Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health

Aims & Scope

Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health – CBMH – aims to publish original material on any aspect of the relationship between mental state and criminal behaviour.

Thus, we are interested in mental mechanisms associated with offending, regardless of whether the individual concerned has a mental disorder or not.

We are interested in factors that influence such relationships, and particularly welcome studies about pathways into and out of crime.

These will include studies of normal and abnormal development, of mental disorder and how that may lead to offending for a subgroup of sufferers, together with information about factors which mediate such a relationship.

We are particularly keen to attract treatment studies and studies evaluating the impact of a range of interventions and new services designed to increase public safety as well as the safety and well-being of the perpetrators of crime and their victims.

CBMH welcomes a wide range of methodologies and formats.

Both qualitative and quantitative research is welcomed, from both laboratory and field conditions, as are systematic reviews.

Case histories are not excluded, but have to be presented with the same theoretical and methodological rigour as any other research considered acceptable for publication.

Potential authors are referred to the guidance for authors for further information about requirements on length, style, format and ethical issues.

CBMH should be of interest to clinical and non-clinical practitioners working with offenders with and without identified mental disorder.

University students and researchers in clinical disciplines and in non-clinical disciplines such as criminology and law should find the material particularly useful.

CBMH would also be useful for policy makers and government departments.

View Aims & Scope

---

Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	1.3
2024	1.10

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	12672

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	151

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.449

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q3

h-index

Year	Value
2024	63

---

---

Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science
• Medline
• Embase

---

Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Medicine and Psychology, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

---

Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• Some benefits of dichotomization in psychiatric and criminological research

  Citation: 413

  Authors: David P., Rolf

• The search for the age of ‘onset’ of physical aggression: Rousseau and Bandura revisited

  Citation: 273

  Authors: Richard E., Christa, Daniel, Pierre, Michel, Mark, Jacques

• The predictive efficiency of school bullying versus later offending: A systematic/meta‐analytic review of longitudinal studies

  Citation: 265

  Authors: Maria M., David P., Friedrich, Rolf

• Predicting participation, early onset and later persistence in officially recorded offending

  Citation: 234

  Authors: David P., J. David

• Psychotic symptoms and disorders and the risk of violent behaviour in the community

  Citation: 216

  Authors: Jeffrey W., Randy, Marvin S., John

• EssenCES, a short questionnaire for assessing the social climate of forensic psychiatric wards

  Citation: 192

  Authors: Norbert, Mirja, Mick, Jacqueline, Kevin

• Bullying at school as a predictor of delinquency, violence and other anti‐social behaviour in adulthood

  Citation: 187

  Authors: Doris, Friedrich

• Psychopathy and violent behaviour in abused and neglected young adults

  Citation: 186

  Authors: Barbara Luntz, Cathy Spatz

• Problem behaviours in abused and neglected children grown up: prevalence and co‐occurrence of substance abuse, crime and violence

  Citation: 181

  Authors: Cathy Spatz, Helene Raskin

• Criminal, penal and life histories of chronic offenders: risk and protective factors and early identification

  Citation: 170

  Authors: DAVID P., DONALD J.

---