Some childhood experiences carry lasting stress. CDC’s 2021 National Health Interview Survey asked about four of them, drawn from a larger set of questions on adverse childhood experiences:
- being the victim or witness of violence in the neighborhood
- being separated from a parent or guardian who went to jail, prison or a detention center
- living with someone who was mentally ill or severely depressed
- living with someone with an alcohol or drug problem
Children and adolescents who had experienced specified stressful life events, by family income, 2021. Image from CDC’s report.
Income makes a difference
Among children and teens aged 17 and younger:
| Experience | Family income under 200% of poverty | 200% of poverty or more |
|---|---|---|
| At least one of the four | 20.2% | 12.0% |
| Someone at home with alcohol or drug problems | 9.1% | 5.8% |
| Someone at home mentally ill or severely depressed | 8.8% | 6.5% |
| A parent or guardian in jail, prison or detention | 8.8% | 2.9% |
| Victim or witness of neighborhood violence | 7.2% | 3.1% |
Children in families with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level were more likely to have had each experience.
About the data
The estimates come from household interviews with a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Poverty level is based on family income and size, using U.S. Census Bureau thresholds; missing incomes were imputed.
Sources
Based on "QuickStats: Percentage of Children and Adolescents Aged ≤17 Years Who Have Experienced a Specified Stressful Life Event, by Family Income — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2021," MMWR Vol. 72, No. 29, CDC; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The report’s summary describes the incarceration item as living with someone who had been in jail, while its survey question asks about separation from a parent or guardian who went to jail, prison or detention; the page uses the question’s wording.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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