#  Feelings and Childhood Experiences Study (FACEs Study) 

 



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SortEmotional health and beneficence are crucial elements of well-being and positive socio-emotional functioning. As such, the FACEs Study seeks to better understand how early-life stress relates to 1) emotional awareness 2) emotional learning and generalization and 3) prosociality and aggression. We are particularly interested in studying these associations in teens ages 13 to 18 who have personally experienced or witnessed violence. Our hope in studying this population is to gain more insight into how early life experiences impact processes that are connected to mental health in order to better help other teenagers who have been exposed to trauma.

The study involved two visits. Due to COVID-19 safety considerations, the first sessions were conducted via video conferencing (i.e., Zoom or Skype). The second visits took place at the Center for Brain Sciences on Harvard University's main campus, and abided by the most up-to-date health guidelines to prioritize the safety of all participants. During the visits, we asked the child and the parent to complete several interviews and questionnaires about their life experiences, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The children also completed some emotion-related tasks and see pictures of faces on a computer. During the second visit, the children completed other emotion-related tasks while in an MRI brain scanning machine.