Definition: Estimated percentage of children ages 12-17 with and without adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), by sexual orientation and number of ACEs (e.g., in 2024, 57.5% of homosexual (lesbian or gay) youth ages 12-17 in California had at least one ACE).
Data Source: Number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) - Teens: The California Health Interview Survey, 2023-2024. Tabulation by the California Dept. of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (Jun. 2026).
Footnote: This indicator reports on exposure to five adverse childhood experiences from birth to the time of survey: (1) parent or guardian got divorced or separated; (2) parent or guardian served time in jail or prison; (3) witnessed domestic violence (seen or heard parents, guardians, or other adults in the home slapping, hitting, kicking, punching, or beating each other up); (4) household member was mentally ill, suicidal, or severely depressed for more than a couple of weeks; (5) household member abused alcohol or drugs. These estimates are based on a survey of the population and are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. Use data with caution. The annotation [!!] indicates a statistically unstable estimate with a small sample size and coefficient of variation greater than 30%. Unannotated estimates are statistically stable within a 30% coefficient of variation but may not meet kidsdata.org's standards for reliability based on margin of error (MOE), which require MOEs of no greater than five (or ten) percentage points at the 95% (or 90%) confidence level. For more information, visit the California Health Interview Survey.
