This research will allow progress towards more complete diagnoses and more effective treatments.
Consuelo San Martín, an academic from the School of Psychology, was awarded a Fondecyt Research Initiation Project 2025, granted by the National Agency for Research and Development, which will allow her to investigate how adverse experiences during childhood impact our mental health in adulthood.
His research entitled "The invisible footprints: role of associative learning in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and mental health in adulthood.", seeks to understand how adverse experiences during childhood impact our mental health in adulthood, with a special focus on anxiety and depression.
"Through experiments, we will assess how these early experiences shape fear learning, avoidance behaviors, and the ability to experience well-being. We expect to work with 250 adults, using cognitive, behavioral and physiological measures, along with various assessment scales."Consuelo says.
The research will also allow progress toward more comprehensive diagnostics and more effective treatments that consider how childhood experiences affect mental health later in life.