NEW YORK -- The top three
psychoanalytic journals are short on original research on
psychoanalysis, researchers said.
Combined, the journals produced fewer
than 10 original research articles annually over a seven-year period,
Jane G. Tillman, PhD, of the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge,
Mass., and colleagues reported in a poster session at the American
Psychoanalytic Association meeting here.
"That's not very many in a scientific
field," Tillman said.
Calls for rigorous psychoanalytic
research studies have become more common in the past decade, as an
increasing number of analysts have committed to demonstrating the
validity and efficacy of what they do.
But the debate also goes to the heart
of the discipline itself.
Critics argue that because
psychoanalysis attempts to explain everything, it's not falsifiable
and can't state a null hypothesis; thus it's not a proper science.
While some analysts say psychoanalysis
is an hermeneutic discipline because of its reliance on the
interpretation of texts, others argue that it is indeed a science and
must demonstrate validity and efficacy via a solid methodology. To
shed light on the debate, the researchers investigated whether there
were significant differences in the number of research articles
published in the three major psychoanalytic journals: the
International Journal of Psychoanalysis, the Journal of the American
Psychoanalytic Association, and Psychoanalytic Psychology.
They also looked at the characteristics
of research samples in the studies, as well as the predominant
methodologies.
Between 2001 and 2008, they found 76
original research articles, which yielded a mean of 9.5 total
articles per year -- only about three in each journal.
There were no significant differences
in the number of research articles published each year by all three
journals. About 40% of studies used interviews for their data
collection.
The researchers said their survey
"raises questions about the status of psychoanalytic research" in
these journals. Tillman said the absence of serious methodological
and research education at many psychoanalytic training institutes may
play a role in the lack of research.
"It really cuts down on the interest,"
she said. Yet she also acknowledged that it's "hard to reduce the
complexity of psychoanalysis into well-defined variables."
The researchers questioned whether the
major psychoanalytic journals receive more submissions of research
articles than they print but reject them because of poor quality or
poor fit with the aims of the journal. Or perhaps psychoanalytic
researchers tend to publish in journals that are not identified as
specifically psychoanalytic in order to broaden their readership,
they suggested.
Tillman said further research is
necessary to find out. Also, based on the high percentage of
interviews used in data collection, developing "clear methodologies
for working with the interview data" may help increase the rigor of
studies.
The researchers reported no conflicts
of interest. Primary source: American Psychoanalytic Association
Source reference: Tillman JG, et al "Research publications in three
psychoanalytic journals" APsaA 2010. |
