Military Psychology

Top Research Topics at Military Psychology?

The journal is mainly concerned with subjects like Social psychology, Applied psychology, Clinical psychology, Psychiatry and Military personnel. The journal addresses concerns in Social psychology which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Officer, Peer review and Perception. Military Psychology features studies on Peer review, including topics such as Technical peer review.

The journal investigates Applied psychology research which frequently intersects with Test (assessment). The majority of Clinical psychology studies are focused on the issues of Posttraumatic stress. Military Psychology centers on topics in Psychiatry, with a focus on Mental health.

• Social psychology (23.01%)
• Applied psychology (16.27%)
• Clinical psychology (14.92%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory: A Collection of Measures for Studying Deployment-Related Experiences of Military Personnel and Veterans (457 citations)
• Resilience Under Military Operational Stress: Can Leaders Influence Hardiness? (266 citations)
• Stigma, Negative Attitudes About Treatment, and Utilization of Mental Health Care Among Soldiers (226 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Military Psychology:

The published articles mainly tackle studies in Social psychology, Applied psychology, Military personnel, Clinical psychology and Psychiatry. Many of the studies tackled in the journal papers connect Social psychology with a similar field of study like Perception. The most cited publications hold forums on Applied psychology that merge themes from other disciplines such as Task (project management), Cognition, Military service and Team effectiveness.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• Law
• World War II
• Social psychology

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The main points discussed in Military Psychology deals with Psychiatry, Clinical psychology, Applied psychology, Military service and Posttraumatic stress. It explores issues in Psychiatry which can be linked to other research areas like Military intelligence, Service member and Suicidal risk. The research on Clinical psychology featured in the journal combines topics in other fields like Cognition, Depression (differential diagnoses) and Anxiety.

The Applied psychology works featured in it incorporate elements from Big Five personality traits, Personality changes and Scale validation. Military Psychology holds forums on Posttraumatic stress that merges themes from other disciplines such as Personality factors, Personality, Arousal and Anxiety sensitivity. Military personnel research presented in the journal encompasses a variety of subjects, including Nursing, Stressor and Qualitative research.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Long-term art therapy clinical interventions with military service members with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress: Findings from a mixed methods program evaluation study (2 citations)
• Psychometric evaluation of the suicide cognitions scale-revised (SCS-R) (1 citations)
• Adapting training in real time: An empirical test of adaptive difficulty schedules (1 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Military Psychology (based on the number of publications) are:

• Eduardo Salas (18 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Amy B. Adler (17 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Fritz Drasgow (15 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Michael D. Matthews (13 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Carl A. Castro (13 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Military Psychology (based on the number of publications) are:

• United States Department of the Army (99 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 5 less than at the previous edition,
• United States Military Academy (35 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (30 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• Veterans Health Administration (24 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (21 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 3 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 0.00% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 28.85% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 7.69% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 15.38% of all publications and 48.08% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Military Psychology

While understanding the research aspects and hot topics in military psychology are crucial, it is also helpful to know about the career opportunities in this field. Military psychology is a demanding but rewarding career path that requires a unique set of skills. Whether you are a student looking into the field or a professional looking to switch careers, it's essential to understand the potential career paths available in this discipline.

In most cases, a career in military psychology starts with obtaining a bachelor's degree in Psychology, Criminology, or a related field followed by a master's or doctoral degree specializing in military psychology. Becoming a certified psychologist usually requires extensive training and fieldwork. Apart from education, certain personal characteristics such as emotional resilience, good observation skills, and an understanding of military culture can prove to be advantageous.

Once qualified, a military psychologist can work within multiple environments associated with the military including Military bases, research facilities, and Veterans Affairs hospitals among others. They could be tasked with a variety of duties including psychological evaluations, counseling sessions, research, and even forensic investigation.

If you are keen on exploring aspects of forensics in your career, understanding the pathway to become a forensic investigator may be beneficial. Learn more about this in our guide on how to become a forensic investigator in Virginia.

So, while the field of military psychology can be intense, it also provides the opportunity to contribute positively towards the mental health of servicemen and servicewomen. It's rewarding both from a career and personal development standpoint.