| Editor: | Kenneth J. Zucker |
| Discipline: | Clinical Psychiatry |
| Abbreviation: | Arch. Sex. Behav. |
| Publisher: | Springer Science+Business Media |
| Frequency: | Bimonthly |
| History: | 1971–present |
| Openaccess: | Hybrid |
| Impact: | 4.507 |
| Impact-Year: | 2020 |
| Website: | https://link.springer.com/journal/10508 |
| Link1: | https://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/10508 |
| Link1-Name: | Online archive |
| Oclc: | 1183760 |
| Lccn: | 71648996 |
| Coden: | ASXBA |
| Issn: | 0004-0002 |
| Eissn: | 1573-2800 |
The Archives of Sexual Behavior is a peer-reviewed academic journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research.
The journal was established in 1971 by Richard Green, who served as its editor-in-chief until 2001. He was succeeded by Kenneth J. Zucker. It is published by Springer Science+Business Media and has become a leading journal in its field.[1]
Archives of Sexual Behavior is abstracted and indexed in Biological Abstracts, Current Contents/Social & Behavioral Sciences, EMBASE, Family & Society Studies Worldwide, Health and Safety Science Abstracts, Index Medicus/MEDLINE, Psychological Abstracts, PsycINFO, Referativny Zhurnal, Risk Abstracts, Sage Family Studies Abstracts, Scopus, Sexual and Relations Therapy, Social Sciences Citation Index, Social Science Index, Sociological Abstracts, Studies on Women & Gender Abstracts, and Violence and Abuse Abstracts. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal's 2020 impact factor is 4.507.[2]
In 2003, a paper by Robert Spitzer was published (outside "the usual peer-review process"[3] [4]) in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. This was based on 200 self-selected phone interviews,[5] including some with members of the ex-gay movement who self-reported that conversion therapy ("reparative therapy") changed their sexual orientation.[6] The paper concluded: "There is evidence that change in sexual orientation following some form of reparative therapy does occur in some gay men and lesbians."[7] Before publication, the paper was presented at a psychiatry conference in 2001, after which it "generated enormous public attention and controversy". The journal published the paper alongside critical commentaries, including one saying conversion therapy violates ethics as defined by the Nuremberg Code. Spitzer's paper became cited by political activists opposed to homosexuality, and the ex-gay movement. Spitzer later agreed with critics of his paper's methodology, calling them "largely correct". In 2012, he asked the journal's editor (Kenneth Zucker) to retract it.[8] Zucker declined to retract the paper. A letter to the editor by Spitzer later appeared in the journal on the matter.[9]
In May 2023, an open letter, signed by a hundred researchers who had previously published in the Archives of Sexual behavior, accused the journal of editorial bias against the LGBTQ community. The letter also garnered support from five professional groups specializing in the study of LGBTQ people. The letter cited a number of articles published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior which they described as having poor research ethics and which failed to declare their financial ties to anti-LGBTQ political groups. Signatories of the letter declared that they "will no longer submit to the journal, act as peer reviewers, or serve in an editorial capacity until Dr Zucker is replaced with an editor who has a demonstrated record of integrity on LGBTQ+ matters and, especially, trans matters".[10]