Journal profile · Multiple
Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma
ISSN 1936-1521 · eISSN 1936-153X · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma: CAS Zone 4 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,190; median 225 days to acceptance (39 articles, last 24 months); 125 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Child Abuse and Trauma, Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development and Migration, Health and Trauma, together about 51% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Underpinned by a biopsychosocial approach, the Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma presents original research and prevention and treatment strategies for understanding and dealing with symptoms and disorders related to the psychological effects of trauma experienced by children and adolescents during childhood and where the impact of these experiences continues into adulthood. The journal also examines intervention models directed toward the individual, family, and community, new theoretical models and approaches, and public policy proposals and innovations. In addition, the journal promotes rigorous investigation and debate on the human capacity for agency, resilience and longer-term healing in the face of child and adolescent trauma. With a multidisciplinary approach that draws input from the psychological, medical, social work, sociological, public health, legal and education fields, the journal features research, intervention approaches and evidence-based programs, theoretical articles, specific review articles, brief reports and case studies, and commentaries on current and/or controversial topics. The journal also encourages submissions from less heard voices, for example in terms of geography, minority status or service user perspectives. Among the topics examined in the Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma: The effects of childhood maltreatment Loss, natural disasters, and political conflict Exposure to or victimization from family or community violence Racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation or class discrimination Physical injury, diseases, and painful or debilitating medical treatments The impact of poverty, social deprivation and inequality Barriers and facilitators on pathways to recovery The Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma is an important resource for practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and academics whose work is centered on children exposed to traumatic events and adults exposed to traumatic events as children.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Patricia K. KerigPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 102, United Kingdom 32, Australia 5, Canada 4, Ireland 4 (183 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Child Abuse and TraumaPsychology28.6%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology12.5%
- Migration, Health and TraumaPsychology9.9%
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchPsychology7.8%
- Intimate Partner and Family ViolenceSocial Sciences5.4%
- Child Welfare and AdoptionSocial Sciences4.9%
- Resilience and Mental HealthPsychology4.8%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Family Studies | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Family Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EmbasePsycINFOPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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 (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.35LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 387OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.32OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 39.71%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 122LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 445,700Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,121 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 176 | 130 | 30 |
| 2025 | 125 | 124 | 133 |
| 2024 | 72 | 72 | 330 |
| 2023 | 89 | 89 | 638 |
| 2022 | 88 | 88 | 1,139 |
| 2021 | 93 | 93 | 1,358 |
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
225 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 176 days – 325 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (98 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 246 days
- Sample
- 39 articles with submission and acceptance dates (315 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
- Submission to first decision
- 23 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 3,190 / EUR 2,590 / GBP 2,290 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- APA
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted1
- editorialDouble-blind peer review This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout p…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
LLMs do not satisfy authorship criteria Model summary
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
4 to 6 keywords required Model summary
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Research data archiving encouraged Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Permissions required for previously published material Model summary
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double-blind peer review
Double-blind peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout peer review. It is the responsibility of the author to anonymize the manuscript and any associated materials. Author names, affiliations and any other potentially identifying information should be removed from the manuscript text and any accompanying files (such as …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1936-1521
- Electronic ISSN
- 1936-153X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 19, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma
What CAS zone is Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma is in Zone 4 of Psychology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Family Studies / Social Work. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.5, h-index 51.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma?
Based on the dates recorded on 39 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 225 days (interquartile range 176–325 days). 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 are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: APA; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma based?
Of the 183 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (102), United Kingdom (32) and Australia (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Embase and PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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: .