Publication Requirements

Manuscripts submitted to the Saudi Journal of Psychological Counseling must meet the following requirements:

• Comply with the principles of Islamic Sharia, applicable laws and regulations, and the policies, plans, initiatives, and directions of the Kingdom.
• Not promote discord, division, threats to national security or public order, harm to the Kingdom's relations, or foreign interests that conflict with national interests.
• Not contain material that undermines human dignity or rights, incites prejudice, or harms or defames individuals or groups.
• Demonstrate originality and academic integrity.
• Be written in Arabic or English, with abstracts provided in both languages.
• Comply with standards of academic integrity and research ethics.
• Meet appropriate standards of language and punctuation.
• Not have been previously published.
• Submitted manuscripts will not be returned, whether accepted for publication or rejected.
• Not exceed 30 A4 pages, including references, footnotes, tables, and both Arabic and English abstracts, and must be at least 20 pages.
• Follow the American Psychological Association (APA) style for citations and references.
• The journal reserves the right to publish accepted manuscripts on its website or through other print or electronic publishing channels affiliated with the University.
• All correspondence shall be conducted by email. Submission of a manuscript constitutes the author's acceptance of the journal's publication requirements. The Editorial Board reserves the right to determine publication priorities.
• Each issue shall include the following statement: “The views expressed in this issue are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the policies of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, or the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
• The journal retains the intellectual property rights to all content published in its print and electronic editions.

Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

• Set page margins to 3 cm on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right), with single line spacing.
• For Arabic manuscripts, use Traditional Arabic font: 16 pt for body text, 18 pt for main headings, 13 pt for footnotes and abstracts, and 10 pt for tables and figures.
• For English manuscripts, use Times New Roman: 11 pt for body text, 12 pt for headings, 9 pt for footnotes and abstracts, and 8 pt for tables and figures.
• Number pages consecutively starting from the first page, with page numbers centered at the bottom.
• Number tables consecutively. The table number should appear in bold, without parentheses or the word “Table," followed by the table title in regular italics. The sample size should be indicated as (n = ). These elements should be aligned to the right of the table. Column headings should be in bold, while the remaining table content should use regular font.
• Number figures consecutively, with the figure number followed by the figure title below the figure.
• Tables and footnotes should be used sparingly. The number of tables should not exceed six, and footnotes should be included only when strictly necessary.
• Use consistent terminology when referring to tables and figures, both before they appear and when commenting on them afterward.
• Tables should follow the formatting specifications below:

Table 1 Table Title (n = 100)

Content Requirements

• Authors must provide their name and institutional affiliation immediately below the article title, in both Arabic and English. The author's email address must be provided in a footnote.
• Authors must provide two abstracts, one in Arabic and one in English. Each abstract must not exceed 250 words and should clearly state the study objectives, sample, instruments, and key findings. Both abstracts should be carefully and accurately edited.
• The manuscript must include the following sections:

Introduction and Theoretical Background

Provide a focused theoretical overview of the study variables, their significance, and the rationale for investigating them. Establish clear and logical scholarly links between the study variables and support the introduction with relevant statistics and findings from recent studies. The introduction should conclude with a clearly stated research problem. Separate theoretical and previous-studies sections will not be accepted.

Research Questions

Research questions must be clearly and precisely formulated to indicate what each question seeks to examine, such as effects or effectiveness, relationships, differences, prediction, or levels, as well as the statistical significance level and sample where applicable.

Method and Procedures

• Research Design/Method: Identify the research method used and provide a rationale for its selection.
• Population: Clearly define the study population, provide its size based on a documented statistical source, and cite the source of the population data.
• Sample: Provide a detailed description of the sample, including the mean age and standard deviation, sampling method, how participants were selected from the population, and the year in which the study was conducted. A table describing the sample should not be included.
• Instruments: Provide a detailed description of the instruments used, including:
• the name of the original scale developer;
• the name of the person who translated or standardized the instrument for an Arabic-speaking population, where applicable;
• the number of items;
• the number and names of dimensions, with a brief definition of each dimension, where applicable;
• the distribution of items across dimensions;
• identification of positively and negatively worded items, where applicable;
• response options and scoring procedures;
• a brief summary of the instrument's reliability and validity as established by its original developer or standardizer; and
• the procedures used to establish the instrument's reliability and validity in the current study, presented in paragraph form, without headings or tables.
• Data Analysis: Specify the statistical methods used to answer the research questions. Statistical methods used to establish the reliability and validity of the instruments should not be included in this section.

Results

For each research question, present the corresponding method of analysis and ensure that the questions stated in the Results section exactly match those presented in the Research Questions section. Present the findings in tables, followed by a commentary on the information presented in each table while avoiding unnecessary repetition.

Discussion

Briefly summarize the key findings and relate them to previous studies, indicating whether they are consistent or inconsistent with earlier findings. Interpret the findings in light of relevant theories, sample characteristics, developmental stages, the cultural context of the society, and relevant social or contextual changes.

Limitations

Identify factors encountered during the study that may have limited the findings, such as difficulties in accessing particular samples (e.g., males or females), specific age groups, or certain populations or cases, as well as the length or duration of data collection where these may have affected the results.

Conclusion

Provide a brief summary of the most important findings, followed by key recommendations and suggestions arising from the study findings.

References

Include both Arabic and foreign-language references and format all references according to the latest edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual. Arabic references should also be transliterated/translated into English and included in the list of foreign-language references, as illustrated in the examples below.

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