Get your Journal of Behavioral Medicine paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Behavioral Medicine goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Behavioral Medicine guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Journal of Behavioral Medicine. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Journal of Behavioral Medicine journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Journal of Behavioral Medicine guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Journal of Behavioral Medicine guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through Editorial Manager.
| Element | J Behav Med requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract of 150 to 250 words. The abstract should not contain undefined abbreviations or unspecified references. For systematic reviews and original research articles, the abstract length can be increased to up to 450 words if the topic dictates and to allow full compliance with relevant reporting guidelines. (Note: An alternative guideline section states preferably no longer than 150 words, though 150-250 words appears to be the primary standard.) |
| Main text | Regular Articles: Strongly suggested no more than 25-30 double-spaced pages, including all figures, captions, tables, notes, and references (no strict page limit imposed). Brief Reports: Maximum 15 double-spaced pages including title page, abstract, references, tables, and figures. Letters to the Editor: Maximum 500 words |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 4 to 6 keywords for indexing purposes. No specific requirements for MeSH terms or editor-assigned keywords mentioned |
| References | APA style (American Psychological Association, 6th Edition, 2009). Author-year citation format in text (name and year in parentheses). References listed alphabetically at the end. Authors encouraged to follow APA version 7 guidelines on number of authors in reference list entries (include all authors up to 20; for larger groups, first 19 names followed by ellipsis and final author's name) |
| Peer review | Double-anonymous (double-blind) peer review. Reviewers and authors do not know each other's identities during the review process. Authors must remove identifying information from manuscripts |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jobm |
Read the Journal of Behavioral Medicine guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Journal of Behavioral Medicine in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Behav Med papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Journal of Behavioral Medicine journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Behavioral Medicine guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.