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Psychology of Addictive Behaviors is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Psychological Association (APA). It covers the psychological aspects of addictive behaviors, and it is a different title from Addictive Behaviors, which has a similar name. This guide is for researchers deciding whether the journal fits a manuscript and what its submission rules require. Details below were read from the journal’s own APA pages on 2026-11-08.
What it is
The journal’s About page describes it as publishing “peer-reviewed original articles related to the psychological aspects of addictive behaviors.” Its print ISSN is 0893-164X and its electronic ISSN is 1939-1501. It is published by APA, and the page says open access is offered.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors journal: how the name is used
People refer to it as “journal psychology of addictive behaviors” or “psychology of addictive behaviors journal”; both mean this APA title. The journal code in APA’s submission system is adb.
Who runs it and what it covers
The About page lists the topic areas as alcohol use and disorders, drug use and disorders, smoking and nicotine, eating disorders, and other addictive behaviors. The page names APA as publisher and links to an editorial board page; it does not name a society affiliation.
Indexing
The About page lists these abstracting and indexing services: ASSIA, Biological Sciences, Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Psychology, Current Abstracts, Current Contents: Social & Behavioral Sciences, Embase, ERIH, Family & Society Studies Worldwide, Journal Citation Reports (Social Sciences Edition), MEDLINE, METADEX, Mosby’s Nursing Consult, OCLC, APA PsycInfo, PsycLine, SafetyLit, Scopus, Social Sciences Citation Index, Social Work Abstracts, Supplemental Index and TOC Premier. Articles can therefore be found through APA’s PsycArticles and PsycInfo family of resources as well as through the general biomedical and social-science indexes.
Impact factor
As shown on the journal page on 2026-11-08, the impact factor is 2.8 and the five-year impact factor is 3.7. Treat these as a single-year snapshot; see journal impact factor for what the measure does and does not say about an individual article.
Submission requirements at a glance
APA states that submissions are handled only through its Editorial Manager platform. Files are Word (.docx) or LaTeX (.tex in a zip) plus a PDF. Manuscripts follow APA 7th edition style with 1-inch margins, 12-point type and double spacing; titles are preferably 12 words or fewer.
| Article type | Length rule stated by the journal |
|---|---|
| Full-length manuscript | No more than 40 pages including title page, abstract, text, references, tables, figures and appendices |
| Brief report | 10 pages, excluding title page, abstract, author note, references, figures and tables |
| Commentary | Up to 5 pages on a single recent article, submitted within 6 months of that article |
| Registered report | Up to 40 pages, or the 10-page brief format |
The submission page also mentions negative findings, replications (subtitled “A Replication of XX Study”) and reviews, without giving page limits for them. All manuscripts need an abstract of at most 250 words, structured as Objective, Method, Results and Conclusions, followed by up to five keywords.
Reporting standards and review
Conformity with APA’s Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS/MARS) is a review criterion, and non-conforming manuscripts may be returned without review. Masked review is optional: authors submit a separate title page, and the manuscript itself must contain no clues to authors’ identity, including grant numbers, IRB institution names, self-citations and repository links. APA also states that manuscripts are screened with similarity-checking software.
Registered reports
The journal accepts registered reports in two stages. At Stage 1 the authors submit the hypotheses, rationale, design and methods; the page says acceptance at this stage “amounts to provisional acceptance of the full report regardless of the outcome of the study.” At Stage 2 the full manuscript receives rapid editorial review for adherence to the preregistered design. The journal is listed as an interested journal with Peer Community In Registered Reports (PCI-RR).
Fees and open access
APA states that submitting a manuscript for peer review is free of charge. It offers green (self-archiving) and gold (article publication charge) open access routes; see green open access and gold open access. The submission page does not list a charge amount. Printed colour figures may be charged at the editor’s and publisher’s discretion: $900 for the first figure, $600 for the second and $450 for each later one; online-only colour is free.
Where to find the submission portal
The submission guidelines on APA’s journal page give the Editorial Manager address as editorialmanager.com/adb. Start from the “Submit” link on the journal’s APA page and confirm that the journal code in the address is adb, since APA hosts many journals on the same platform.
Strengths and limits
- Clear scope: the topic list (alcohol, drugs, nicotine, eating disorders, other addictive behaviors) makes fit easy to judge, but it is explicitly psychological in focus.
- Indexing breadth: MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycInfo, Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index are all listed.
- Open science route: registered reports and a replication format are described in the guidelines.
- Page limits: the 40-page cap includes references, tables and figures, so long manuscripts need trimming; brief reports and commentaries are much shorter.
- Costs to plan for: gold open access has a charge whose amount the page does not state, and printed colour figures carry fees.
Alternatives and related resources
| Resource | Relationship to this journal |
|---|---|
| Addictive Behaviors | A separate journal with a near-identical name; do not confuse the two when citing or submitting. Check its own journal page for scope and rules. |
| PsycArticles | APA’s full-text database, one route for reading APA journal articles. |
| APA PsycInfo | Listed on the journal page as an indexing service for it. |
FAQ
Who publishes Psychology of Addictive Behaviors?
The American Psychological Association publishes it, per the journal’s APA About page (read 2026-11-08).
What are its ISSNs?
Print ISSN 0893-164X and electronic ISSN 1939-1501.
Does it charge to submit?
No. APA states that submitting a manuscript for peer review is free of charge. Gold open access and printed colour figures can carry fees.
What is the maximum abstract length?
250 words, with Objective, Method, Results and Conclusions sections and up to five keywords.
Is it the same as Addictive Behaviors?
No. They are separate journals with similar names.
Sources
- APA, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, About: apa.org/pubs/journals/adb/about (read 2026-11-08).
- APA, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Submission guidelines: apa.org/pubs/journals/adb/submit (read 2026-11-08).
