2025 PAYS Statewide Report
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) publishes the biennial statewide report summarizing all grade-level and topic findings.
Cite as: PCCD (2026). 2025 Pennsylvania Youth Survey Statewide Report.
Citations & Data Provenance
Where each finding comes from — and how to verify it
Every AI-assisted summary on this site is anchored to a published 2025 PAYS source. Use this page to trace any number back to the underlying dataset.
One-line provenance rule
If a summary on this site cites a percentage, grade level, or trend, it should be traceable to a page in the 2025 PAYS Statewide Report or to a clearly labeled local data source. If it isn't, treat it as draft language and verify before quoting.
Primary sources used by this site
County & school district reports
PCCD also releases county- and district-level PAYS profiles. Coalitions can request their local dataset through their county Drug & Alcohol office.
Use these to validate any statewide pattern in your community.
Item-level codebook
The PAYS codebook documents exact question wording, response options, and construction of CTC risk/protective factor scales.
Always confirm an item's wording before quoting it externally.
Source map by topic
Which pages of the statewide report back each section of this site.
| Topic area | Report pages | Underlying variables | Site page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample & methodology | pp. 1–14 | Total valid surveys (267,379), schools (1,064), grades 6/8/10/12 weighting | Open |
| Substance use — 30-day & lifetime | pp. 18–42 | ATOD prevalence by grade; ATOD trend tables | Open |
| Mental health & suicide risk | pp. 60–78 | Sad/depressed most days; seriously considered, planned, attempted suicide | Open |
| Screen time & social media | pp. 80–88 | Non-school screen hours; social media hours; parental rules | Open |
| Gambling | pp. 90–96 | Lifetime & 30-day gambling; sports betting by grade | Open |
| School climate & safety | pp. 100–118 | Perceived safety; bullying; cyberbullying; school connectedness | Open |
| Risk & protective factors (CTC) | pp. 120–148 | Community, family, school, peer-individual scale percentages | Open |
Page ranges are approximate and may shift across released editions of the report. Always confirm against the PDF you are quoting from.
How an AI-generated summary is built
- 1
Source extraction
Statewide percentages, grade-level breakdowns, and trend deltas are read directly from the 2025 PAYS report.
- 2
Topic framing
An AI assistant drafts plain-language framing, discussion prompts, and prevention implications from those numbers.
- 3
Human review
Drafts are reviewed for accuracy, tone, and non-stigmatizing language before being added to the site.
- 4
Citation
Each summary is tagged with the report section/page it draws from, so users can re-verify.
Verifying a finding in four steps
- 1. Note the page reference.
Each AI Prevention Insights card lists the pages of the 2025 PAYS Statewide Report it draws from. Start there.
- 2. Open the official PDF.
Pull the statewide PDF from PCCD or the PAYS portal. Navigate to the cited pages and locate the relevant table or chart.
- 3. Match the number and direction.
Confirm the percentage, grade level, and trend direction match the AI-assisted summary. Flag any mismatch as an error to fix.
- 4. Re-check the item wording.
Open the PAYS codebook to confirm the exact question wording before quoting a number externally — wording changes meaning.
Citing this site
Suggested citation
PAYS 2025 Explorer (2026). AI-assisted interpretation of the 2025 Pennsylvania Youth Survey Statewide Report. Retrieved from this site. Underlying data: Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, 2025 Pennsylvania Youth Survey.
When citing a specific finding, also cite the underlying PAYS report page so readers can verify the number directly.
Corrections and disputes
If you find a number on this site that does not match the official 2025 PAYS Statewide Report, treat the official report as authoritative. Surface the discrepancy to the site maintainers so the AI-assisted summary can be corrected.