Archives of Sexual Behavior

DisciplineClinical Psychiatry
LanguageEnglish
Edited byKenneth J. Zucker
Publication details
History1971–present
Publisher
FrequencyBimonthly
Hybrid
2.9 (2023)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4Arch. Sex. Behav.
Indexing
CODENASXBA
ISSN0004-0002 (print)
1573-2800 (web)
LCCN71648996
OCLC no.1183760
Links

The Archives of Sexual Behavior is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research.

History

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The journal was established in 1971 by Richard Green, who served as its editor-in-chief until 2001.[1] He was succeeded by Kenneth J. Zucker.[1] It is published by Springer Science+Business Media[2] and has become a leading journal in its field.[3][when?]

Abstracting and indexing

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The journal 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.[2] According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal's 2023 impact factor is 2.9.[4]

Controversies

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Attempted retraction of conversion therapy paper

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In 2003, a paper by Robert Spitzer was published outside "the usual peer-review process".[5][6] This was based on 200 self-selected phone interviews,[7] including some with members of the ex-gay movement who self-reported that conversion therapy (a.k.a. "reparative therapy") changed their sexual orientation.[8][5] 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][9] Before publication, the paper was presented at a psychiatry conference in 2001,[5] after which it "generated enormous public attention and controversy".[7] The journal published the paper alongside critical commentaries, including one saying conversion therapy violates ethics as defined by the Nuremberg Code.[5] Spitzer's paper became cited by political activists opposed to homosexuality, and the ex-gay movement.[7][6][5] Spitzer later agreed with critics of his paper's methodology, calling them "largely correct".[5][8] In 2012, he asked the journal's editor (Kenneth Zucker) to retract it.[5][8][10] Zucker declined to retract the paper.[8][10] A letter to the editor by Spitzer later appeared in the journal on the matter.[11][7][9]

Cisgenderism

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A 2012 review of psychological literature concerning transgender youth between 1999 and 2008 found that cisgenderism and pathologization was common, the Archives was the second most prolific journal in their sample, there was an invisible college surrounding Zucker, and stated "our finding that Archives of Sexual Behavior, a journal for which Zucker serves as editor, was among the two journals that published the largest number of psychological articles on children's genders and expression may explain how editors in this field can fail to notice or address cisgenderist ideology in articles submitted for publication."[12]

Accusations of editorial bias and subsequent boycott

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On March 29, 2023, J. Michael Bailey and Sussana Diaz published a methodologically flawed paper on Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria in the journal.[13]

Researchers and LGBTQ organizations penned an open letter[14] to Springer Nature, the publisher, charging that the paper lacked institutional review board (IRB) approval and replicates "the severe methodological and interpretive flaws of previous research".[15] The letter also stated the journal had a history of publishing questionable research under Zucker and signatories pledged to boycott the journal until Zucker was "replaced with an editor who has a demonstrated record of integrity on LGBTQ+ matters, and, especially, trans matters."[15] The press officer of the Center for Applied Transgender Studies, which signed the letter, stated that "[a]rticles published in the journal during Dr. Zucker's editorship have repeatedly drawn criticism from the sections of the LGBTQ+ community about which the article claims to advance sexological knowledge".[15]

On May 10, a Publisher's Note was added to the article noting that concerns had been raised about it's methodology. A spokesperson for Springer Nature said the paper's supplementary information "has been removed and a note added to record that this has been removed due to a lack of documented consent by study participants".[15] The same month, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism launched a counter-petition calling for Zucker to be kept and the article not be retracted, with signatories from the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, Genspect, the Gender Exploratory Therapy Association, and the American College of Pediatricians.[15][13] The paper was retracted by Springer in June 2023 due to the lack of IRB approval.[16][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Editorial Board", Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2008, retrieved 2013-06-03
  2. ^ a b "Home page", Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2008, retrieved 2013-06-03
  3. ^ Bergner, Daniel (2009-01-22). "What Do Women Want?". New York Times Magazine. pp. MM26. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  4. ^ "Archives of Sexual Behavior". 2023 Journal Citation Reports (Science ed.). Clarivate. 2024 – via Web of Science.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Carey, Benedict (2012-05-18). "Psychiatry Giant Sorry for Backing Gay 'Cure'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  6. ^ a b "Spitzer's Apology Changes 'Ex-Gay' Debate". Talk of the Nation. NPR. May 21, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e Moran, Mark (2012-06-15). "Spitzer Issues Apology for Study Supporting Reparative Therapy". Psychiatric News. 47 (12): 1b–23. doi:10.1176/pn.47.12.psychnews_47_12_1-b. ISSN 0033-2704.
  8. ^ a b c d Arana, Gabriel (April 11, 2012). "My So-Called Ex-Gay Life". The American Prospect.
  9. ^ a b Jacobs, Tom (April 9, 2015). "The Dubious Ethics and Efficacy of Conversion Therapy". Pacific Standard.
  10. ^ a b Marcus, Adam (April 12, 2012). "Controversial homosexuality "reparative therapy" paper staying put despite author's regrets". Retraction Watch.
  11. ^ Spitzer, Robert L. (2012-08-01). "Spitzer Reassesses His 2003 Study of Reparative Therapy of Homosexuality". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 41 (4): 757–757. doi:10.1007/s10508-012-9966-y. ISSN 1573-2800.
  12. ^ Ansara, Y. Gavriel; Hegarty, Peter (2012). "Cisgenderism in psychology: pathologising and misgendering children from 1999 to 2008". Psychology and Sexuality. 3 (2): 137–160. doi:10.1080/19419899.2011.576696.
  13. ^ a b c "Group dynamics and division of labor within the anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience network". Southern Poverty Law Center. December 12, 2023. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  14. ^ "Open Letter re: Archives of Sexual Behavior". asbopenletter.com. 2023-05-05. Archived from the original on Jan 22, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  15. ^ a b c d e Fiore, Kristina (May 24, 2023). "Sexual Behavior Journal Under Fire Over Gender Dysphoria Paper". Medpage today.
  16. ^ "Retraction Note: Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria: Parent Reports on 1655 Possible Cases". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 52 (8): 3577–3577. 2023-11-01. doi:10.1007/s10508-023-02635-1. PMC 10703958. PMID 37314659.
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