Reference

Glossary

Plain-language definitions for the prevention concepts and PAYS measures used throughout this site. Bookmark this page and share with new coalition members.

Frameworks

Communities That Care (CTC): Risk- and protection-focused prevention framework developed by the University of Washington.; CTC organizes 30+ scales into four domains — community, family, school, and peer–individual — so coalitions can target the factors most predictive of youth problem behavior in their area.
Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF): SAMHSA's 5-step planning cycle: assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, evaluation.; PAYS data feeds the assessment step. The Explorer's Toolkit and Action Planning pages support the rest of the cycle.
Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3: Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) levels of intervention.; Tier 1 = universal supports for all students. Tier 2 = targeted supports for students at elevated risk. Tier 3 = intensive, individualized supports for students with the highest need.

PAYS measures

Past-30-day use: Share of students who report using a substance at least once in the 30 days before the survey.; Standard prevalence measure; comparable across years and to national surveys like Monitoring the Future.
Lifetime use: Share of students who have ever used a substance.; Useful for tracking initiation; pair with past-30-day for a complete picture.
Elevated risk (CTC scales): Percentage of students scoring above the empirically derived cut-point on a risk scale.; Cut-points come from national CTC norms. 'High' risk = top of the scale; 'protective factor present' uses a parallel cut-point for protection scales.
Perceived risk of harm: How harmful students believe a behavior is.; Lower perceived risk is a leading indicator of rising use; track it alongside actual use.

Statistics & reporting

Suppression: Hiding a cell when too few students answered (typically n < 10) to protect privacy and reliability.; Suppressed cells appear as '—' or are omitted. Never infer values from suppressed cells; combine grades or years instead.
n (sample size): Number of valid responses behind a statistic.; Smaller n means wider uncertainty. PAYS 2025 statewide n = 267,379. County and school estimates can be much smaller.
Statewide profile: The official PCCD/DDAP/PDE report aggregating all participating PA schools.; This Explorer summarizes the statewide profile; replace placeholder numbers with the final published values when available.
Trend comparison: Differences between PAYS administrations (2021, 2023, 2025).; Item wording or grade coverage can change between cycles. Always check the methodology note before declaring a trend.
Prevalence: Share of a population reporting a behavior in a defined window (e.g., past 30 days, past 12 months, lifetime).; Always read prevalence with the time window, the denominator (which students), and any suppression notes.

Risk & protective factors

Risk factor: A condition that increases the likelihood of a problem behavior.; Examples: low neighborhood attachment, family conflict, friends' use of substances.
Protective factor: A condition that buffers against risk and supports healthy development.; Examples: family attachment, opportunities for prosocial involvement, social skills.
Domain: One of four CTC categories: community, family, school, or peer–individual.; Most coalitions target 2–3 priority factors across domains rather than chasing every elevated score.