Health Behavior Research (HBR) is the official journal of the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB). Published four-times per year, HBR is a peer-reviewed open-access scholarly journal that publishes original research articles, current issues papers, commentaries, and abstracts from the annual meeting of the Academy.
Health Behavior Research is dedicated to the translation of research to advance policy, program planning, and/or practice relevant to behavior change. This aim is accomplished by publishing scholarly works from basic and applied scientists that rigorously apply, test, and inform efforts to revise, refine, or reject theoretical principles. More specifically, preference will be given to works that:
- Test theoretical principles across a diverse array of settings and populations to enable investigators to better specify the scope of a theory;
- Further develop processes that shape primary constructs identified in health behavior theories to inform guidelines for strategies to target constructs in policy, planning, and practice;
- Address the causal processes invoked by mediators and moderators that inform theory refinement;
- Provide empirical evidence that informs researchers about the potential factors that lack predictive and explanatory health behaviors so as to refine and reduce the number of constructs within existing theories that predict and explain health behavior;
- Provide rationale for theory refinement based on application and rigorous testing.
- Address new and emerging concepts and theory used in health behavior research, conceptual frameworks, methods, and analyses.
For more information about AAHB, and becoming a member, please visit the academy’s website at www.aahb.org.
At this time Health Behavior Research is not accepting new manuscripts. We plan to start accepting manuscripts again in the upcoming months. We appreciate your patience.
Current Issue: Volume 9, Number 1 (2026)
Editorial
Sapere Aude – Dare to Be Wise: Kenneth D. Ward
Kenneth D. Ward
Sapere Aude — Dare to be Wise: Herbert H. Severson
Herbert H. Severson
Sapere Aude – Dare to Be Wise: Mark J Kittleson
Mark J. Kittleson
Sapere Aude – Dare to Be Wise: Marcia G. Ory
Marcia G. Ory
Research Articles
Sociocultural Correlates of Contraceptive Method Use Among Partnered U.S. Women: Findings from NCHAT
Sarah A. Alkhatib, Rohit Balasundaram, Kaeli Johnson, Stacey B. Griner, Malinee Neelamegam, and Erika L. Thompson
Tobacco Imagery on Video-centric User-Generated Content Platforms: Exposure Associated with Greater Intentions to Smoke and Use E-Cigarettes
Jessica M. Rath, Brenda Dimaya, Elexis C. Kierstead, Michael A. Tynan, Maeh Al-Shawaf, and Nathan A. Silver
Understanding Demographic & Behavioural Characteristics of Seropositive Clients Tested at ICTC: A Hospital Based Study in Central India
Prabha Desikan, Aseem Rangnekar, Nikita Panwalkar, Manoj Pateriya, and Virendra Singh Rajput
Comfort and Confidence of Nurses Providing Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations with TeleSANE Guidance
Wah Wah Myint, Heather R. Clark, Kim A. Zemanek, Kayce Ward, Stacey A. Mitchell, and Nancy R. Downing
Identifying the Unique Role of Anxiety Sensitivity Sub-facets in Food Cravings
Brooke Y. Redmond, Angelica Duran, Andrea Rodriguez, Duckhyum Jo, and Michael J. Zvolensky
From Pain to Suffering: The Narrative Ethnography of Pain Experience Among Kurdish People with Chronic Skeletal Pain in Iran
Loghman Shamsi
The associations of bedtime, sleep duration, inflammation, and insulin resistance among adults in the United States: Cross-sectional NHANES 2021-2023
Shuo Feng, Qiyue Zhang, and Ping Ma
Chronic Pain and Pain Management Experiences among Younger and Older Adults
Shinduk Lee, Matthew L. Smith, Deborah V. Dahlke, Nicole Pardo, and Marcia G. Ory
Factors Associated with Trust in Social Media Information: An Analysis of Psychosocial and Demographic Correlates
Sunghyun Chung and Adam E. Barry
“You’re Left to Fend for Yourself”: Navigating Maternity Care, Employment Barriers, and Postpartum Well-being in Florence, Italy
Sophie E. Shank, Honor Fuchs, Nicole A. Stepp, and Andrea L. DeMaria
Impact of a Pharmacist-Based Community Intervention to Improve Outcomes for Patients with Diabetes and Hypertension
Christopher Robbins, Erin Miller, Alex Middendorf, Deidra Van Gilder, and Sharrel Pinto
Exploring the Issue of Social Isolation Among Older Adults in Northeast Tennessee: A Brief Report
Aimee Rowe, Erin Mauck, Kayla B. Dodson, Priscilla Rogers, Matthew L. Smith, and Jodi Southerland
Oregon’s Psilocybin Services: A summary and public health commentary
Cassidy LoParco, Carlton Bone, Annalynn M. Galvin, Matthew E. Rossheim, and Carla Berg
Community Violence, Peer Victimization, and Protective Weapon Purchase in Nicaraguan Adolescents: The Role of Attitudes Toward Weapons
Yu Lu, Hillary McGuire, Shristi Bhochhibhoya, YoungJu Shin, and Jonathan Pettigrew
Health Behaviors and Wellbeing of University Students During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
Joshua S. Yudkin, Mckenna Brownell, Matthew Lee Smith, and Rebecca Jungbauer
Scroll, Motivate, Move? The Role of Fitspiration Content on Visual Social Media on Exercise Motivation and Behavior
Isa Vos and Thomas N. Friemel
Research Briefs
Assessing Firearm Ownership and Storage Among Recent Dental Care Users in the United States
Alexander Testa and Rahma Mungia
Kratom brands in vape shops across the US
Cassidy R. LoParco, Kayla K. Tillett, Carla Berg, and Matthew E. Rossheim
Weight concern as a predictor of smoking cessation in smokers participating in a community-based cessation program
Cheri Kilmurray, Mark Vander Weg, Nancy Wilson, Xichen Mou, Barbara McClanahan, Michelle B. Stockton, and Kenneth D. Ward
The Relationship between Gender Identity, Transphobia, and Provider Trust among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals in Rural Appalachia
Mohammed Sheikh Eldin Jibriel, Rachel W. Faller, Amanda E. Tanner, Tamar Goldenberg, Jeanette M. Stafford, Ana D. Sucaldito, Lilli Mann-Jackson, Jorge Alonzo, Manuel Garcia, John W. Chaffin, Lucero Refugio Aviles, David M. Kline, Laurie P. Russell, Tucker McGuire, Peggy H. Weil, Antonio Del Toro, Aimee M. Wilkin, and Scott D. Rhodes
Burnout, Drinking Motives, and Alcohol Consumption among University Faculty and Staff
Charlie Chen, Jordin Nowak, and Rose Marie Ward
From Fit to At-Risk: Latent Profiles of Health and Behavior Among First-Year Mexican American College Students
Soyoung Kwon, Shannon Shen, Jieming Chen, Soojin Yoo, Boram Lim, and Sukho Lee
