About Dr. Anna Ziencina

Rigorous Science Meets Practical Application

Dr. Anna Ziencina represents the intersection of academic excellence and practical litigation consulting. Her PhD in Legal Psychology—one of the few doctoral programs specifically focused on the application of psychology to legal settings—equipped her with deep expertise in human decision-making, statistical analysis, and research methodology. This scientific foundation, combined with consulting experience across diverse practice areas and jurisdictions, enables her to design and execute jury research that delivers reliable, actionable insights.

Dr. Ziencina approaches every case with the methodological rigor of a trained scientist. She designs research studies, analyzes data using sophisticated statistical techniques, and interprets findings through the lens of psychological theory and empirical evidence. This ensures that client recommendations are grounded in data—not guesswork.

Broad Consulting Experience Across Practice Areas

Dr. Ziencina has consulted on numerous cases across the country spanning a diverse range of practice areas and industries:

Geographic Experience: Based in Austin, Texas, Dr. Ziencina has extensive experience with juries across Texas—understanding the nuances of different Texas venues from urban centers to rural counties. She also consults on cases nationwide, applying her research expertise to diverse jurisdictions.

Statistical & Methodological Expertise

Dr. Ziencina has taught courses in both advanced and introductory statistics and has honed exceptional skills in:

This methodological expertise ensures that jury research is designed rigorously, executed carefully, and analyzed accurately—producing findings that clients can trust when making high-stakes decisions.

Core Expertise & Services

Doctoral Research: Juvenile Legal Decision-Making

Dr. Ziencina’s dissertation research examined how adolescents and parents understand laws pertaining to adolescent behavior, and how perceived fairness of policies affects adolescents’ willingness to comply with legal rules. This research has direct implications for understanding how jurors evaluate fairness, authority, and compliance—themes that frequently arise in litigation.

Her broader research program explored:

• The impact of incarceration on adolescent development
• Parental monitoring and adolescent risk-taking
• Peer influence on substance use and offending
• Family support as a protective factor
• Maturity of judgment in legal contexts

Selected Publications

Dr. Ziencina has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals:

• Ziencina, A.D., Thomas, A.G., Fetterman, A.K., Chlebuch, N., Evans, N.D., & Cavanagh, C. (2025).
  Comparing justice-involved and community adolescents’ emotional well-being and feelings of social connection during COVID-19: A daily diary study of adolescents’ social contact. Criminal Justice and Behavior.
• Ziencina, A.D., Thomas, A.G., Volpert-Esmond, H.I., Steinberg, L., Frick, P.J., & Cauffman, E.E. (2022).
  Drug use homophily in adolescent offenders’ close friendship groups. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
• Ziencina, A.D., Thomas, A.G., & Clough, I. (2022).
  Age as a curvilinear moderator for parental solicitation and adolescent risk behavior. Journal of Child and Family Studies.
• Ziencina, A.D., Thomas, A.G., Clough, I., & Fine, A.D. (2022).
  Adolescents’ and parents’ knowledge of laws pertaining to adolescent sexual behavior: The role of perceived policy fairness on adolescents’ willingness to violate the law. Youth Justice.
• Ziencina, A.D., Thomas, A.G., Clough, I., & Cavanagh, C. (2022).
  Maturity of judgment and adolescents’ adherence to CDC guidelines during COVID-19. Child: Care, Health & Development.

Conference Presentations

Dr. Ziencina has presented research at major national and international conferences:

• 2023
  • “Parental monitoring effort predicts risk-taking differently for younger and older adolescents” – Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT
• 2022
  • “Adolescent substance use through a multilevel modeling framework” – University of Texas at El Paso Psychology Department Colloquium
  • “Gender homophily and criminal offending among justice-involved boys” – American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, Denver, CO
  • “How familism buffers the association between adolescents’ perceived life expectancy and offending” – American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, Denver, CO
  • “Can girls help boys say no to drugs? How gender homophily relates to adolescent offenders’ substance use frequency” – Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, New Orleans, LA
• 2020
  • “Stability amongst chaos: Family support moderates perceived life expectancy and self-reported offending” – Justice on the Border Virtual Conference
  • “Effort is half the battle: Maternal attachment moderates parental solicitation and adolescent risk behavior” – UTEP Psychology Department Colloquium
  • “Parental attachment matters: Maternal trust moderates resistance to maternal influence and youth risk behavior” – Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention, Chicago, IL
  • “When aspirations fall short: Pessimism as a moderator for violent offending in adolescence” – American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA
  • “When parental monitoring backfires: The influence of maternal alienation on parental monitoring and adolescent risk behavior” – Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, San Diego, CA
• 2019
  • “Mindfulness correlates of stress and anxiety in a trauma-exposed sample” – Western Psychological Association Annual Convention, Pasadena, CA
• 2018
  • “Mindfulness correlates of PTSD and depression symptoms: Potential treatment implications” – Anxiety and Depression Association of America Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

Professional Background

• Senior Researcher | Act4 Consulting & Stitch Risk Assessment (Current) – Conducts online and in-person jury research, statistical analysis, and trial strategy consulting. Designs custom research studies, analyzes complex data, and provides evidence-based recommendations for cases across diverse practice areas and jurisdictions.
• Consultant | EDGE Litigation Consulting, LLC – Consulted on cases nationwide across multiple practice areas. Developed expertise in online jury research methodologies, statistical analysis, and translating research findings into practical trial strategy.
• Consultant | El Paso Juvenile Probation Department – Provided research consultation on development and evaluation of re-entry program for juvenile offenders. Applied research methodology to assess program effectiveness and recommend improvements.

Texas Venue Expertise

Based in Austin, Texas

As an Austin-based consultant, Dr. Ziencina has extensive experience with Texas juries and understands the unique characteristics of different Texas venues:

• Major Metropolitan Areas: Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth — understanding urban jury attitudes and diverse demographics
• Mid-Size Cities: El Paso, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Amarillo — experience with regional variations in juror perspectives
• Rural Venues: Understanding small-town Texas jury attitudes and community values
• Venue-Specific Research: Ability to conduct venue-specific research to understand local juror attitudes and develop targeted strategies

This deep Texas experience, combined with consulting work across the U.S., allows Dr. Ziencina to adapt research methodologies and strategies to specific venue characteristics while applying proven scientific principles.

Philosophy & Approach

The Science of Jury Decision-Making

Dr. Ziencina’s approach is grounded in the scientific method: formulate questions, design rigorous studies, collect quality data, analyze systematically, and draw evidence-based conclusions. This methodology ensures that recommendations are based on empirical findings rather than assumptions or intuition.

Core Principles:

• Methodological Rigor – Designing studies with scientific principles in mind—appropriate sampling, valid measures, quality control, and rigorous analysis
• Statistical Sophistication – Using advanced statistical techniques to identify meaningful patterns, control for confounding variables, and quantify relationships between factors and outcomes.
• Practical Application – Translating complex research findings into clear, actionable recommendations that trial teams can implement.
• Continuous Learning – Staying current with the latest research in psychology, law, decision-making, and persuasion to inform consulting practice.
• Honest Assessment – Providing candid evaluation of research findings, including both strengths and limitations, to help clients make informed decisions.

Online Research Done Right

Dr. Ziencina recognizes that online jury research is only valuable when conducted with scientific rigor. Her approach ensures quality by:

• Careful Participant Screening – Recruiting participants who match venue demographics and meet jury eligibility criteria
• Engagement Monitoring – Using attention checks and quality control measures to ensure participants are engaged and thoughtful
• Survey Design Excellence – Creating surveys that capture nuanced attitudes without leading or biasing respondents
• Appropriate Analysis – Using statistical techniques suited to the data structure and research questions
• Transparent Reporting – Clearly communicating both findings and limitations so clients understand what the data can and cannot tell them

From Theory to Trial

Dr. Ziencina’s academic training in legal psychology provides a strong theoretical foundation for understanding jury behavior:

• Decision-making psychology – How people process information and reach conclusions
• Social influence – How group dynamics affect individual judgments
• Attitude formation – How people develop opinions about parties, evidence, and issues
• Risk perception – How jurors evaluate likelihood and severity of outcomes
• Fairness perceptions – How jurors assess whether parties and processes are fair

These theoretical insights, combined with empirical research on real cases, inform every aspect of Dr. Ziencina’s consulting work.