About the Journal

Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders is an international, open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of psychological, behavioral, and emotional dimensions of health and illness. The journal provides a global platform for researchers, clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, public health professionals, and policymakers to exchange cutting-edge knowledge and insights on the complex interactions between mental and physical health, behavioral functioning, and psychological well-being.

Published quarterly, the journal seeks to enhance understanding and promote integrative solutions for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral disorders and health-related psychological challenges. The journal welcomes contributions from a variety of disciplines, including clinical psychology, health psychology, behavioral science, social work, psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, counseling, and allied health sciences. With a commitment to academic excellence and methodological rigor, each manuscript undergoes a double-blind peer-review process, typically involving two or three anonymous reviewers.

Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders is indexed in major scholarly databases and is committed to advancing open scholarship, interdisciplinary dialogue, and the ethical dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of health psychology and behavior-related disorders.

Aims and Scope

The primary aim of Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders is to publish high-quality empirical, theoretical, and review articles that contribute to the advancement of psychological knowledge and evidence-based practice in health and behavioral contexts. The journal seeks to:

  • Explore psychological factors in the development, progression, and management of chronic illnesses.

  • Investigate behavioral interventions and therapies for mental and physical health conditions.

  • Examine the role of stress, coping, and resilience in health outcomes.

  • Analyze individual and societal factors contributing to behavioral disorders, including mood, anxiety, personality, and eating disorders.

  • Promote mental health literacy and psychological support in medical settings.

  • Encourage the integration of psychological assessments into primary and specialized care.

  • Address social determinants of health, including cultural, economic, and gender-related influences.

The scope of the journal includes but is not limited to:

  • Health behavior change and intervention design

  • Psychosocial aspects of disease and illness

  • Behavioral neuroscience and psychophysiology

  • Mind-body interventions (e.g., mindfulness, CBT, ACT)

  • Psychiatric epidemiology

  • Substance use and addiction

  • Psychosomatic medicine

  • Psychological responses to trauma, pain, and disability

  • Behavioral health policy and service delivery

The journal encourages both qualitative and quantitative submissions and supports interdisciplinary and cross-cultural studies that broaden the understanding of behavioral disorders and psychological health.

Open Access Statement

Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders is an open access journal, meaning that all content is freely available to readers without subscription or paywall barriers. This policy ensures maximum visibility and dissemination of published articles, enabling researchers, practitioners, and the public to access scholarly content without restriction.

The journal firmly believes in the democratization of knowledge and supports the principle that access to scientific research should not be limited by institutional or financial constraints. Authors are encouraged to share and distribute their published work widely, subject to the terms of the journal’s licensing agreement.

Copyright and License

Authors publishing in Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders retain full copyright of their work. Upon acceptance, authors grant the journal the non-exclusive right to publish and distribute the article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Under this license, others are free to:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

As long as:

  • Attribution is given to the original author(s) and source

  • The use is non-commercial in nature

  • No additional restrictions are imposed beyond those of the license

This licensing approach balances the protection of author rights with the promotion of knowledge accessibility for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Plagiarism Policy

The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism in any form. All submitted manuscripts are subjected to rigorous plagiarism screening using iThenticate software before being sent for peer review.

Authors are expected to ensure the originality of their work and appropriately cite all sources. Plagiarized submissions—whether involving copied text, self-plagiarism, or inappropriate paraphrasing—will be rejected outright or retracted post-publication if discovered later. Authors found to have engaged in unethical writing practices may also be subject to notification of their affiliated institutions.

The editorial board encourages transparency, intellectual honesty, and proper academic citation as core values of the journal’s publishing ethics.

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

To support the open access publication model and sustain editorial, peer-review, and digital archiving services, Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) of 1,500,000 Iranian Tomans for accepted manuscripts.

There are no submission fees, and authors are only charged after the peer-review process is completed and the article has been formally accepted for publication.

The APC covers the following services:

  • Editorial management and coordination

  • Double-blind peer review administration

  • Copyediting and typesetting

  • DOI assignment and online hosting

  • Permanent digital archiving

  • License and metadata registration

Waivers or discounts may be considered for authors from low-income countries or under special academic circumstances, subject to prior request and editorial approval.

Peer-Review Process

Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders employs a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure the academic integrity, originality, and scientific merit of submitted manuscripts.

Key steps in the peer-review process:

  1. Initial Screening: Submissions are checked for scope, formatting, and plagiarism.

  2. Editorial Assessment: A handling editor evaluates the scientific suitability of the manuscript.

  3. Reviewer Assignment: The manuscript is assigned to two to three anonymous reviewers, selected for their expertise in the relevant field.

  4. Review Evaluation: Reviewers evaluate based on originality, clarity, theoretical contribution, methodology, ethical compliance, and relevance.

  5. Editorial Decision: Based on the reviewers’ feedback, the editor issues a decision (accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject).

  6. Revision and Resubmission: Authors are given a timeline for addressing reviewer comments and resubmitting revised manuscripts.

  7. Final Decision and Acceptance: Following revision, the editor may consult reviewers again before issuing the final decision.

The average turnaround time from submission to first decision is approximately 4 to 6 weeks. The journal strives for transparency, fairness, and efficiency in the review process.

Archiving and Repository Policies

To ensure the long-term accessibility and preservation of scholarly content, Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders adheres to robust digital archiving and self-archiving policies.

Self-Archiving:

  • Authors are permitted to deposit preprints, accepted manuscripts, and final published versions in personal, institutional, or public repositories, including ResearchGate, Academia.edu, arXiv, and institutional repositories.

  • Deposited versions must include a full citation to the published article and a link to the journal website.

Journal Archiving:

  • All articles published in Health Psychology and Behavioral Disorders are archived on the journal’s official website with permanent DOI assignment.

  • The journal partners with long-term archiving platforms and ensures the redundancy and durability of all content.

  • In the event the journal ceases publication, all articles will remain accessible through digital preservation mechanisms.

These practices guarantee that scholarly works published in the journal remain permanently available, discoverable, and citable.