Social Problems Journal

Social Problems is the official peer-reviewed academic journal of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), published quarterly by Oxford University Press (ISSN 0037-7791). In scholarly evaluation registries, it records a Journal Impact Factor of 2.5 (Clarivate JCR) and a Scopus CiteScore of 7.0, ranking in Quartile 1 of sociology journals.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 7 Nov 2026

What Is Social Problems?

Social Problems serves as the flagship publication of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, founded in 1951 to advance applied, humanistic, and critical perspectives in sociological scholarship. While mainstream sociology frequently prioritized abstract functionalism or value-neutral quantification, Social Problems was created to examine structural injustice, community conflicts, and institutional disparities directly. Researchers exploring foundational disciplinary frameworks can consult the guide on what is sociology and the disciplinary comparison between sociology vs anthropology.

The journal accepts manuscripts that combine rigorous empirical evidence—spanning qualitative ethnography, historical-comparative analysis, and statistical modeling—with explicit relevance to real-world policy and community problems. It is distributed internationally in print and digital editions through Oxford University Press, providing electronic access to all issues published from 1953 to the present.

Social Problems Impact Factor and Citation Metrics

In research evaluation and journal indexing, the social problems impact factor is tracked within Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). According to official SSSP and publisher metrics (read 2026-11-07), the journal records the following quantitative benchmarks:

Metric	Reported Value	Registry / Index	Context and Quartile
Journal Impact Factor (JIF)	2.5	Clarivate JCR (SSCI)	Ranked #55 out of 222 journals in Sociology (Q1)
Scopus CiteScore	7.0	Elsevier Scopus	Top 7% of indexed journals in Sociology and Political Science
OpenAlex 2-Year Mean Citedness	2.71	OpenAlex Scholarly Index	Mean citations per citable document across prior 2 years
OpenAlex H-Index	203	OpenAlex Scholarly Index	Cumulative career citation breadth across >4,700 indexed works

The two-year Journal Impact Factor of 2.5 reflects the ratio between citations received in a given calendar year to articles published in the preceding two years, divided by the total count of citable articles and reviews. Because sociological research typically exhibits longer citation half-lives than laboratory sciences, disciplinary ranking (#55/222, placing the journal solidly in Quartile 1) provides a more meaningful comparative benchmark than raw citation totals across unrelated disciplines.

Editorial Governance and Peer Review

The governance of Social Problems is maintained by SSSP under clear constitutional guidelines. The Editor (or co-editorial team) is recommended by the SSSP Editorial and Publications Committee and formally appointed by the Board of Directors for a three-year term. The editorial office is hosted at the primary institution of the appointed editors, who manage manuscript triage, reviewer assignments, and editorial decisions.

Submissions undergo double-anonymized peer review to minimize bias. Authors reporting empirical data involving human participants must verify institutional review board (IRB) oversight and adherence to ethical research standards, as detailed in our reference on social science research ethics.

Responsible Metric Use in Research Assessment

While the journal’s Q1 placement and 2.5 Impact Factor attest to its visibility and prestige, research institutions and tenure committees must apply bibliometric indicators responsibly. In accordance with the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and the Leiden Manifesto, journal-level metrics should never serve as a surrogate measure for the quality, methodological soundness, or societal impact of individual research articles. Evaluators should read the scholarly work directly rather than relying on journal placement as a proxy for merit.

Sources

Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP). “Social Problems: A Journal with Impact.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/418/
Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP). “Operations Manual: V. The Editorial Office of Social Problems.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/75/V_The_Editorial_Office_of_Social_Problems/
Crossref. “Journal Record: Social Problems (ISSN 0037-7791).” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://api.crossref.org/journals/0037-7791
OpenAlex. “Source Record: Social Problems.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=issn:0037-7791

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