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The Substance Use & Misuse journal is an international peer-reviewed publication covering multidisciplinary research across substance consumption, behavioral dependencies, social pharmacology, and public health policy. Established in 1966 and published by Taylor & Francis, the journal provides an empirical forum bridging clinical addiction science with epidemiology, community intervention studies, and policy evaluation.
For research teams and authors, selecting suitable venues requires balancing scope, peer-review turnaround, bibliographic indexing, and funder access mandates. Authors comparing venues often evaluate related resources such as Psychology of Addictive Behaviors when deciding between specialized psychological journals and multidisciplinary public-health platforms.
What It Is
Substance Use & Misuse examines the etiology, prevention, treatment, social context, and regulation of licit and illicit drug use. The journal covers chemical dependencies—including alcohol, opioids, cannabis, stimulants, nicotine, and caffeine—alongside behavioral dependencies such as gambling and eating disorders.
Originally founded in 1966 as The International Journal of the Addictions, the publication was retitled Substance Use & Misuse in 1996 with Volume 31 to reflect its broader sociological, epidemiological, and harm-reduction perspectives. Bibliographically, the journal is registered under Print ISSN 1082-6084 and Electronic ISSN 1532-2491, with National Library of Medicine (NLM) Unique ID 9602153 and NLM title abbreviation Subst Use Misuse.
The journal is indexed in MEDLINE, PubMed, Clarivate’s Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Scopus, and PsycINFO. In MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), its primary classifications are “Behavior, Addictive” and “Substance-Related Disorders”.
Who Runs It and What It Covers
Substance Use & Misuse is published by Taylor & Francis Group (Informa UK Limited), having previously appeared under Marcel Dekker and Informa Healthcare. Editorial leadership is directed by Editor-in-Chief Stephen Magura of Western Michigan University, supported by an international editorial board spanning clinical psychology, epidemiology, sociology, and public health.
Operating on a 14-issue annual volume cycle, the journal produces monthly issues alongside themed collections. Its scope covers five primary pillars:
- Epidemiology and Public Health: Population-level substance trends, prevalence studies, adolescent and student cohort research, and demographic disparities.
- Interventions and Clinical Practice: Treatment outcomes, psychosocial therapies, harm reduction initiatives, and community-based rehabilitation models.
- Social Pharmacology and Policy: Legislative impacts, decriminalization and regulatory frameworks, illicit market dynamics, and drug policy evaluations.
- Measurement and Psychometric Validation: Instrument development, screening tool validations, and cross-cultural adaptations of clinical assessment scales.
- Instructive Negative Findings: Unlike venues prioritizing positive statistical results, the journal explicitly considers well-designed negative results and trial failures that offer methodological lessons.
In bibliometric performance, the journal carries a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 1.7 and a 5-Year Impact Factor of 2.0. In Scopus, it holds a CiteScore of 2.9 (Q2 quartile). Its SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) is 0.691 (Q2 across Public Health; Psychiatry and Mental Health; and Health – Social Science). When evaluating journal metrics like SJR and CiteScore, researchers recognize that Substance Use & Misuse maintains a stable mid-tier position focused on applied multidisciplinary research. Peer-review turnaround averages approximately 24 days to first decision and roughly 65 days to first post-review decision.
How to Search or Use It
Authors and researchers can navigate Substance Use & Misuse on Taylor & Francis Online through this 6-step workflow:
- Access the Journal Portal: Visit the official journal dashboard at
tandfonline.com/journals/isum20or inspect the complete archive via the list of issues page. Use search queries, keywords, or DOIs to retrieve archival literature back to 1966. - Review Aims, Scope, and Formats: Check the “Aims and scope” and “Instructions for authors” tabs. Verify manuscript fit with accepted types: Original Research Articles (typically up to 5,000 words with a structured abstract of ~200 words), Short Reports, Systematic Reviews, or Commentaries.
- Select Publishing and Open Access Pathways: Review options under Taylor & Francis Open Select. The standard subscription route carries no Article Publishing Charge (APC), while optional Gold Open Access requires an APC. Consult your library for transformative institutional agreements, or examine public access policies versus open access models for funder compliance.
- Prepare Compliance and Ethical Disclosures: Assemble mandatory statements before submission: Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics committee approval details with participant consent, financial grant disclosures, Conflict of Interest statements, and a Data Availability Statement. Link author ORCID iDs for proper attribution.
- Format Manuscript and Archiving Details: Format text, tables, and references per Taylor & Francis guidelines. If your team deposited an early draft on an archive, check preprints versus peer-reviewed journal articles to align with publisher self-archiving policies.
- Submit via ScholarOne Manuscripts: Click “Submit an article” to enter ScholarOne Manuscripts. Upload your manuscript, title page, and figures, enter metadata, and suggest independent reviewers. Monitor review progress via the submission dashboard.
Strengths and Limits
Assessing Substance Use & Misuse involves balancing distinct editorial advantages against scope considerations.
Strengths:
- Multidisciplinary Inclusivity: Welcomes qualitative, epidemiological, and sociological studies often excluded by purely clinical journals.
- Dual Database Indexing: Joint indexing across MEDLINE/PubMed and Social Sciences Citation Index ensures discoverability across health and social disciplines.
- Publication of Null Results: Actively counters publication bias by accepting methodologically sound negative trials.
- Zero-Cost Subscription Route: Offers fee-free publication for authors without dedicated grant funding for open-access APCs.
Limits:
- Mid-Tier Citation Metrics: A JIF of 1.7 (Q2) may not satisfy institutional criteria requiring top-decile clinical journal placements.
- Broad Subject Heterogeneity: Diverse topics across adolescent surveys and pharmacological interventions can disperse reader focus.
- Variable Turnaround: While initial screening averages 24 days, securing specialized peer reviewers across interdisciplinary topics can extend cycles.
Alternatives
Researchers comparing venues can evaluate Substance Use & Misuse against peer-reviewed journals in addiction and behavioral health. Using standard practices like vetting journals via Think.Check.Submit and directory checks assists in making informed submission decisions.
| Journal Title | Publisher | Metrics Tier | Publishing Model | Primary Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Substance Use & Misuse | Taylor & Francis | JIF: 1.7 CiteScore: 2.9 (Q2) |
Hybrid (Open Select / Subscription) | Multidisciplinary addictions, epidemiology, social pharmacology, qualitative studies, and negative findings. |
| Addiction | Wiley / Society for the Study of Addiction | JIF: ~5.5–6.0 CiteScore: ~8.5 (Q1) |
Hybrid (Subscription / Gold OA) | Flagship international journal covering clinical, pharmacological, behavioral, and public health addiction research. |
| Drug and Alcohol Dependence | Elsevier | JIF: ~3.9 CiteScore: ~6.8 (Q1) |
Hybrid (Subscription / Gold OA) | Preclinical, clinical, epidemiological, and policy studies addressing biochemical and behavioral dependence. |
| Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment | Elsevier | JIF: ~3.5 CiteScore: ~5.8 (Q1) |
Hybrid (Subscription / Gold OA) | Applied health services research, clinical trials, and implementation science in addiction treatment settings. |
| Harm Reduction Journal | BioMed Central / Springer Nature | JIF: ~3.5 CiteScore: ~5.2 (Q1) |
Fully Open Access (Gold OA) | Community-based harm reduction, public health interventions, social policy, and human rights aspects of drug use. |
FAQ
Is Substance Use & Misuse a peer-reviewed journal?
Yes. Substance Use & Misuse is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. Submissions undergo initial editorial screening followed by external peer review by independent subject experts before publication decisions.
What is the Impact Factor of Substance Use & Misuse?
Per Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports, Substance Use & Misuse has a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 1.7 and a 5-Year Impact Factor of 2.0. In Scopus, it holds a CiteScore of 2.9 (Q2), and its SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) is 0.691.
Are there mandatory publication fees to publish in Substance Use & Misuse?
No. The journal operates on a hybrid open-access model (Taylor & Francis Open Select). Authors choosing the standard subscription route publish with zero Article Publishing Charges (APCs). Authors opting for Gold Open Access pay an APC.
Which databases index Substance Use & Misuse?
The journal is indexed in MEDLINE, PubMed, Clarivate’s Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Scopus, PsycINFO, and Index Medicus.
What types of manuscripts does the journal accept?
The journal accepts Original Research Articles (typically up to 5,000 words), Short Reports, Systematic Reviews, and Commentaries on pharmacological, psychological, sociological, and policy aspects of substance use.
Does Substance Use & Misuse consider negative or null research results?
Yes. The journal explicitly welcomes well-designed studies with negative results or intervention failures to counter publication bias in addiction research.
Sources
- Taylor & Francis Online — Substance Use & Misuse Journal Overview and Metrics: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/isum20 (accessed November 10, 2026).
- Taylor & Francis Author Services — Instructions for Authors and Open Select Policies: https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/publishing-your-research/open-access/open-select/ (accessed November 10, 2026).
- National Library of Medicine — NLM Catalog Record for Substance Use & Misuse (NLM ID 9602153, ISSN 1082-6084): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/9602153 (accessed November 10, 2026).
- SCImago Journal & Country Rank — Substance Use & Misuse Profile & Subject Quartiles: https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=27647&tip=sid (accessed November 10, 2026).
