title: Preparing Children for Court: Effects of a Model Court Education Program on Children's Anticipatory Anxiety.
abstract: The current study examined whether a pretrial preparation program, consisting of legal knowledge education, stress inoculation training, and a mock trial, is associated with decreased anticipatory anxiety of child witnesses. One hundred and ninety-three 4- to 17-year-olds who were awaiting impending legal proceedings attended Kids' Court School in Las Vegas, NV, one to two weeks before their court appearances. Participants completed a measure of anticipatory court-related anxiety before and after the intervention. As predicted, children's anticipatory anxiety decreased significantly from pretest to posttest. Results demonstrate the promise of a brief, unbiased, standardized program for reducing system-induced stress on child witnesses, while maintaining the integrity of the legal process. This study serves as a springboard to guide future research, practice, policy, and implementation on a larger scale.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Bio-behavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
authors: Rebecca
authors: R
authors: Nathanson
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Bio-behavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
authors: Karen J
authors: KJ
authors: Saywitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003416:Criminal Law / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D003479:Curriculum; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D009505:Nevada; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control*