatrica, Biol Psychiatry, Can J Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry, J Clin Psychopharmacology, and Neuropsychopharmacology) and 7 general medicine journals (Am J Med, Ann Int Med, Br Med J, Can Med Assoc J, JAMA, Lancet, and N Engl J Med). Data collection occurred between October 2021 and August 2024. For each journal, 1 to 6 psychiatry and 2 to 5 medicine EICs were identified, depending on lengths of tenure. From PubMed, publication lists were compiled for each EIC tenure period, 5 years prior, and 5 years following. Articles related to editors’ responsibilities were omitted; only research and review articles (articles also appropriate for other journals) were included. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to assess differences by specialty and time period (the repeated measure).

Results

This study included 450 articles published in psychiatry journals and 96 published in general medicine journals. The mean and median articles per year for each time period are presented in Table 25-0853. Psychiatry editors published several times more research and review articles in their own journals than did medicine editors. In addition, psychiatry editors published 128% more frequently in their own journals while in office vs before compared with 24% more frequently for medicine editors. Analysis of variance indicated that the differences in both journal type (F = 10.33; df = 1,33) and time periods (F = 6.26; df = 2,66) were significant (P < .003 for both). Their interaction (F = 3.94; df = 2, 66) also was significant (P < .02). A total of 4 of the 25 psychiatry EICs accounted for most of this difference, with one EIC having published 9 times more frequently in their journal vs before and after their tenure.

Conclusions

Psychiatry EICs published significantly more often when leading their journals, whereas medicine EICs did not. This finding has several important limitations. Selection of general medicine journals was subjective, and the medicine journals had higher Impact Factors, longer tenure of editors, and likely greater editorship responsibilities than the psychiatry journals. Articles with EICs as first, senior, and co-authors were included, and there may have been different author motivations for submission. We did not assess if the articles with EICs as authors included disclaimers about the role, or lack of role, of the EICs in editorial review and decision for these articles. Nevertheless, the increase in self-publishing occurred in a small number of psychiatry EICs. This should be further explored through study of a larger number of specialties, more closely matched journals, and more EICs.

References

1. Ioannidis JPA, Berkwits M, Flanagin A, Bloom T. Peer review and scientific publication at a crossroads. BMJ. 2023;382:1992. doi:10.1136/bmj.p1992

2. Helgesson G, Radun I, Radun J, Nilsonne G. Editors publishing in their own journals: a systematic review of prevalence and a discussion of normative aspects. Learned Publishing. 2022;35:229-240.

3. Liu F, Holme P, Chiesa M, AlShebli B, Rahwan T. Gender inequality and self-publication are common among academic editors. Nat Hum Behav. 2023;7:353-364. doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01498-1

¹Community Memorial Hospital Psychiatry Residency, Ventura, CA, rtrubin@yahoo.com; ²Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures

None reported.