Psychiatric journals as the mirror of the dominant psychiatric model

Abstract

Aims and method: Historical trends in the conceptual domains underlying articles published in psychiatric journals are indicators of major psychiatric concerns and practices. Articles in The American Journal of Psychiatry and The British Journal of Psychiatry during 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. Results: In The American Journal of Psychiatry one or two domains were dominant for two of the three periods. No domain was dominant in The British Journal of Psychiatry. Clinical implications: Examined against various scientific and social developments, American psychiatry appears more responsive to current social, scientific and commercial trends and impulses than British psychiatry.