Journal of Psychology in Africa
1815-5626 (Online)
1.2 (2022) Impact Factor
1.2 (2022) 5-year IF
1.6 (2022) CiteScore (Scopus)
Accredited with the DHET (SAPSE)
Aims & Scope
Findings from psychological research in Africa and related regions need a inter-disciplinary forum for broad-based dissemination and utilisation in the context of development. The Journal of Psychology in Africa provides such a forum. Its core mission is to advance psychological research for the social-cultural and health development in Africanist settings, inclusive of the African diaspora communities around the globe. Research that addresses African heritage realities and opportunities is particularly encouraged. Contributions should attempt a synthesis of local and universal methodologies and applications, contributing to the wider body of knowledge in the applied psychological sciences.
The Journal of Psychology in Africa publishes original empirical research articles, research reviews, conceptual development articles and thematic issues. Manuscripts can be regular research reports, brief reports, and those that address topical professional issues, including case analysis reports. Book reviews are accepted for publication as special announcements. Specifically, manuscripts with the following qualities are encouraged: (1) Combine quantitative and qualitative data, (2) Take a systematic qualitative or ethnographic approach, (3) Use an original and creative methodological approach, (4) Address an important but overlooked topic, (5) Present new theoretical or conceptual idea, and (6) Present innovative context sensitive applications. Manuscript for publication consideration should show an awareness of the cultural context of the research questions asked, the measures used, the results obtained, and interpretations proposed. Finally the papers should be practical, based on local experience, and applicable to crucial efforts in key areas of psychology for development in African cultural heritage settings.
Editors
Editor-in-Chief
Prof Elias Mpofu, University of North Texas, USA and University of Sydney, Australia.
Email: elias.mpofu@unt.edu/elias.mpofu@sydney.edu.au
Associate Editors
Prof Debra Harley, University of Kentucky, USA
Dr Kayi Ntinda, University of Swaziland, Swaziland
Prof David Lackland Sam, Bergen University, Norway
Prof Robert Schweitzer, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Consulting Editors
Dr Sijmen Brouwers, North West University, South Africa
Prof David Chakuchichi, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
Prof Regis Chireshe, Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe
Prof Melinde Coetzee, University of South Africa, South Africa
Dr Celeste Combrinck, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Dr Werner De Klerk, North West University, South Africa
Dr Nelesh Dhanpat, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Dr Velichko H. Fetvadjiev, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Prof Carin Hill, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Prof Katijah Khoza-Shangase, University of the Witwatersrand,South Africa
Prof Joon-ho Kim, Sangmyung University, South Korea
Prof Malose Langa, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Prof George I. Mamoleo, West Virginia University, USA
Prof Jacobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Prof Henry Mason, Tswane University of Technology, South Africa
Dr Trudy Meehan, Rhodes University, South Africa
Dr Anitha Menon, University of Zambia, Zambia
Dr Magen Mhaka-Mutepfa, University of Botswana, Botswana
Dr Jabulani Mpofu, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
Prof Nithi Muthukrishna, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Prof Kathryn Nel, University of Limpopo, South Africa
Prof Augustine Nwoye, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Dr Desmond Uchechukwu Onu, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
Dr Samuel Asiedu Owusu, University of Cape Coast,Cape Coast, Ghana
Alex Pieterse, University of Albany, USA
Prof Vera Ross, North West University, South Africa
Prof Zewelanji Serpell, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
Prof Graham Stead, Cleveland State University, USA
Dr Linda Theron, North West University, South Africa
Prof Ava D. Thompson, University of the Bahamas, Bahamas
Dr Leigang Zhang, Department of Psychology, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, China
Prof Herbery Zirima, Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe
Book Review Editor
Prof Maximus Sefotho, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Advisory Board
Dr Clemente Abrokwaa, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Prof Alfred Adegoke, University of Ilorin, Nigeria
Prof David Chakuchichi, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
Prof Patricia Greenfield, University of California at Los Angeles
Prof Christin Jungers, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Prof Lisa Lopez Levers, Duquesne University, USA
Latest Issue
Volume 33, Issue 5, 2023
Research Article
Towards improving the utilisation of counselling centre services by Ghanaian university students: An exploratory study
Self-esteem mediation of perceived social support and depression in university first-year students: A longitudinal study
How college students’ social media information overload affects sleep quality: The mediating effect of social fatigue and irrational procrastination
Graduate student challenge-hindrance scientific research stress and creativity: Mediating effect of creative self-efficacy
Beauty and materiality: Subjective social class mediation of self-perceived physical attractiveness and materialism in Chinese college students
Resilient learning experiences of university students: Exploring positive future orientations
Pay satisfaction and work–life balance among Nigerian bank employees: The roles of psychological empowerment and gender
Homophilic social networks and school adjustment among primary school pupils: Results and implications from a Zimbabwean study
Prevalence and psychological correlates of anxiety symptoms in subthreshold depressive adolescents with a high level of rumination response style
Teacher support and student engagement in mathematics: The chain mediating role of academic self-efficacy and achievement goal orientation
Kindergarten teachers’ objective career success and subjective well-being: The mediating role of professional identity
Spatiotemporal expectations of apparent motion and the effect of attentional control
Linking servant leadership to work strains: The mediating effect of strengths use
Book Review
Cross-Cultural Cognitive Test Norms: An Advanced Collation from Africa
Contents
Instructions for Authors
Instructions for authors
Editorial policy
Submission of a manuscript implies that the material has not previously been published, nor is it being considered for publication elsewhere. Submission of a manuscript will be taken to imply transfer of copyright of the material to the owners, Africa Scholarship Development Enterprize. Contributions are accepted on the understanding that the authors have the authority for publication. Material accepted for publication in this journal may not be reprinted or published without due copyright permissions. The Journal has a policy of anonymous peer review. Papers will be scrutinised and commented on by at least two independent expert referees or consulting editors as well as by an editor. A multi-layered manuscript review process is implemented to result in high quality publications: a peer review and developmental review. The peer review process addresses the primae-face merits of the manuscript’s scientific contribution subject to the Editor’s discretionary decision. The developmental review by the Editorial office advises the scientific writing presentation qualities of the manuscript. The Editor reserves the right to revise the final draft of the manuscript to conform to editorial requirements. A manuscript development support charge of USD 1575 is levied on all accepted manuscripts and payable to the journal’s US Bank account. Instructions for remitting the publication levy are provided to lead or corresponding authors by the Editorial Office. Lead authors will receive a complimentary issue of the journal issue in which their article appears.
Publishing ethics
By submitting to the Journal of Psychology in Africa for publication review, the author(s) agree to any originality checks during the peer review and production processes. A manuscript is accepted for publication review on the understanding that it contains nothing that is abusive, defamatory, fraudulent, illegal. libellous, or obscene. During manuscript submission, authors should declare any competing and/or relevant financial interest which might be potential sources of bias or constitute conflict of interest. The author who submits the manuscript accepts responsibility for notifying all co-authors and must provide contact information on the co-authors. The Editor-in-Chief will collaborate with Taylor and Francis using the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics in cases of allegations of research errors; authorship complaints; multiple or concurrent (simultaneous) submission; plagiarism complaints; research results misappropriation; reviewer bias; and undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Manuscripts
Manuscripts should be written in English and conform to the publication guidelines of the latest edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) publication manual of instructions for authors. Manuscripts can be a maximum of 7000 words.
Submission
Manuscripts should be prepared in MSWord, double spaced with wide margins and submitted via email to the Editor-in-Chief, Elias Mpofu. Before submitting a manuscript, authors should peruse and consult a recent issue of the Journal of Pyschology in Africa for general layout and style.
Manuscript format
All pages must be numbered consecutively, including those containing the references, tables and figures. The typescript of a manuscript should be arranged as follows:
•Title: this should be brief, sufficiently informative for retrieval by automatic searching techniques and should contain important keywords (preferably <13).
•Author(s) and Address(es) of author(s): The corresponding author must be indicated. The author’s respective addresses where the work was done must be indicated. An e-mail address, telephone number and fax number for the corresponding author must be provided.
•Abstract: Articles and abstracts must be in English. Submission of abstracts translated to French, Portuguese and/ or Spanish is encouraged. For data-based contributions, the abstract should be structured as follows:
Objective – the primary purpose of the paper, Method – data source, participants, design, measures, data analysis, Results – key findings, implications, future directions and Conclusions – in relation to the research questions and theory development. For all other contributions (except editorials, book reviews, special announcements) the abstract must be a concise statement of the content of the paper. Abstracts must not exceed 150 words. The statement of the abstract should summarise the information presented in the paper but should not include references.
• Text: (1) Per APA guidelines, only one space should follow any punctuation; (2) Do not insert spaces at the beginning or end of paragraphs; (3) Do not use colour in text; and (4) Do not align references using spaces or tabs, use a hanging indent.
• Tables and figures: These should contain only information directly relevant to the content of the paper. Each table and figure must include a full, stand-alone caption, and each must be sequentially mentioned in the text. Collect tables and figures together at the end of the manuscript or
supply as separate files. Indicate the correct placement in the text in this form
Referencing
Referencing style should follow latest edition of the APA manual of instructions for authors.
• References in text: References in running text should be quoted as follows: (Louw & Mkize, 2012), or ( Louw, 2011), or Louw (2000, 2004a, 2004b). All surnames should be cited the first time the reference occurs, e.g., Louw, Mkize, and Naidoo (2009) or (Louw, Mkize, & Naidoo, 2010). Subsequent citations should use et al., e.g. Louw et al. (2004) or (Louw et al., 2004). ‘Unpublished observations’ and ‘personal communications’ may be cited in the text, but not in the reference list. Manuscripts submitted but not yet published can be included as references followed by ‘in press’.
• Reference list: Full references should be given at the end of the article in alphabetical order, using double spacing. References to journals should include the author’s surnames and initials, the full title of the paper, the full name of the journal, the year of publication, the volume number, and inclusive page numbers. Titles of journals must not be abbreviated. References to books should include the authors’ surnames and initials, the year of publication, full title of the book, the place of publication, and the publisher’s name. References should be cited as per the examples below:
Reference samples
Journal article
Peltzer, K. (2001). Factors at follow-up associated with adherence with adherence with directly observed therapy (DOT) for tuberculosis patients in South Africa. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 11, 165–185.
Book
Gore, A. (2006). An inconvenient truth: The planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. Emmaus, PA: Rodale.
Edited book
Galley. K. E. (Ed.). (2004). Global climate change and wildlife in North America. Bethesda, MD: Wildlife Society.
Chapter in a book
Cook, D. A., & Wiley, C. Y. (2000). Psychotherapy with members of the African American churches and spiritual traditions. In P. S. Richards & A. E. Bergin (Ed.), Handbook of psychotherapy and religiosity diversity (pp 369–396). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Magazine article
Begley, S., & Murr, A. (2007, July 2). Which of these is not causing global warming? A. Sport utility vehicles; B. Rice fields; C. Increased solar output. Newsweek, 150 (2), 48–50.
Newspaper article (unsigned)
College officials agree to cut greenhouse gases. (2007, June 13). Albany Times Union, p. A4.
Newspaper article (signed)
Landler, M. (2007, June 2). Bush’s Greenhouse Gas Plan Throws Europe Off Guard. New York Times, p. A7.
Unpublished thesis
Appoh, L. (1995). The effects of parental attitudes, beliefs and values on the nutritional status of their children in two communities in Ghana (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Trondheim, Norway.
Conference paper
Sternberg, R. J. (2001, June). Cultural approaches to intellectual and social competencies. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Society, Toronto, Canada..