Journal profile · PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
ISSN 2212-1447 · eISSN 2212-1455 · Elsevier
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science: CAS Zone 2 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.12; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,580; review about 212 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 80 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 2 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions, Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes and Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development, together about 41.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science is the official journal of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS).Contextual Behavioral Science is a systematic and pragmatic approach to the understanding of behavior, the solution of human problems, and the promotion of human growth and development. Contextual Behavioral Science uses functional principles and theories to analyze and modify action embedded in its historical and situational context. The goal is to predict and influence behavior, with precision, scope, and depth, across all behavioral domains and all levels of analysis, so as to help create a behavioral science that is more adequate to the challenge of the human condition.Contextual behavioral science is a strategic approach to the analysis of human behavior that proposes the need for a multi-level (e.g. social factors, neurological factors, behavioral factors) and multi-method (e.g., time series analyses, cross-sectional, experimental) exploration of contextual and manipulable variables relevant to the prediction and influence of human behavior.The journal considers papers relevant to a contextual behavioral approach including:Empirical studies (without topical restriction - e.g., clinical psychology, psychopathology, education, organizational psychology, etc.)Brief reports on preliminary, but still impactful findings (e.g., pilot studies, cross-sectional research on psychological flexibility processes)Reviews (e.g., scoping reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses)Conceptual and philosophical papers on contextual behavioral sciencePractical innovations (descriptions of practical innovation applying contextual behavioral science)CommentariesRegistered reportsWe are particularly interested in:Papers that examine theories and interventions based in CBS (e.g., process-based therapy, acceptance & commitment therapy, relational frame theory, functional analytic psychotherapy, compassion-focused therapy, etc...) to novel research areas with rigorous methodologies. We currently are especially interested in increasing the number of published articles on basic CBS research and translational research.Papers bridging different approaches (e.g., connecting behavioral approaches with cognitive views; or neurocognitive psychology; or evolutionary science)Papers that challenge a contextual behavioral science approach from an informed perspectivePapers that are written from the perspective of and/or report data collected from diverse, underrepresented, and minoritized individuals.The journal welcomes papers written by researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians from different intellectual traditions. What is distinctive is not a narrowly defined theory or set of applied methods but whether the methodology, conceptualization, or strategy employed is relevant to a contextual behavioral approach.JCBS has been receiving an increasing number of submissions that compete for limited space for publication. A notable portion of submissions to JCBS are cross-sectional survey studies on psychological flexibility-related processes (e.g., validating these measures, testing their relation to mental health and related outcomes). In order to balance research on these topics with other important methodologies and research areas of CBS, we are unfortunately only able to accept especially innovative and rigorous research using cross-sectional survey designs, and typically only when submitted as a brief report.Special IssuesThe Journal welcomes suggestions for Special Issues. Proposals for a themed Special Issue should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief, Baljinder K. Sahdra at baljinder.sahdra@acu.edu.au, and should include suggested Executive, Advisory or Guest Editors, a proposed call-for-papers, 6-10 provisional authors and topics (specific titles or general areas), a proposed timeline for submission, peer-reviewing, revision and publication. All manuscripts in a special issue will be subject to the normal process of peer-review.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL
Editor-in-chief Baljinder SahdraPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 42, United Kingdom 8, Mainland China 6, Ireland 4, Hong Kong, China 3 (86 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPsychology19.6%
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychology11.9%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology10.1%
- Behavioral and Psychological StudiesPsychology5.8%
- Mental Health Research TopicsPsychology5.1%
- COVID-19 and Mental HealthPsychology4.6%
- Behavioral Health and InterventionsPsychology4.4%
- Eating Disorders and BehaviorsPsychology3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.12LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.26LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.27LetPub ·
- h-index
- 71OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 537OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.78OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.47%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 71LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 957 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 44 | 31 | 9 |
| 2025 | 80 | 42 | 102 |
| 2024 | 116 | 65 | 796 |
| 2023 | 94 | 44 | 1,033 |
| 2022 | 88 | 45 | 1,437 |
| 2021 | 80 | 34 | 1,896 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
212 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 69 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 212 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,580 / EUR 3,350 / GBP 2,870 / JPY 444,030 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,580 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
- Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: Tutorials in Methods for Personalized Treatment and EvaluationDeadline
- Bridging Relational Frame Theory and Applied Practice: Synthesizing the Evidence for the Foundations of Contextual Behavioral ScienceDeadline
- Bridging Relational Frame Theory and Clinical Practice: Synthesizing the Evidence for the Foundations of Contextual Behavioral ScienceDeadline
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
Article types accepted13, with length limits
- brief empirical reports2. Brief empirical reports (up to 3000 words)Length not stated
- commentaries6. Commentaries (up to 3000 words)Length not stated
- commentaryAll manuscripts must clearly and explicitly be of relevance to CBS. You may find the JCBS article "Report of the ACBS Task Force on the strategies and tactics o…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- conceptual articles4. Conceptual articles (up to 6000 words)Length not stated
- empirical research1. Empirical research (up to 6000 words)Length not stated
- meta-analysisAll manuscripts must clearly and explicitly be of relevance to CBS. You may find the JCBS article "Report of the ACBS Task Force on the strategies and tactics o…Length not stated
- practical innovations5. Practical innovations (up to 6000 words)Length not stated
- registered reportAll manuscripts must clearly and explicitly be of relevance to CBS. You may find the JCBS article "Report of the ACBS Task Force on the strategies and tactics o…Length not stated
- registered reports7. Registered reports (see instructions below)Length not stated
- reviewAll manuscripts must clearly and explicitly be of relevance to CBS. You may find the JCBS article "Report of the ACBS Task Force on the strategies and tactics o…Length not stated
- review articleAll manuscripts must clearly and explicitly be of relevance to CBS. You may find the JCBS article "Report of the ACBS Task Force on the strategies and tactics o…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- review articles3. Review articles (up to 10,000 words)Length not stated
- systematic reviewAll manuscripts must clearly and explicitly be of relevance to CBS. You may find the JCBS article "Report of the ACBS Task Force on the strategies and tactics o…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration;…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interest
Corresponding authors, on behalf of all the authors of a submission, must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data sharing upon reasonable request Model summary
It is expected that all authors who publish in the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science will share data upon reasonable request.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal operates a double anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints can be shared anywhere at any time Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines
CONSORT guidelines for randomized clinical trials Model summary
For randomized clinical trials, JCBS requires that submissions follow CONSORT guidelines.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 2212-1447
- Electronic ISSN
- 2212-1455
- Society / sponsor
- Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
What CAS zone is Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science is in Zone 2 of Psychology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Psychology, Clinical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.12; CiteScore 5.5, h-index 71.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science?
The publisher reports about 212 days (submission to acceptance). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science based?
Of the 86 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (42), United Kingdom (8) and Mainland China (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,580.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .