Journal profile · Multiple
SSM-Mental Health
ISSN 2666-5603 · Elsevier
SSM-Mental Health: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.4 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 1,980; review about 145 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 195 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
SSM-Mental Health is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Mental Health Treatment and Access, Migration, Health and Trauma and Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development, together about 33.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
SSM - Mental Health (SSM-MH) provides an international and interdisciplinary forum for the dissemination of social science research on mental health and behavioral health.SSM - Mental Health is an open access journal, and shares the same general approach to manuscripts as its companion title, Social Science & Medicine . The journal takes a broad view of the field of mental and behavioral health, especially welcoming interdisciplinary papers from across the Social Sciences and allied areas.We publish original research articles (both empirical and theoretical), reviews, position papers, and commentaries on mental health issues, to inform current research, policy, and practice in all areas of common interest to social scientists, health practitioners, and policy makers.The journal publishes material relevant to any aspect of mental health and behavioral health from a wide range of social science disciplines, and material relevant to the social sciences from any of the professions concerned with mental health, health care, clinical practice, and health policy. We encourage material that is motivated by a theoretical framework and of general interest to an international readership.The key areas of SSM-MH are:Medical Anthropology and Critical Social SciencePsychiatric Epidemiology and Population Mental Health ScienceTopics and approaches of particular relevance to the journal include: interdisciplinary methods and theory; social determinants of mental health and disparities in mental health; mixed-methods research; methodological notes; replication studies of novel mental health interventions; psychiatric epidemiology; and research on flourishing, resilience, and well-being.SSM-MH seeks to maintain the highest standards of peer-reviewed excellence, as well as to provide a forum for debate in the field of social sciences and mental health.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Alexander C. TsaiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United States 31, United Kingdom 5, South Africa 5, South Korea 2, India 2 (52 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Mental Health Treatment and AccessPsychology15.2%
- Migration, Health and TraumaPsychology10.4%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology7.6%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences5.7%
- Mental Health and Patient InvolvementHealth Professions4.3%
- Resilience and Mental HealthPsychology4.3%
- COVID-19 and Mental HealthPsychology4.2%
- Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumMedicine4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | 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
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.26LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.39LetPub ·
- h-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 173OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.76OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 175LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 684 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 122 | 122 | 34 |
| 2025 | 195 | 195 | 398 |
| 2024 | 92 | 92 | 696 |
| 2023 | 104 | 104 | 1,091 |
| 2022 | 119 | 119 | 1,856 |
| 2021 | 52 | 52 | 1,483 |
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 PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 2 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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".
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 73 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 145 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 23 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 1,980 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,540 / EUR 1,440 / GBP 1,230 / JPY 191,010 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,450 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,440 | — | — |
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 prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 9,000 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- full length articlesFull Length Articles which can be a maximum of 9000 words, including the abstract, tables, figures, and references as well as the main text.Length not stated
- letters to the editorLetters to the Editor which should have 400 – 750 words without referencesLength not stated
- practitioner’s cornerPractitioner’s Corner (invited submissions only) which can be a maximum of 2500 wordsLength not stated
- reviewThe journal publishes the following types of contribution: Full Length Articles which can be a maximum of 9000 words, including the abstract, tables, figures, a…main text ≤ 15,000 words
- reviewsReviews which can be a maximum of 15000 words, including the abstract, tables, figures, and references as well as the main text.Length not stated
- short communicationThe journal publishes the following types of contribution: Full Length Articles which can be a maximum of 9000 words, including the abstract, tables, figures, a…main text ≤ 4,000 words
- short communicationsShort Communications which must have between 2000-4000 wordsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
open access Model summary
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
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
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 2666-5603
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about SSM-Mental Health
What CAS zone is SSM-Mental Health in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, SSM-Mental Health is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Psychiatry / Public, Environmental & Occupational Health. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of SSM-Mental Health?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.4; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.7, h-index 34.
How long does peer review take at SSM-Mental Health?
The publisher reports about 145 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 14 weeks. 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 SSM-Mental Health?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 9,000 words; Reference style: Vancouver; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required. 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 SSM-Mental Health based?
Of the 52 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (31), United Kingdom (5) and South Africa (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index SSM-Mental Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, SSM-Mental Health is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is SSM-Mental Health open access, and what is the APC?
SSM-Mental Health is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,980.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .