According to a new study by the scientists at the University of Edinburgh, the symmetry of a person’s face is a sure-shot tell-tale sign of the kind of childhood that person has had --- which, in other words, means that childhood leaves its mark on a person’s face.

After assessing as many ad 15 different facial markers - including the position of the ears, nose and mouth -, the researchers came to the conclusion that people who have asymmetric facial features generally have had a more deprived childhood and harder upbringings, as compared to their counterparts who have symmetrical faces.

The researchers – led by Professor Ian Deary from the department of psychology at the University of Edinburgh's centre of cognitive ageing – studied the facial features of 292 people aged 83 who took part in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921, a study which has followed the participants throughout their lifetime.

Researchers largely made a comparative study of the symmetry of the faces of the participants against detailed information about their family’s social standing - including the occupation of their parents or how crowded their home was – during their youth.

With the study finding that facial features remained unaffected even by a person’s socioeconomic status later in life, Prof Deary said: “Symmetry in the face is thought to be a marker of what is called developmental stability - the body's ability to withstand (stress factors) and not be knocked off its developmental path.”