OPINION ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW
CLINTON, Judge.
Appellant was convicted of two charges of indecency with a child, and one charge of injury to a child. The jury assessed punishment at confinement in the penitentiary for eight years on each indecency conviction, and five years confinement for the injury to a child conviction. On appeal appellant contended that, inter alia, the trial court erred to admit over objection expert testimony as to behavior of the children exhibited after the alleged offense. The court of appeals affirmed. Cohn v. State, 804 S.W.2d 572 (Tex.App. — Houston [14th] 1991). In his petition for discretionary review appellant contends that, under Duckett v. State, 797 S.W.2d 906 (Tex.Cr. App.1990), the expert testimony was not admissible because the child complainants were not impeached. We granted the petition for discretionary review to resolve an apparent ambiguity in our Duckett opinion. Tex.R.App. Pro., Rule 200(c)(2).
I.
The child complainants, an older sister and younger brother, each testified that appellant, a friend of their parents who had volunteered to babysit them, became drunk and sexually molested them both. Dr. Bra-dee Roy, a psychiatrist, testified during the State’s case-in-chief. He related that he had talked to the parents and examined the children a few days after the offense, and then again about ten days later. He testified that sexually abused children could be expected to experience “crying episodes” and “angry episodes” and to manifest problems with concentration at school. “They want to hang onto the parents, cling on, try to get reassurance.” Asked particularly what characteristics would be specific to sexually abused children, as opposed to children who have experienced other kinds [818]*818of trauma, Dr. Roy gave an answer that was unresponsive.1 Appellant leveled no objection to Roy's testimony up to this point. It should be noted, however, that the court of appeals premised no part of its holding in this cause upon procedural default. Cohn v. State, supra, at 574-75.
The prosecutor next inquired about the particular demeanor of the two children when Roy interviewed them, both the first time and ten days later. Appellant objected that the prosecutor was thereby “bolstering the witness.” After some discussion of the opinion in Kirkpatrick v. State, 747 S.W.2d 838 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1987), the trial court allowed the questioning. Roy testified the sister was “mildly depressed.” Her affect was “constricted,” which was consistent with experiencing trauma, and “when she went into the details she was appropriate with her feelings about what happened.” By this he meant she was “crying” and “nervous.” The brother, he testified, was “in distress,” displaying anger and fear and helplessness.
Dr. Roy did not testify directly that the children were sexually abused or that they were telling the truth. His testimony therefore did not approach the level of “replacing” the jury, which this Court indicated in Duckett v. State, supra, at 914 & 920, would violate Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rule 702. For this reason the court of appeals held his testimony was not erroneously admitted. Cohn v. State, supra. Appellant contends, however, that under Duckett the trial court may not admit the kind of testimony Roy gave here unless the child complainants have first been impeached. Duckett notwithstanding, however, we cannot agree that substantive evidence of abuse should be admissible only if it serves to rehabilitate an impeached witness.
II.
Substantive Evidence
A number of witnesses besides Dr. Roy testified without objection that after the alleged offenses the normally gregarious children were withdrawn, fearful, and “clingy.” Such characteristics have been empirically shown to be common among children who have been sexually abused. See Myers, et al., Expert Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse Litigation, 68 Neb. L.Rev. 1 (1989), at 60. But these indicia of anxiety do not point exclusively to sexual abuse, as Dr. Roy seems to have acknowledged. See n. 1, ante. They do tend to show some kind of trauma, not necessarily of a sexual nature. Id., at 64.
“The probative value of expert testimony describing behaviors observed in young sexually abused children is highest when there is a coalescence of three types of behaviors: (1) a central core of sexual behaviors which are strongly associated with sexual abuse;[2] (2) [819]*819nonsexual behaviors which are commonly observed in sexually abused children; and (3) medical evidence of sexual abuse.
Probative value declines as sexual behaviors and medical evidence decrease in proportion to nonsexual behaviors. When the only evidence consists of a number of ambiguous, nonsexual behaviors, the evidence may lack any probative value, or probative worth may be outweighed by the potential for unfair prejudice or jury confusion, [footnote citing Fed.R.Evid. 403]
When a child demonstrates no sexual behaviors, but does experience signs of serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, expert testimony may still be relevant. In this scenario, however, testimony serves only to establish that the child may have experienced some type of traumatic event. Such testimony is not specific to sexual abuse.”
Id. Absent medical evidence or evidence of behavior more closely determinative of sexual abuse, see n. 2 ante, it seems the psychological community is unwilling to find evidence of anxiety sufficient to support the conclusion, even to a reasonable clinical certainty, that sexual abuse has necessarily occurred. Id. Therefore, to the extent Roy’s testimony may have suggested that evidence of anxiety behavior is enough in and of itself to indicate sexual abuse, it may well have been objectionable under Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rule 705(c).3 But to the extent it only provided circumstantial evidence that the children did experience some traumatic event, Dr. Roy’s testimony, both that anxiety behavior is at least consistent with sexual abuse, and that the children here exhibited such behavior in his presence, was relevant evidence, under Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rules 401 & 402.4 It should come in as substantive evidence unless “its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair preju-dice_” Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rule 403.
“Bolstering”
Appellant contends that testimony such as Dr. Roy’s is inadmissible under Duckett because it “bolsters” the testimony of the child complainants. We frankly admit that our opinion in Duckett may be read to hold that even expert testimony that is relevant as substantive evidence may yet be inadmissible unless it serves some rehabilitative function. Duckett seems to suggest that the source for such a rule may be found in Rule 403, supra. See 797 S.W.2d at 917, 919. To the extent Duckett may be so read, however, we now disapprove it.
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OPINION ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW
CLINTON, Judge.
Appellant was convicted of two charges of indecency with a child, and one charge of injury to a child. The jury assessed punishment at confinement in the penitentiary for eight years on each indecency conviction, and five years confinement for the injury to a child conviction. On appeal appellant contended that, inter alia, the trial court erred to admit over objection expert testimony as to behavior of the children exhibited after the alleged offense. The court of appeals affirmed. Cohn v. State, 804 S.W.2d 572 (Tex.App. — Houston [14th] 1991). In his petition for discretionary review appellant contends that, under Duckett v. State, 797 S.W.2d 906 (Tex.Cr. App.1990), the expert testimony was not admissible because the child complainants were not impeached. We granted the petition for discretionary review to resolve an apparent ambiguity in our Duckett opinion. Tex.R.App. Pro., Rule 200(c)(2).
I.
The child complainants, an older sister and younger brother, each testified that appellant, a friend of their parents who had volunteered to babysit them, became drunk and sexually molested them both. Dr. Bra-dee Roy, a psychiatrist, testified during the State’s case-in-chief. He related that he had talked to the parents and examined the children a few days after the offense, and then again about ten days later. He testified that sexually abused children could be expected to experience “crying episodes” and “angry episodes” and to manifest problems with concentration at school. “They want to hang onto the parents, cling on, try to get reassurance.” Asked particularly what characteristics would be specific to sexually abused children, as opposed to children who have experienced other kinds [818]*818of trauma, Dr. Roy gave an answer that was unresponsive.1 Appellant leveled no objection to Roy's testimony up to this point. It should be noted, however, that the court of appeals premised no part of its holding in this cause upon procedural default. Cohn v. State, supra, at 574-75.
The prosecutor next inquired about the particular demeanor of the two children when Roy interviewed them, both the first time and ten days later. Appellant objected that the prosecutor was thereby “bolstering the witness.” After some discussion of the opinion in Kirkpatrick v. State, 747 S.W.2d 838 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1987), the trial court allowed the questioning. Roy testified the sister was “mildly depressed.” Her affect was “constricted,” which was consistent with experiencing trauma, and “when she went into the details she was appropriate with her feelings about what happened.” By this he meant she was “crying” and “nervous.” The brother, he testified, was “in distress,” displaying anger and fear and helplessness.
Dr. Roy did not testify directly that the children were sexually abused or that they were telling the truth. His testimony therefore did not approach the level of “replacing” the jury, which this Court indicated in Duckett v. State, supra, at 914 & 920, would violate Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rule 702. For this reason the court of appeals held his testimony was not erroneously admitted. Cohn v. State, supra. Appellant contends, however, that under Duckett the trial court may not admit the kind of testimony Roy gave here unless the child complainants have first been impeached. Duckett notwithstanding, however, we cannot agree that substantive evidence of abuse should be admissible only if it serves to rehabilitate an impeached witness.
II.
Substantive Evidence
A number of witnesses besides Dr. Roy testified without objection that after the alleged offenses the normally gregarious children were withdrawn, fearful, and “clingy.” Such characteristics have been empirically shown to be common among children who have been sexually abused. See Myers, et al., Expert Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse Litigation, 68 Neb. L.Rev. 1 (1989), at 60. But these indicia of anxiety do not point exclusively to sexual abuse, as Dr. Roy seems to have acknowledged. See n. 1, ante. They do tend to show some kind of trauma, not necessarily of a sexual nature. Id., at 64.
“The probative value of expert testimony describing behaviors observed in young sexually abused children is highest when there is a coalescence of three types of behaviors: (1) a central core of sexual behaviors which are strongly associated with sexual abuse;[2] (2) [819]*819nonsexual behaviors which are commonly observed in sexually abused children; and (3) medical evidence of sexual abuse.
Probative value declines as sexual behaviors and medical evidence decrease in proportion to nonsexual behaviors. When the only evidence consists of a number of ambiguous, nonsexual behaviors, the evidence may lack any probative value, or probative worth may be outweighed by the potential for unfair prejudice or jury confusion, [footnote citing Fed.R.Evid. 403]
When a child demonstrates no sexual behaviors, but does experience signs of serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, expert testimony may still be relevant. In this scenario, however, testimony serves only to establish that the child may have experienced some type of traumatic event. Such testimony is not specific to sexual abuse.”
Id. Absent medical evidence or evidence of behavior more closely determinative of sexual abuse, see n. 2 ante, it seems the psychological community is unwilling to find evidence of anxiety sufficient to support the conclusion, even to a reasonable clinical certainty, that sexual abuse has necessarily occurred. Id. Therefore, to the extent Roy’s testimony may have suggested that evidence of anxiety behavior is enough in and of itself to indicate sexual abuse, it may well have been objectionable under Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rule 705(c).3 But to the extent it only provided circumstantial evidence that the children did experience some traumatic event, Dr. Roy’s testimony, both that anxiety behavior is at least consistent with sexual abuse, and that the children here exhibited such behavior in his presence, was relevant evidence, under Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rules 401 & 402.4 It should come in as substantive evidence unless “its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair preju-dice_” Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rule 403.
“Bolstering”
Appellant contends that testimony such as Dr. Roy’s is inadmissible under Duckett because it “bolsters” the testimony of the child complainants. We frankly admit that our opinion in Duckett may be read to hold that even expert testimony that is relevant as substantive evidence may yet be inadmissible unless it serves some rehabilitative function. Duckett seems to suggest that the source for such a rule may be found in Rule 403, supra. See 797 S.W.2d at 917, 919. To the extent Duckett may be so read, however, we now disapprove it.
Under caselaw predating the Rules of Criminal Evidence it was held that “ ‘[bolstering’ occurs when one item of evidence is improperly used by a party to add credence or weight to some earlier unim-peached piece of evidence offered by the same party.” Sledge v. State, 686 S.W.2d 127, at 129 (Tex.Cr.App.1984), citing Pless v. State, 576 S.W.2d 83, at 84 (Tex.Cr.App. 1978).5 “Bolstering” may perhaps be understood a little more precisely to be any evidence the sole purpose of which is to convince the factfinder that a particular witness or source of evidence is worthy of credit, without substantively contributing “to make the existence of [a] fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more or less probable than it would [820]*820be without the evidence.” See Rule 401, supra. Accordingly, evidence that corroborates another witness’ story or enhances inferences to be drawn from another source of evidence, in the sense that it has an incrementally further tendency to establish a fact of consequence, should not be considered “bolstering.”
The only apparent “bolstering” provisions contained in the Rules of Criminal Evidence are Tex.R.Cr.Evid., Rule 608(a),6 and Rule 612(c).7 Rule 608(a) allows opinion or reputation evidence as to the character of a party’s own witness for truthfulness, but only after the witness’ character for truthfulness has already been attacked by the opposing party. But Rule 608(a) does not address admissibility of circumstantial evidence by a party that tends to corroborate the accuracy of his own earlier witness’ testimony but says nothing one way or the other about that witness’ character for truth and veracity. Evidence that corroborates does not involve the character of a witness for truthfulness, vel non. Rule 612(c) is also a “bolstering” rule to the extent it prevents the use of prior consistent statements of a witness for the sole purpose of enhancing his credibility.8 But again, Rule 612(c) says nothing about the admissibility of substantive evidence that happens to corroborate a witness. Nor do we know of any other provision in the Rules of Criminal Evidence that mandates exclusion of relevant evidence simply because it corroborates testimony of an earlier witness.
Certainly Rule 403, supra, does not. Dr. Roy’s testimony that the children exhibited anxiety behaviors is circumstantial evidence that something traumatic happened to them. That this evidence in some small measure corroborates the children’s own testimony that appellant sexually molested them does not make it any less relevant — in fact, quite the opposite. Of course, like all corroborating evidence, because it is consistent with the children’s story, it also has a tendency to make their testimony more plausible. But we should not for that reason exclude it for “unfair prejudice” under Rule 403, supra. “ ‘Unfair prejudice’ does not, of course, mean that the evidence injures the opponent’s case — the central point of offering evidence. Rather it refers to ‘an undue tendency to suggest decision on an improper basis, commonly, though not necessarily, an emotional one.’ ” Goode, et al., Texas Practice: Texas Rules of Evidence: Civil and Criminal, § 403.2 (1988), at 93, quoting Advisory Committee’s Note to Federal Rule 403. The Court’s opinion in Duckett does not explain in what way corroborative evidence tends to suggest decision on an improper basis, and we cannot think of how it would.
In short, we do not view Rule 403 as a basis for exclusion of expert testimony that is otherwise admissible as substantive evi[821]*821dence, as was Dr. Roy’s in this cause. Nor do we find any other basis in the Rules of Criminal Evidence to justify exclusion of his testimony as “bolstering.” For this reason we cannot say that the court of appeals erred to hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Roy’s testimony.
Accordingly, the judgment of the court of appeals is affirmed.