Data Dashboards

Glossary

This glossary provides background on the indicators shown in the dashboards. Visit the original data source (as listed) for more specific information on the methodology or data collection. Glossary items are arranged by Dashboard topic and flow in the following order:

  • Consumption Dashboard Indicators
  • Consequences Dashboard Indicators
  • Risk and Protective Factors Dashboard Indicators
  • Gambling Dashboard Indicators

Consumption

Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS)

Brief Description and Historical Reports on PAYS: www.pays.pa.gov
Source of data for PAYS - Web Tool: http://www.bach-harrison.com/payswebtool/

Acronym ATOD: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs

Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS): Since 1989, the Commonwealth has conducted a survey of school students in the 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th grades to learn about their behavior, attitudes and knowledge concerning alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and violence. Unless noted in the individual chart, the data displayed is from the most current survey year. The "Pennsylvania Youth Survey," or PAYS, is conducted every two years. 

PAYS is administered in the individual school buildings, using either paper/pencil or online tool at the school’s discretion. The survey is voluntary – youth are able to skip any questions they do not wish to answer or to opt out of the survey entirely. Additionally, students are made aware that their responses will remain anonymous and confidential. No individual student-level data can be obtained from the data set, and the results are reported in aggregate at the local, county, and State levels.

Note to data user – Not all school districts participate in the PAYS. A map of Participating School Districts and Intermediate Units can be found at: http://www.pccd.pa.gov/Juvenile-Justice/Documents/PAYS/PaysParticipation_wCounty.pdf

Pennsylvania totals displayed on the site may not match totals reported in the statewide report.  Please visit the PA Youth Survey website (www.pays.pa.gov) for more information about the survey sample, validity, response rates, and how the risk and protective factor percentages were calculated.

Description of Indicators:

  • Current Drug Use – 30 Day vs Lifetime (data for the following included) (youth were asked to report if they had used substance in their lifetime or in the past 30-days):

    • Alcohol
    • Cigarettes
    • Heroin (is typically included in the Other category but is displayed separately for this analysis)
    • Inhalants
    • Marijuana
    • Other (Hallucinogens, Ecstasy and Synthetic Drugs)
    • Rx (prescription drugs such as Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)/Steroids, narcotic prescription drugs, prescription tranquilizers, prescription stimulants, or over-the-counter drugs without a doctor’s orders)
    • Smokeless Tobacco
    • Stimulants (Cocaine, Crack and Methamphetamines)

  • BRFSS Adult Alcohol and Tobacco Use (data for the following included) Source of Data: http://www.statistics.health.pa.gov/StatisticalResources/EDDIE/Pages/EDDIE.aspx#.WKNVU_KrHjg

  • Acronym BRFSS: Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System

    • Binge Drinking: having greater than five or more drinks on one occasion for men and having four or more drinks on one occasion for women.
    • Chronic Drinking: having an average of two drinks or more every day for the past 30 days.
    • Current Smoker: those who reported having smoked greater than or equal to 100 cigarettes during their lifetime and who currently smoked every day or some days.
    • Former Smoker: those who reported having smoked >100 cigarettes during their lifetime and who currently did not smoke at all.

Consequences

Arrest By Type

Source of data: Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System, Pennsylvania State Police http://www.paucrs.pa.gov/UCR/Reporting/Annual/AnnualSumArrestUI.asp

  • Arrest Rate per 100,000 population: An offense rate, or crime rate, defined as the number of offenses per 100,000 population, is derived by first dividing a jurisdiction’s population by 100,000 and then dividing the number of offenses by the resulting figure. Crime or arrest rates are derived from law enforcement agencies for which 12 months of complete offense or arrest data have been submitted.

  • Drug Possession: Includes possession of illegal or controlled substances such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs.

  • Drug Sale: Includes selling, manufacturing, distributing, delivering, or exchanging of illegal or controlled substances such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs.

  • Drunkenness: Drunkenness includes all offenses of intoxication, with the exception of driving under the influence.

  • DUI: Driving under the influence is the operation of any vehicle while under the influence of alcoholic beverages or narcotic drugs.

  • Liquor Law: Liquor law violations include, with the exceptions of drunkenness and driving under the influence, all offenses related to alcohol. Some violations included are unlawful manufacturing, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages; bootlegging; operation of a still; and consumption of alcoholic beverages by a minor.

  • Hispanic: "Hispanic or Latino" refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.

Drug and Alcohol Related Crashes

Source of data: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation – Crash Information Tool http://dotcrashinfo.pa.gov/PCIT/welcome.html

  • Crash: A reportable crash is one in which the incident occurs on a highway or traffic way that is open to the public and an injury or a fatality occurs, or at least one of the vehicles involved requires towing from the scene.

  • Alcohol-Related Crash: Any reportable crash in which one or more of the drivers was reported to have been drinking, or a drinking pedestrian was involved.

  • Drug Related Crash: Any reportable crash in which at least one Driver or Pedestrian with Drugs reported or suspected.

  • Illegal Drug Related Crash: Any reportable crash in which at least one Driver or Pedestrian had reported or suspected Illegal Drug use.

  • Fatality: The person died within 30 days of the crash and the death is attributable to the crash.

  • Injury: Any injury classified as Minor, Moderate or Major according to the definitions of Injury Severity. See Report for details.

ATOD Related Causes of Death (Underlying Cause of Death)

Source of data: Pennsylvania Department of Health EDDIE System http://www.statistics.health.pa.gov/StatisticalResources/EDDIE/Pages/EDDIE.aspx#.WKNVU_KrHjg

  • Data extracted from EDDIE used Pennsylvania counties, Three Year, Total for Male and Female, All Races, Age-Adjusted Rate, and All Ages as the criteria for selecting the following cause of death:

    • Cancer of lung and bronchus
    • Chronic lower respiratory diseases
    • Suicide (intentional self-harm)
    • Drug-induced deaths
    • Cancer of liver and intrahepatic bile ducts
    • Liver, alcoholic liver disease
    • Cancer of oral cavity and pharynx
    • Viral hepatitis

Delinquency Dispositions

Source of data: The Pennsylvania Juvenile Delinquency Data Analysis Tool from the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission (JCJC) http://dev.ncjj.org/OAJCJCEZAPA/

  • Disposition: an outcome of a written allegation received by the juvenile probation department. A written allegation may include a single offense or multiple offenses. The submission of a written allegation may lead to the filing of one or more petitions. A disposition may reflect the outcome of one or more written allegations or petitions. Multiple written allegations or petitions which are disposed on the same day are counted as one disposition.

Rx Related Calls to Poison Control Centers

Source of data: Philadelphia Poison Center, http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/poison-control-center and the Pittsburgh Poison Center, http://www.upmc.com/Services/poison-center/Pages/default.aspx

  • Rx Related Calls to Poison Control Centers: Pharmaceutical categories included are developed by Truven Health Analytics.

Get Help Now Hotline

Source: Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs. Pennsylvania’s Get Help Now Hotline is a 24/7, free, live and confidential hotline for assistance in finding a treatment provider or funding for addiction treatment in Pennsylvania. - https://apps.ddap.pa.gov/gethelpnow/

  • Calls Per Month: Number of all Pennsylvania calls received during the month
  • Intakes by Gender and County: An intake occurs when a caller requests a referral to treatment. During the intake process, the hotline staff collect demographic information such as gender and county of residence. Intakes by gender and county do not equal the total number of calls because not all calls result in an intake.
  • Warm-Line Connections: Number of calls resulting in a direct telephone connection to a treatment facility. Some callers receive more than one warm-line connection.
    • Percent of Total Calls: Number of warm-line connections divided by total calls.
  • Resources: Number of callers who were referred for/to: assessment, detox/crisis stabilization, outpatient treatment, medication-assisted treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, inpatient residential treatment, the emergency room, recovery support, social services, information resources only, their Single County Authority.
    • Resources – At Least 1 Resource: Number of callers who were given at least one resource or referral over the telephone.
    • Resources – Emergency Room: Referral to emergency room is made when suicidal or experiencing alcohol/benzodiazepine withdrawal crisis.

Risk and Protective Factors

Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS)

Brief Description and Historical Reports on PAYS: www.pays.pa.gov
Source of data for PAYS - Web Tool: http://www.bach-harrison.com/payswebtool/

PAYS Acronym ATOD: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs

Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS): Since 1989, the Commonwealth has conducted a survey of school students in the 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th grades to learn about their behavior, attitudes and knowledge concerning alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and violence. The "Pennsylvania Youth Survey," or PAYS, is conducted every two years.

PAYS is administered in the individual school buildings, using either paper/pencil or online tool at the school’s discretion. The survey is voluntary – youth are able to skip any questions they do not wish to answer or to opt out of the survey entirely. Additionally, students are made aware that their responses will remain anonymous and confidential. No individual student-level data can be obtained from the data set, and the results are reported in aggregate at the local, county, and State levels.

Note to data user – Not all school districts participate in the PAYS. A map of Participating School Districts and Intermediate Units can be found at: http://www.pccd.pa.gov/Juvenile-Justice/Documents/PAYS/PaysParticipation_wCounty.pdf

Please visit the PA Youth Survey website (www.pays.pa.gov) for more information about the survey sample, validity, response rates, how the risk and protective factor percentages were calculated.

Description of Indicators:

  • Risk Factors (Factors that increase the likelihood of beginning substance use, of regular and harmful use, and of other behavioral health problems associated with use.)

    • Laws & norms favorable to drug use: Community Domain - Community reinforcement of norms suggesting alcohol and drug use is acceptable for youth, including low tax rates on alcohol or tobacco or community beer tasting events.
    • Low neighborhood attachment: Low level of bonding to the neighborhood.
    • Perceived availability of drugs: Community Domain
    • Perceived availability of handguns: Community Domain

  • Protective Factors (Factors that directly decrease the likelihood of substance use and behavioral health problems or reduce the impact of risk factors on behavioral health problems.)

    • Rewards for prosocial involvement: Examples - worked hard at school; defended someone who was being verbally abused at school (for example, tried to protect someone when others were saying mean things to them or about them); regularly volunteered to do community service.

Census Risk Factors

Source for definitions: https://www.census.gov/glossary/
Source for data: https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

    • Below Poverty: The weighted average poverty thresholds for 2014 for a four person family unit was $24,230. If a family's total income is less than the official poverty threshold for a family of that size and composition, then they are considered to be in poverty.
    • Bachelors Degree or Higher: For people 25 and older
    • HS Grad: For people 25 and older, who received regular high school diploma or received a GED or alternative credential.
    • Less Than HS Grads: For people 25 and older
    • Some College or Associates: For people 25 and older
    • Moved From Abroad:
    • Moved From Different State:
    • Moved Within County:
    • Moved Within State:
    • Movers in the Past Year: Included only domestic movers in the U.S., not Puerto Rico or Group Quarters. From this, four main household types were defined: Whole-Move Household – All household members moved in the last year; Partial -Move Household – At least one member of the household moved in the last year, but not all; Same -Origin Household – A household where all movers came from the same place; Multi-Origin Household – A household with at least two movers who moved from different places.
    • Nonmover:
    • Married Couple with Children: Married couple family with one or more child(ren) under 18 years old who is a son or daughter by birth, marriage (a stepchild), or adoption and who have never been married.
    • Single Female Headed with Children: Single female headed family with one or more child(ren) under 18 years old who is a son or daughter by birth, marriage (a stepchild), or adoption and who have never been married.
    • Single Male Headed with Children: Single male headed family with one or more child(ren) under 18 years old who is a son or daughter by birth, marriage (a stepchild), or adoption and who have never been married.
    • Single Parent Families: single parent with one or more own never-married children under 18 years old.
    • Employed: Employed includes all civilians 16 years old and over who were either (1) "at work" -- those who did any work at all during the reference week as paid employees, worked in their own business or profession, worked on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers on a family farm or in a family business; or (2) were "with a job but not at work" -- those who did not work during the reference week but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, industrial dispute, vacation, or other personal reasons. Excluded from the employed are people whose only activity consisted of work around the house or unpaid volunteer work for religious, charitable, and similar organizations; also excluded are people on active duty in the United States Armed Forces. The reference week is the calendar week preceding the date on which the respondents completed their questionnaires or were interviewed. This week may not be the same for all respondents.
    • Unemployed: All people who were not employed during the reference week but were available for work (excluding temporary illness) and had made specific efforts to find employment some time during the 4-week period ending with the reference week are classified as unemployed. Individuals who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had been laid off need not have been looking for work to be classified as unemployed. People waiting to start a new job must have actively looked for a job within the last 4 weeks in order to be counted as unemployed. Otherwise, they are classified as not in the labor force.
    • Not in the Labor Force: Not in labor force includes all people 16 years old and over who are not classified as members of the labor force. This category consists mainly of students, housewives, retired workers, seasonal workers interviewed in an off season who were not looking for work, institutionalized people, and people doing only incidental unpaid family work (less than 15 hours during the reference week).
    • Race/Ethnicity: (Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin (the only categories for ethnicity)
      • White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.
      • Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro"; or report entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
      • Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes people who indicate their race as "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian" or provide other detailed Asian responses.
      • American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicate their race as "American Indian or Alaska Native" or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup'ik, or Central American Indian groups or South American Indian groups.
      • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander" or provide other detailed Pacific Islander responses.
      • Other Race: Persons who said they were "Some Other Race”.
      • Two or more Races: People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple responses, or by some combination of check boxes and other responses.
      • Hispanic: “Hispanic or Latino” refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.

Graduation Rates

Source for definitions: http://www.education.pa.gov/Data-and-Statistics/Pages/Cohort-Graduation-Rate-.aspx
Source for data: http://www.education.pa.gov/Data-and-Statistics/Pages/Cohort-Graduation-Rate-.aspx

Graduation Rate: The 4-Year cohort graduation rates are a calculation of the percentage of students who have graduated with a regular high school diploma within a designated number of years since the student first entered high school. The rate is determined for a cohort of students who have all entered high school for the first time during the same school year.

Alcohol Outlet Density

License Count by License Type

Source: Annual Reports, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) - http://www.lcb.pa.gov/About-Us/News-and-Reports/Pages/Annual-Reports.aspx

  • License Counts include Retail, Wholesale and Producer licenses (including those in safekeeping) in addition to state-operated Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores.
  • Data for year 20XX in the dashboard represents data reported by PLCB for Retail and Wholesale Establishments as of December 31, 20XX and for Producers and Wine and Spirit stores as of June 30, 20XX.
Licensed Estabishments Per 100,000 Population

Source: Annual Reports, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) - http://www.lcb.pa.gov/About-Us/News-and-Reports/Pages/Annual-Reports.aspx
County Population Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html

  • Chart uses most current vintage County Population Totals.
Licensed Estabishments Per 1,000 Road Miles

Source: Annual Reports, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) - http://www.lcb.pa.gov/About-Us/News-and-Reports/Pages/Annual-Reports.aspx
Road Miles, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation - http://www.dot7.state.pa.us/BPR_PDF_FILES/Documents/Traffic/Highway_Statistics/Annual_Report/2017/9_10_Mileage_Jurisdiction_2016.pdf

  • Chart uses most current Total Linear Miles.

Gambling

Gaming Facility Self-Exclusions

Source: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board - http://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov

  • Enrollments and Removals: A person may have his or her own name placed on the self-exclusion list by submitting, in person, a completed request for self-exclusion to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Self-exclusions for 1 or 5 years remain in effect until the self-excluded person requests removal from the Self-Exclusion list - additional detail can be found here - http://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/?p=67
  • Active Enrollments: calculated as the cumulative number of persons enrolled since the inception of the program, minus the number of persons requesting removal.
  • Enrollments by County with Casino locations: map of current casino locations – additional detail can be found here - http://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/?p=180
  • Enrollments by Race/Ethnicity: Categories include:
    • African American
    • Asian
    • Caucasian
    • Hispanic
    • Indian
    • Native American
    • Other/Unknown
  • Enrollments by Type: A person filing a request for self-exclusion may request to be excluded from gaming activities for one of the following: One year (12 months); five years; or lifetime. However, self-exclusions for 1 or 5 years remain in effect until the self-excluded person requests removal from the Self-Exclusion list - additional detail can be found here - http://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/?p=67

Helpline Demographics

Source: Council on Compulsive Gambling The CCGP manages the 24/7, free, live and confidential Problem Gambling Helpline in Pennsylvania. All callers are referred to the closest resources which may include a local trained clinician, Gamblers Anonymous or Gamanon meeting. - https://www.pacouncil.com/

Annual Reports are available here - https://www.pacouncil.com/annual-helpline-reports/

  • Calls per Month: Counts include callers who actually have a gambling problem, have relapsed or know someone with a gambling problem.
  • Calls by Gender: Unknown category includes callers who hung up prior to capturing this information.
  • Calls by Age: Unknown category includes callers who hung up prior to capturing this information and/or those callers who were unwilling to answer this question.
  • Calls by Race: The Other category includes those callers who responded Multiracial, Native American, Other or who hung up prior to capturing this information and/or those callers who were unwilling to answer this question.
  • Caller's Subject: Refers to the person the caller is calling about.
  • Calls by County: Not displayed are those calls from out of state and those where the caller was unwilling to reveal their location.

Other Helpline Data

  • How Learned of Hotline: Unwilling category includes callers who were unwilling to answer this question.
  • Most Problematic Form of Gambling:
    • Slots includes mechanical and video slot machines.
    • Cards includes a variety of card games such as Baccarat, Blackjack, and Poker.
    • Lottery includes scratch offs, pull tabs, and other lottery gambling.
    • Dice includes Craps and Dice.
    • Roulette
    • Sports includes sports betting such as fantasy sports and football.
    • Horse Racing
    • Video Related includes Video Keno, Video Poker, and Video Game gambling.
    • Online includes Online and Internet gambling.
    • Casino Unspecified includes unspecified casino gambling.
    • Unwilling includes people that are unwilling to identify the most problematic form of gambling.
    • Other includes Bingo, Business Risk, Car racing, Stocks, and Tables, as well as Unasked and Unsure responses.
    • None includes people that do not identify as a problem gambler (i.e. may have been calling about a loved one).
  • Precipitating Event: A list of the primary issues that prompted the caller to contact the Helpline. Callers may answer yes to more than one of the categories.
    • Mental Health indicates not only suicidal ideation, but also diagnosed disorders, such as Schizophrenia, Bi-polar, or Clinical Depression.
    • Other Problems Identified: Identifies other problem areas as reported by the caller. Callers answer “yes” or “no” to the question, "Have you experienced other problems (current or past) in addition to your gambling?" Callers may answer yes to more than one of the above categories.
    • Depression as listed in this context could refer to the answer to the simple question, "Are you depressed?" and/or a doctor’s diagnosis of depression or Clinical Depression.
    • Referrals: Callers may be referred to more than one resource.

Pennsylvania Youth Survey Gambling

Source: Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency: http://www.pccd.pa.gov/Juvenile-Justice/Pages/Pennsylvania-Youth-Survey-(PAYS)-2015.aspx

Please note: A total of 229,845 public and private school students throughout the State participated in the Fall 2015 Pennsylvania Youth Survey. After odd-grade and invalid/dishonest surveys were removed, a total of 216,916 surveys were represented in final local-level reports. The results presented in the Pennsylvania level dashboard are the aggregate of those 216,916 survey responses. The PAYS 2015 State Report (http://www.pccd.pa.gov/Juvenile-Justice/Documents/PAYS/2015%20PAYS%20State%20Report%20082816.pdf) features results from the PAYS Statewide Sample, which was designed to gather data most representative of the State.

  • Past 12 Months Gambling by Type
    • Cards includes a variety of card games such as Baccarat, Blackjack, and Poker.
    • Games of Skill includes pool, darts, coin tossing, video games.
    • Lottery includes scratch offs, pull tabs, and other lottery gambling.
    • Online Gambling includes Online and Internet gambling.
    • Sports includes sports betting such as fantasy sports and football.
    • Other Gambling includes forms of gambling not listed above.
  • Gambling – 30 Day versus Lifetime Trend: Youth were asked to report if they had gambled in their lifetime or in the past 30-days in 2015. In 2013 Lifetime Gambling was not asked so the Age First Gambled question was substituted.
  • Past 12 Month Gambling by Type: Types of gambling are defined above – Any includes the total number of responses where at least one of the types noted above were chosen. Please note if a county appears in gray on the map no data is available for that county.
  • Problem Gambling Indicators
    • Lied about gambling: Felt the need to lie to important people about how much you gamble.
    • Bet More and More: Felt the need to bet more and more money.