The findings of systematic reviews and meta-analyses have an influence on clinical decision making on a daily basis. However, improper conducting of systematic reviews and meta-analysis can potentially lower the quality of the findings, making such findings unreliable. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews) statement and AMSTAR (Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews) are useful in enhancing the quality of research. The present study attempts to enhance the understanding of the PRISMA statement and AMSTAR in order to improve the quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. It focuses on five critical requirements (effective research protocol, comprehensive literature search, reproducible study selection and data extraction, assessment of risk of bias, appropriate data synthesis methods) and provides a detailed explanation for each, substantiated by several examples from published papers.

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On cognitive-behavioral therapy, a clinical case report provides important information for many clinicians. However, the number of a clinical case report published on The Journal of Behavior Therapy was not so many. This report describes the purpose and contents of a clinical case report recommended by two clinical guidelines (Ortega & Rodriguez, 2008; Gagnier et al., 2013). Robey (2004) proposed the five-phase model of clinical research. A clinical case report is included in phases I, II, and IV. Purposes of a clinical case report in Robey's five phase model are introduced at first. At second, two clinical guidelines, the CARE guideline and "Guidelines for clinical reports in behavioral clinical psychology", are mapped on. Finally, as one of the editors of the journal of behavior therapy, we encourage the readers to submit their clinical case works to our journal.

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The present study aimed to investigate differences between factors related to post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and social disability in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. Female patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (N=41) who visited the clinic mainly in the wake of an experience with domestic violence (DV) completed the Event Check List (ECL), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDISS), the Cognitive Appraisal Rating Scale (CARS), the Negative Appraisal for Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms (NAP), and the Tri-Axial Coping Scale-24 (TAC). A partial correlation analysis, performed to determine whether symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were related to social disability, revealed a weak correlation between their scores on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and the SDISS. Moreover, hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that the appraisal of threat, negative prediction and implications relating to post-traumatic stress symptoms, and avoidance-like thinking positively influenced post-traumatic stress symptoms. However, appraisal of threat and becoming resigned positively influenced social disability, and negatively influenced positive interpretation and evading one's responsibility. These results suggest that even if the post-traumatic stress disorder condition improves, the degree of social disability may not. Furthermore, the relationship between cognitive behavioral variables and post-traumatic stress symptoms is different from the relationship between cognitive behavioral variables and social disability. Therefore, in addition to conventional treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), an intervention may be required that positively influences social disability.

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In the present study. a Japanese version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y) was developed, and its reliability and validity was examined. The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth offers a measure of psychological inflexibility caused by experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion in children and adolescents. Study 1, a confirmatory factor analysis, used itemparceling, and showed that the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth had a 1-factor model. Sufficient internal consistency and convergent validity were also confirmed. In Study 2, a psychological educational group program, adapted from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, was conducted for junior high students. Differences in the students' scores on the Japanese Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth before and after the program were examined. The results showed that their scores decreased significantly after the program, and that the Japanese Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth had showed responsiveness. These results suggest that the Japanese Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth may be valid and reliable.

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The aims of the present study were to compare symptoms and attentional bias of patients with generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD) to those of patients with non-generalized social anxiety disorder (NGSAD), and of patients with high perceived physiological arousal social anxiety disorder to those of patients with low perceived physiological arousal social anxiety disorder. Participants (n=16) with social anxiety disorder and control participants without social anxiety disorder (NC; n=6) were asked to fill out questionnaires and to perform a modified dot-probe task in which they were presented with negative and positive evaluation words, body-sensation words in 2 separate exposures that involved automatic and strategic processing. ANOVAs of the attentional bias scores, with subtype (GSAD vs. NGSAD vs. NC) and perceived physiological arousal (high vs. low vs. NC) as independent variables, revealed no significant differences. However, t-tests comparing attentional bias scores with 0 indicated that whereas participants with non-generalized social anxiety disorder were vigilant while performing automatic processing with positive evaluation words, patients with high perceived physiological arousal and social anxiety disorder tended to pay more attention to the body-sensation words on the tasks requiring strategic processing. The significance of assessing social anxiety disorder subtypes and possibly appropriate interventions for each subtype were discussed.

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Behavioral intervention for tics, especially habit reversal training (HRT), has been shown to be effective; however, there are concerns that a rebound effect may be caused by tic suppression. This review aims to clarify the reason for the effectiveness of habit reversal training and explore its possible future directions in Japan. The analysis revealed 3 trends: (a) substantial evidence supports habit reversal training; however, evidence is lacking from patients who had comorbidity, who were very young, or who had vocal tics; (b) functional analysis and participants' control perceptions have recently increased in importance; and (c) in Japan, most existing research is single case studies that treat simple tics, and many researchers emphasize the importance of family relationships. Future research should further evaluate the effectiveness of behavior therapy with patients who have vocal tics or severe tics, and should further assess the impact of family relationships.

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The present study aimed to examine effects of behavioral consultation with the teacher of a third-grade boy with maladjusted behavior, in which an intervention plan was developed using functional assessment and which devised ways of reducing the teacher's imposition when she collected objective data. The results showed that although some off-task-behavior remained, other problematic behavior was reduced substantially or almost disappeared. During the consultation, the intervention plan was discussed with the consultee with respect to the school and class context. The study was a meaningful way to do functional assessment as hypothesis verification and to make an intervention plan with limited information and situation.

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