Self-reported data on Positive Childhood Experiences are collected from 9th-12th graders via a three-question version of the questionnaire included in the Utah SHARP survey every other year. The three questions ask,

1. During your life, how often have you felt that you were able to talk to an adult in your family or another caring adult about your feelings?

2. During your life, how often have you felt that you were able to talk to a friend about your feelings?

3. Do you agree or disagree that you feel close to people at your school?

Response options are then simplified into whether or not connectedness was a common experience for each of the different questions (responses “most of the time” or “always”/”Strongly agree” or “Agree” to SHARP questions are coded as yes/present) and a PCE score is assigned (0 to 3 out of 3).

Higher PCE scores are associated with a higher probability of attaining postsecondary education, higher household income, and lower probability of multiple health risk behaviors and chronic diseases in adulthood (1).

From 2021 to 2023, the percentage of 9th-12th graders who indicate all three Positive Childhood Experiences increased by 3.3% (from 27.9% in 2021 to 31.2% in 2023). This increase was primarily driven by an increase in youth feeling able to talk to an adult about their feelings (56.6% in 2023 up from 50.5% in 2021). Data is available on a biannual basis and is not yet ready for 2025 reporting. Governor Cox's Built Here Initiative for his second term aims to increase this measure by 10% before 2029.