Contribution of Social Psychology Research to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Bibliometric and Content Analysis of Spanish Publications

Abstract

Abstract This study analyses the publications by Spanish institutions indexed by the Web of Science in the thematic category of “Psychology, Social”. The objectives are to determine whether such publications address topics related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to what extent the research conducted contributes to achieving the goals proposed in each of the SDGs. Publications were classified by their relationship with the SDGs using OSDG tool, and an in-depth content analysis was performed to validate the results. A corpus of 1,632 papers published by Spanish institutions was identified. The results show that 34% percent of the papers address matters related to the SDGs; 23% of these are related to Goal 3 (good health and well-being), and 5%, to Goal 5 (gender equality). For achieving SDG 3 goals, the reviewed papers evidence the need that institutions, governments and society to provide, especially for children and adolescents, healthy social environments to prevent harmful social relationships while improving individual skills to manage emotions in everyday life and promoting cultural integration. Regarding SDG 5, it should be a priority the application of effective strategies to change stereotypes, assigned sexual roles and sexist attitudes that sustain inequality and violence against women.