Welcome to the Health Experiences and Adolescent Relationship Trajectories (HEART) Lab!
Our research focuses on how the social-ecological contexts that adolescents and young adults are embedded in have an impact on their health behaviors and mental health. Some of our active projects include understanding how adverse childhood experiences (ACES) are associated with sexual behaviors, substance use, and mental health, how adolescent sexual behavior is associated with mental health and well-being, and the socio-cultural correlates of sexual behavior in Latine adolescents.
The lab is directed by Dr. Sara Vasilenko, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Syracuse University.
Please click around our website to learn more about our research!
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HEART Lab Students Honored with Awards
Two HEART lab doctoral students received awards in Spring 2026. First, Mahsa Pahlavan Yousefkhani received the Alice Sterling Honig award from the HDFS department. Named in honor of the late professor Emerita Alice Sterling Honig, this award recognizes outstanding scholarship in child development and family studies. Mahsa received this award for her exceptional scholarship during…
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Featured Article: Age-Varying Associations between ACEs and Alcohol Use
In a recently published paper in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, HEART Lab director Dr. Sara Vasilenko and colleagues examined how profiles marked by different types of ACEs before age 12 were associated with later heavy episodic drinking (HED) during adolescence and adulthood. Results suggested that profiles marked by parental alcohol use, violent crime exposure, and…
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Featured Article: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Early Sexual Behaviors
Xiafei Wang, the HEART lab Assistant Director and Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Kentucky recently published a paper in the Journal of Early Adolescence, along with coauthors Kirstin Clear and Sara Vasilenko. This paper focuses on uncovering patterns of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in 9-11 year-old adolescents, and then examining how…
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