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Traumatic Events Experienced by US Youth

According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, nearly half of
the nation’s young people experienced at least one of nine traumatic
events in 2016 (the most current year for which these statistics are
available). This supports the view of many experts—that childhood
trauma has become a public health crisis. The graph shows the
percentage of young people from birth through age seventeen who
experienced at least one of the listed traumatic events. Researchers
call these events adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs.

Most Prevalent Traumatic Experiences
for Children and AdolescentsAdolescents
for Children and

Hard to get by on 25.5%
income

Parent or guardian 25%
divorced or separated
Lived with someone
who had a drug or 9%
alcohol problem

Parent or guardian spent 8.2%
time in jail or prison

Lived with someone
who is mentally ill, 7.8%
suicidal, or depressed
Saw or heard violence
5.7%
in the home

Victim or witness of 3.9%
neighborhood violence

Treated/judged unfairly
due to race or ethnicity 3.7%

Death of parent or 3.3%
guardian

Source: C.D. Bethell et al., “Adverse Childhood Experiences Among US Children,” Child & Adolescent Health
Measurement Initiative, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, October 2017. www.cahmi.org.

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