Journal profile · PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL
Psychological Injury & Law
ISSN 1938-971X · eISSN 1938-9728 · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Psychological Injury & Law: CAS Zone 3 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 99 days to acceptance (52 articles, last 24 months); 27 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Psychological Injury & Law is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 3 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Traumatic Brain Injury Research, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research and Suicide and Self-Harm Studies, together about 38% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Psychological Injury and Law is a civil forensic scholarly journal designed as a multidisciplinary, scientific-based forum for the dissemination of research articles and scholarly exchanges about issues pertaining to the interface of psychology and law in the areas of trauma, injury, and their psychological impact. Through its publications and critical commentary, the journal helps build the evidentiary research base of the field, critically examines its key concepts, and informs practice about the scientific standards, guidelines, court expectations, and ethics required to work in the field. Psychological impairments and disabilities may arise from physical and/or mental injuries attributed to alleged negligent actions. They need to be judiciously assessed for their validity and treated when evaluated as valid. They lead to legal and related action when there are long term or permanent effects, impairments, dysfunctions, or disabilities. Publishes on typical DSM-5 diagnoses and conditions related to psychological injuries, including PTSD, Somatic Symptom Disorder with predominant pain, and mild traumatic brain injury Addresses these conditions, which are all contested in court, and requires respondent validity testing with performance validity tests and symptom validity tests Publishes on court rulings that govern practice in the field, especially including the Daubert trilogy Advocates that the best way of dealing with the adversarial divide in court is to undertake comprehensive, scientifically informed, unbiased assessments
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL
Editor-in-chief Luciano GirominiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 70, Canada 12, Italy 5, Netherlands 4, Australia 2 (100 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Traumatic Brain Injury ResearchMedicine20.9%
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchPsychology9.3%
- Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesPsychology7.8%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine6.2%
- Psychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsMedicine5.6%
- Child Abuse and TraumaPsychology5.6%
- Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual OffendingPsychology5%
- Cardiac Arrest and ResuscitationMedicine3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 3 |
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
PsycINFOPublisher 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
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.81LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.27LetPub ·
- h-index
- 42OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 250OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.43OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 29%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 26.92%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 25LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 150,700Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 567 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 10 | 38 |
| 2025 | 27 | 13 | 129 |
| 2024 | 34 | 9 | 284 |
| 2023 | 22 | 8 | 153 |
| 2022 | 31 | 17 | 461 |
| 2021 | 39 | 14 | 615 |
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
99 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 71 days – 163 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (52 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 137 days
- Sample
- 52 articles with submission and acceptance dates (58 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
- 6 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 3,290 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- APA
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access
- AI use Generative AI Images
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
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 ·- 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
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 Psychological Injury and Law, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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
- 1938-971X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1938-9728
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Psychological Injury & Law
What CAS zone is Psychological Injury & Law in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Psychological Injury & Law is in Zone 3 of Psychology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Psychology, Clinical. 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 Psychological Injury & Law?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.1 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6, h-index 42.
How long does peer review take at Psychological Injury & Law?
Based on the dates recorded on 52 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 99 days (interquartile range 71–163 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 Psychological Injury & Law?
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 Psychological Injury & Law based?
Of the 100 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (70), Canada (12) and Italy (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Psychological Injury & Law?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Psychological Injury & Law is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Psychological Injury & Law open access, and what is the APC?
Psychological Injury & Law is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .