Scope
Behavioral Medicine is an interdisciplinary journal of research and practice that deals with psychosocial influences on health and behavior. It publishes original research studies, both experimental and clinical; evaluation studies; review articles; case reports; and book reviews.

In addition, the journal welcomes three-part, coordinated submissions on a theme topic that deal in depth with (1) a review of the literature on a health problem that can be treated through the use of psychological or behavioral intervention; (2) the evidence from research for the value of the behavioral intervention; (3) an analysis of the policy implications of the therapy and means of introducing it into mainstream training and health practice. The economic impact of new or evolving therapies may be included in the discussion.

Those who are interested in submitting such a three-article series should work directly with the executive editors of Behavioral Medicine, providing a detailed outline of their proposal; the names and qualifications of participating authors; and an estimate of the time frame for completion.

Preparing Your Manuscript
1.    Follow the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 10th edition, in medical and scientific usage. We do not use American Psychological Association (APA) style.

2.    Titles should be short, specific, and clear. An abstract of no more than 150 words and 3 to 5 key words should precede the text of the article. Text in research articles should be divided into Method, Results, and Comment.

3.    Use a separate page for authors’ names, academic degrees, affiliations, positions, fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Indicate the name of the corresponding author.

4.    Submit tables and figures separately. Use them sparingly as nonredundant enhancements of the text. Send figures in their original source file with text in Times 9/10 bold. They should be in black and white, use no screens or colors.

5.    Indicate approval of the appropriate institutional review board (IRB) for all studies involving human participants and describe how participants provided informed consent.

6.    Provide written permission from publishers and authors to reprint or adapt previously published tables or figures.

7.    Proofread carefully, double-checking all statistics, numbers, symbols, references, and tables. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all material submitted.

Submitting Your Manuscript in Manuscript Central
When your files are ready, visit the online submission Web site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bmed

1.    First, log into the system. Register, if you have not done so before, by clicking on the Create Account button on the log-in screen and following the on-screen instructions.

2.    To submit a new manuscript, go to Author Center, then click on Submit a Manuscript and follow the on-screen instructions.

3.    Enter your manuscript data into the relevant fields.

4.    When you upload your manuscript files via the File Upload screen, Manuscript Central will automatically create a PDF and HTML document of your main text and any figures and tables that you submit. This document will be used when your manuscript undergoes peer review.

5.    Attach 1 blinded manuscript file for review, with all identifying information removed, and 1 manuscript file with this information included.

Editorial Procedures
All submissions are blind reviewed by at least two consulting or ad hoc reviewers and an executive editor. The process takes up to 4 months. The managing editor will notify authors of the decision—acceptance, return for revisions (major or minor), or rejection. Review comments will be returned to the author. Rejected manuscripts will not normally be reconsidered.

Publisher reserves the right to edit accepted manuscripts for clarity, coherence, and felicity of style. Authors receive an edited galley to proofread, answer queries, and correct errors that may have been introduced in the editing process. Extensive changes and rewriting are not permitted at this stage.

References
Authors should cite references consecutively in the text, using a superscript to indicate source. References are listed by number at the end of the text, with titles of journals abbreviated in the form listed in Index Medicus. The following are examples of reference style.

Journals
1.    Wechsler H, Lee JE, Kuo M, Seibring M, Nelson T, Lee H. J Am Coll Health. 2002;51:230–217.

Books
2.    Bernstein TM. The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. New York, NY: Atheneum; 1965.

References to unpublished material should be noted parenthetically in the text (eg, James Jones, personal communication, September 2002).

Citations for data on a Web site should take this form: Health Care Financing Administration. 1996 statistics at a glance. Available at http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/stathili.htm. Accessed December 2, 1996.

Quoted material must include an indication of the page on which the quoted words appeared (eg, ^12(p26)).