Journal profile · Multiple
Addiction Research & Theory
ISSN 1606-6359 · eISSN 1476-7392 · Taylor & Francis
Addiction Research & Theory: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.74; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 166 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 18% (journal website); 66 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Addiction Research & Theory is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes, Gambling Behavior and Treatments and Homelessness and Social Issues, together about 39.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Since being founded in 1993, Addiction Research and Theory has been the leading outlet for research and theoretical contributions that view addictive behaviour as arising from psychological processes within the individual and the social context in which the behaviour takes place as much as from the biological effects of the psychoactive substance or activity involved. This cross-disciplinary journal examines addictive behaviours from a variety of perspectives and methods of inquiry. Disciplines represented in the journal include Anthropology, Economics, Epidemiology, Medicine, Sociology, Psychology and History, but high quality contributions from other relevant areas will also be considered. The journal publishes articles on all aspects of addiction, placing particular value on contributions that explore creatively new avenues of inquiry. Submissions to Addiction Research and Theory are peer reviewed and published if they are both good of their kind and are within the journal’s focus. Articles include theoretical, philosophical and political essays, research papers, state-of-the-science reviews, and descriptions of how to apply research on addictive behaviours to evidence-based clinical practice. "Addiction Research and Theory fills an important gap. Unlike most journals in the field, it is willing to depart from the narrow positivist approach to knowledge that constrains much of the literature. Hence its content is particularly diverse, including a good balance of qualitative and quantitative work, of socially oriented as well as biopsychological research, and policy relevant contributions - often controversial - as well as basic research." Prof Jim Orford "The field of addiction studies is characterised by a dearth of basic theorizing and original ideas. This is why Addiction Research and Theory is such an important journal in the field – simply because it has the potential to help remedy the sterility of much of the current scientific literature on addiction. I am sometimes asked by colleagues about articles they have written describing empirical research or theoretical speculations that represents work of good quality but unlikely to be accepted by one of the more well-established journals simply because of its originality. I invariably reply: “Try Addiction Research and Theory.”" Nick Heather Emeritus Professor of Alcohol & Other Drug Studies, Division of Psychology, Northumbria University
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Derek HeimPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 3, United Kingdom 1 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesMedicine24.6%
- Gambling Behavior and TreatmentsPsychology7.6%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions7.1%
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskMedicine7%
- Behavioral Health and InterventionsPsychology6.4%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine5.4%
- Alcohol Consumption and Health EffectsMedicine4.5%
- Smoking Behavior and CessationMedicine3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PsycINFOCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, Addiction Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, EBSCO, e-psyche, Family Index Database, Research Alert, Sociological Abstracts, Social SciSearch, Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts, Toxibase
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.74LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.75Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.21LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.21Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 85OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 955OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.23OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 29.34%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 64LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 228,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,795 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45 | 22 | 11 |
| 2025 | 66 | 40 | 96 |
| 2024 | 34 | 25 | 216 |
| 2023 | 78 | 51 | 547 |
| 2022 | 57 | 30 | 642 |
| 2021 | 49 | 22 | 596 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
166 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 118 days – 225 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 13 days (101 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 185 days
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (121 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 64 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3
- research papersArticles include theoretical, philosophical and political essays, research papers, state-of-the-science reviews, and descriptions of how to apply research on ad…Length not stated
- state-of-the-science reviewsArticles include theoretical, philosophical and political essays, research papers, state-of-the-science reviews, and descriptions of how to apply research on ad…Length not stated
- theoretical, philosophical and political essaysArticles include theoretical, philosophical and political essays, research papers, state-of-the-science reviews, and descriptions of how to apply research on ad…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal; open access publishing is optional. Model summary
Addiction Research & Theory is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review required for publication; articles must be within the journal's focus. Model summary
Submissions to Addiction Research and Theory are peer reviewed and published if they are both good of their kind and are within the journal’s focus.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1606-6359
- Electronic ISSN
- 1476-7392
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 34, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Addiction Research & Theory
What CAS zone is Addiction Research & Theory in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Addiction Research & Theory is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Social Issues / Substance Abuse. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Addiction Research & Theory?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.74; CiteScore 4.4, h-index 85.
How long does peer review take at Addiction Research & Theory?
Based on the dates recorded on 101 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 166 days (interquartile range 118–225 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Addiction Research & Theory in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Medicine.
Where are the editorial board members of Addiction Research & Theory based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Addiction Research & Theory?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Addiction Research & Theory is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Addiction Research & Theory open access, and what is the APC?
Addiction Research & Theory is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .