Positive childhood experiences (PCEs) are events in a child’s life that help them to grow and thrive. PCEs can exist in a child’s household or community. Some, but not all, examples of PCEs are:

Household PCE: Having basic needs (shelter and food)
Community PCE: Feeling safe at home, school, or in their neighborhood

The more PCEs a child has, the more opportunities there are to support a child’s health and well-being as they grow.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful and negative events that happen during childhood. ACEs can exist in a child's household or community. Some, but not all, examples of ACEs are:

Household ACE: Experiencing or witnessing abuse in the home; living with someone with a substance use or mental health problem
Community ACE: Witnessing violence in their neighborhood; experiencing discrimination

These events can affect a child's health in childhood and later in life. ACEs can lead to toxic stress. Toxic stress can hurt a child’s immune system, brain development, or stress response. Some health outcomes that ACEs can contribute to are:

الانتحار

Interpersonal violence or trouble having healthy relationships with others

الاكتئاب أو القلق

Substance use problems

Chronic disease, like cancer or diabetes

Teen pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections

ACEs are preventable. Experiencing ACEs does not mean that a child will always end up with negative health outcomes as they grow into adulthood.

ACEs prevention happens through working together to decrease ACEs and increase PCEs. Creating stable, safe, and nurturing environments help Virginia’s children grow into happy and healthy adults.

How to use this dashboard:

Use the 'Select Year', 'Select Domain', 'Select Sub Category' and 'Select Demographic Group' drop-down menus to filter the dashboard. The dashboard will update based on selections from the drop-down menus.
This dashboard is updated with new data in the fall of each year.

How to interpret the data on this dashboard:

Hover over any bar to view detailed percentages for all respondents and each demographic group.
Percent difference between the selected demographic group and all respondents for each indicator is shown in parentheses above each bar.
- The higher the percent for a PCE, the better. It is good to see green arrows going up for PCEs.
  - An up green arrow for a PCE means that more of the selected demographic group has the PCE compared with all respondents.
  - A down red arrow for a PCE means that less of the selected demographic group has the PCE compared with all respondents.
  - A yellow arrow means the percent has stayed the same from the previous year.

- The lower the percent for an ACE, the better. It is good to see green arrows going down for ACEs.
  - A down green arrow for an ACE means that less of the selected demographic group has the ACE compared with all respondents.
  - An up red arrow for an ACE means that more of the selected demographic group has the ACE compared with all respondents.
  - A yellow arrow means the percent has stayed the same from the previous year.

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The dashboard includes data from two data sources:

Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data come from the Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). These data are collected by the Virginia Department of Health. The Virginia YRBS is Virginia’s version of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The YRBS monitors health risk behaviors among middle and high public school students in Virginia. Data are statistically weighted to help:
- ensure findings are representative of the total youth population, and
- account for school and student non-response and oversampling.

National Survey of Children's Health: Data come from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Data are collected each year for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NSCH collects health- and experiences-related data from parents and caregivers about their children aged 0-17 years.

Available Data Years:

VDH will use the most recent years available for public reporting.
As of August 2026, data years used are:
- Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS): 2021, 2023
- National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH): 2021-2022, 2022-2023

Indicator Definitions:

Community PCEs:

Indicator: Safe in neighborhood
- Brief definition: Parents or caregivers who responded “Definitely agree” or “Somewhat agree” that the neighborhood their child lives in is safe. Response options were “Definitely agree,” “Somewhat agree,” and “Somewhat or definitely disagree.”
- Data source: National Survey of Children’s Health

Indicator: Safe at school
- Brief definition: Parents or caregivers who responded “Definitely agree” or “Somewhat agree” that their child is safe at school (ages 6-17 years). Response options were “Definitely agree,” “Somewhat agree,” and “Somewhat or definitely disagree.”
- Data Source: National Survey of Children’s Health

Household PCEs:

Indicator: Basic needs met
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Always” or “Most of the time” that during their life, an adult in their household tried hard to make sure their basic needs were met, such as looking after their safety and making sure they had clean clothes and enough to eat. Response options were “Never”, “Rarely”, “Sometimes”, “Most of the time”, or “Always.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Community ACEs:

Indicator: Experienced or witnessed neighborhood violence
- Brief definition: Parents or caregivers who responded “Yes” that their child has ever been a victim of violence or witnessed violence in the neighborhood. Response options were “Yes” or “No.”
- Data source: National Survey of Children’s Health

Indicator: Experienced racial/ethnic discrimination
- - Brief definition: Parents or caregivers who responded “Yes” that their child has ever been treated or judged unfairly because of their race or ethnic group. Response options were “Yes” or “No.”
  - Data source: National Survey of Children’s Health

Household ACEs:

Indicator: Experienced emotional abuse
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Always” or Most of the time” that they had a parent or other adult in their home who insulted them or put them down. Response options were “Never”, “Rarely”, “Sometimes”, “Most of the time”, or “Always.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Indicator: Experienced physical abuse
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Always” or “Most of the time” that they lived with a parent or other adult in the home who hit, beat, kicked, or physically hurt them in any way. Response options were “Never”, “Rarely”, “Sometimes”, “Most of the time”, or “Always.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Indicator: Experienced sexual abuse
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Yes” that they had an adult or person at least 5 years older than them who made them do sexual things that they did not want to do (including such things as kissing, touching, or being made to have sexual intercourse). Response options were “Yes” or “No.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Indicator: Had household member with mental illness
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Yes” that they have ever lived with a parent or guardian who had severe depression, anxiety, or another mental illness, or was suicidal. Response options were “Yes” or “No.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Indicator: Had household member with substance use problems
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Yes” that they have ever lived with a parent or guardian who was having a problem with alcohol or drug use. Response options were “Yes” or “No.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Indicator: Had incarcerated parent/guardian
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Yes” that they have been separated from a parent or guardian because their parent or guardian went to jail, prison, or a detention center. Response options were “Yes” or “No.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Indicator: Witnessed household violence
- Brief definition: Students who responded “Always” or “Most of the time” that they had seen their parents or other adults in their home slapped, hit, kicked, punched, or beat each other up. Response options were “Never”, “Rarely”, “Sometimes”, “Most of the time”, or “Always.”
- Data source: Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey