Journal profile · SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY
Sexuality Research and Social Policy
ISSN 1868-9884 · eISSN 1553-6610 · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Sexuality Research and Social Policy: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.77; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,990; median 192 days to acceptance (75 articles, last 24 months); 183 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Sexuality Research and Social Policy is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy, Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology and Sex work and related issues, together about 40.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Sexuality Research and Social Policy is an international multidisciplinary forum for the publication of original peer-reviewed state-of-the-art empirical research on sexuality, theoretical and methodological discussions, and the implications of this evidence for policies across the globe regarding sexual health, sexuality education, and sexual rights in diverse communities. The journal also publishes brief research and conference reports; white papers; book, film, and other reviews; together with guest editorials and commentaries. Sexuality Research and Social Policy occasionally publishes special issues on timely topics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY
Editor-in-chief Ian W. HollowayPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 41, Canada 3, United Kingdom 2, Netherlands 2, Mexico 2 (52 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- LGBTQ Health, Identity, and PolicyPsychology21.2%
- Sexuality, Behavior, and TechnologyPsychology10.1%
- Sex work and related issuesSocial Sciences9%
- Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthHealth Professions8.7%
- Gender, Feminism, and MediaSocial Sciences6.2%
- HIV/AIDS Research and InterventionsMedicine6.2%
- Reproductive Health and TechnologiesMedicine5.6%
- African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ IssuesSocial Sciences3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEPsycINFOCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher 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
- 2.77LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.08LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.62LetPub ·
- h-index
- 81OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 709OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.42OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 49.56%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 180LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,100,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,645 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 157 | 89 | 53 |
| 2025 | 183 | 108 | 340 |
| 2024 | 146 | 86 | 785 |
| 2023 | 138 | 77 | 1,132 |
| 2022 | 111 | 60 | 1,564 |
| 2021 | 155 | 93 | 2,589 |
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
192 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 120 days – 288 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 209 days
- Sample
- 75 articles with submission and acceptance dates (372 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
- 11 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 2,990 / EUR 2,390 / GBP 2,090 | — | — |
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Reference style
- APA
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- 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 ·- Data availability Data availability statements
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
Submission is a representation that the manuscript has not been published previously and is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. A statement transferring copyright from the authors (or their employers, if they hold the copyright) to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC is required. Upon commencement of typesetting, the contact author will receive an e-mail directing him/her…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Sexuality Research and Social Policy, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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
- 1868-9884
- Electronic ISSN
- 1553-6610
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 23, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Sexuality Research and Social Policy
What CAS zone is Sexuality Research and Social Policy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Sexuality Research and Social Policy is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Sexuality Research and Social Policy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.77; CiteScore 6, h-index 81.
How long does peer review take at Sexuality Research and Social Policy?
Based on the dates recorded on 75 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 192 days (interquartile range 120–288 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 Sexuality Research and Social Policy?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Reference style: APA. 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 Sexuality Research and Social Policy based?
Of the 52 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (41), Canada (3) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Sexuality Research and Social Policy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Sexuality Research and Social Policy is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, PsycINFO, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Sexuality Research and Social Policy open access, and what is the APC?
Sexuality Research and Social Policy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,990.
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: .