Journal profile · Multiple
Behavioral Sciences & the Law
ISSN 0735-3936 · eISSN 1099-0798 · Wiley-Blackwell
Behavioral Sciences & the Law: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.94; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,400; median 155 days to acceptance (87 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 23% (journal website); 58 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Behavioral Sciences & the Law is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending, Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis and Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints, together about 37.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science and Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Behavioral Sciences & the Law is a peer reviewed journal which provides current and comprehensive information from throughout the world on topics at the interface of the law and the behavioral sciences. The journal balances theoretical, mental health, legal, and research writings to provide a broad perspective on pertinent psycho-legal topics. Most issues are devoted primarily to one special topic, often presented from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. One special issue per year is specifically targeted toward "International Perspectives" on the selected topic. In addition, one issue each year is devoted to miscellaneous research articles, special perspectives, book review/essays, adversarial forums, and articles of special concern to practitioners; such offerings are also published in other issues as space permits. The journal also appeals to clinicians, academics, researchers, and policy makers. Six issues are published per year, and articles are published in English.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual OffendingPsychology20.8%
- Criminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisSocial Sciences10.1%
- Healthcare Decision-Making and RestraintsPsychology7%
- Crime Patterns and InterventionsSocial Sciences7%
- Deception detection and forensic psychologyPsychology6.7%
- Child Abuse and TraumaPsychology5.4%
- Sexual Assault and Victimization StudiesSocial Sciences3.8%
- Homicide, Infanticide, and Child AbuseSocial Sciences3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPubMedPsycINFOCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
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
- 1.94LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.4LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 109OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,236OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.02OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 46.09%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 43LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 44Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 218,471Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,439 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 66 | 38 | 11 |
| 2025 | 58 | 36 | 85 |
| 2024 | 73 | 47 | 301 |
| 2023 | 41 | 23 | 168 |
| 2022 | 55 | 16 | 252 |
| 2021 | 66 | 17 | 420 |
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
155 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 86 days – 245 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (87 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 185 days
- Sample
- 87 articles with submission and acceptance dates (128 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)
- 23%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 23%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 51 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 51 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 137 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,400 / EUR 2,840 / GBP 2,270 | — | — | |
| 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 accepted1
- research articleResearch Article – reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant contribution to knowledgeLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship
No submission fees. Model summary
This journal does not charge submission fees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review model: double-blind peer review. Model summary
Behavioral Science & the Law operates under double-blind peer review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint policy: journal accepts preprints; authors may post submitted version to preprint servers at any time; update pre-publication versions with link to final published article. Model summary
This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers. Behavioral Sciences & the Law will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. Authors may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0735-3936
- Electronic ISSN
- 1099-0798
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 44, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Behavioral Sciences & the Law
What CAS zone is Behavioral Sciences & the Law in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Behavioral Sciences & the Law is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Law / Psychology, Applied. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Behavioral Sciences & the Law?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.94; CiteScore 2.7, h-index 109.
How long does peer review take at Behavioral Sciences & the Law?
Based on the dates recorded on 87 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 155 days (interquartile range 86–245 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 23% (2025). 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.
Which databases index Behavioral Sciences & the Law?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Behavioral Sciences & the Law is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Behavioral Sciences & the Law open access, and what is the APC?
Behavioral Sciences & the Law is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,400.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .