Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) Repository

Check out these free, downloadable resources and tips on creating positive childhood experiences.

Prevent Child Abuse NJ works to build a brighter future for children by promoting family wellness, positive parenting, healthy child development and nurturing communities. They offer a variety of resources, including these free printable tips for parents, avialble in English and Spanish.

• Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey (PCA NJ): Tips for Parents

PCA NJ: ChildWIN Booklet

HealthyChildren.org was created and is powered by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to child health. Articles are grounded in the latest science and reviewed by AAP pediatricians.

You'll find plain-language answers, practical advice and expert insights to help you make confident decisions for your child's well-being.

Below you will find everyday ways to create positive experiences for your child, at every stage.

• Creating Positive Experiences for Your Infant

• Creating Positive Experiences for Your Toddler

• Creating Positive Experiences for School Aged Kids

• Creating Positive Childhood Experiences for Teens

HOPE Introduction Whiteboard Video (1minute 36 seconds)
HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences – is based out of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Ma. They represent a paradigm shift in how we see and talk about the positive experiences that support children’s growth and development into healthy, resilient adults.

Episode 9: Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) - Supportive Strategies Series (3 minutes 47 seconds)
The Supportive Strategies Series created by Julie McDaniel-Muldoon, features three-minute episodes based on research and best practice.

Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs) (33 minutes)
Dr. Rebecca Bryan, Executive Director of the DCF Office of Resilience, talks around the groundbreaking work happening through the office around Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs), and what they can mean for the lifelong health and social connections of individuals who experience both.

The Power of Positive Childhood Experiences (13 minutes)
Dr. Melissa Walls, co-director of the Center for Indigenous Health and a member of the Bois Forte and Couchiching First Nation bands, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about her research with benevolent childhood experiences among Indigenous communities. They discuss the importance of researching the positive, not only for public health, but in celebrating the inherent strengths of Indigenous individuals, their families, and culture.

Family Focus: How Positive Childhood Experiences Affect Mental Health (2 minutes)
Mallika Marshall and Paula Ebben discuss the benefits of positive childhood experiences.

How Early Childhood Experiences Affect Lifelong Health and Learning (5 minutes)

In this animated video, learn what the science tells us about how early experiences affect not only early learning and school readiness, but also lifelong health and well-being.

Improving Family Bonding: Parental Technoference (1 minute)

In this Public Service Announcement from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, parents are reminded that we all can do better around parental technoference--the intrusion of technology into valuable bonding time with our families--and it's as easy as putting down the phone and being present for our children.

Review this curated collection of scholarly articles and research focused on positive childhood experiences (PCEs), designed to provide insights and evidence-based practices that highlight how nurturing environments and supportive relationships can foster resilience and promote healing in children.

Ten Takeaways from PCEs Research
The HOPE National Resource Center led a collaboration that analyzed survey data to study the lifelong health effects of positive childhood experiences (PCEs). Looking at survey data from four states (Kansas, Montana, South Carolina, and Wisconsin), the research team found further evidence that Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) are associated with long-term health and wellbeing. The results complement prior studies, conducted using similar methods, that showed the long-term harmful effects of adverse childhood experiences.

Suggested Citation: Sege RD, Aslam MV, Peterson C, et al. Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Health and Opportunity Outcomes in 4 US States. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(7):e2524435

Positive Childhood Experiences: Juvenile Justice System
The HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) framework, a research-based, community-driven approach to improving access to the key types of PCEs youth need to thrive, presents a potentially powerful strategy for juvenile justice systems to transform care for system-impacted youth. This 11-page manuscript describes this proposed approach.

Suggested Citation: Winn, A., Hannan, K., Sege, R., & Burstein, D. (2025). Reimagining the juvenile justice system through the healthy outcomes from positive experiences framework. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(5), 782.

Recent Review and Research on PCEs
This 17-page review presents the results of a scoping review of the literature investigating associations between positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and selected health outcomes to identify which have the highest level of research activity based on the indexed academic literature.

Suggested Citation: Hero, J., Gallant, L., Burstein, D., Newberry, S., Qureshi, N., Feistel, K., Anderson, K. N., Hannan, K., & Sege, R. (2025). Health associations of positive childhood experiences: A scoping review of the literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(1), 59.

Impact of Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences in Adolescence
This study evaluated the associations between positive and adverse experiences and environments in adolescence and health, education and employment outcomes in early adulthood. Data were extracted from the Longitudinal Studies of Australian Youth cohort that commenced in 2003.

Suggested Citation: Kemp, L., Elcombe, E., Blythe, S., Grace, R., Donohoe, K., & Sege, R. (2024). The Impact of Positive and Adverse Experiences in Adolescence on Health and Wellbeing Outcomes in Early Adulthood. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(9), 1147.

Prevalence of positive childhood experiences among adults, Four States 2015-2021
Positive childhood experiences (PCEs) promote optimal health and mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences, but PCE prevalence in the United States is not well-known. Using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, this study describes the prevalence of individual and cumulative PCEs among adults residing in four states: Kansas (2020), Montana (2019), South Carolina (2020), and Wisconsin (2015).

Suggested Citation: Sege, R., Swedo, E. A., Burstein, D., Aslam, M. V., Jones, J., Bethell, C., & Niolon, P. H. (2024). Prevalence of positive childhood experiences among adults — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Four States, 2015–2021. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 73(17), 399–404.

Transforming practice with HOPE
Healthy outcomes from positive experiences (HOPE) translates research findings about the effects of PCEs into clinical and organizational changes that support optimal development and resilience in the face of adversity. This paper describes the growing evidence that supports the health effects of positive childhood experiences and uses these insights to promote a paradigm shift that will incorporate the identification, celebration, and support of PCEs as an integral part of caring for children and families.

Suggested Citation: Burstein, D., Yang, C., Johnson, K., Linkenbach, J., & Sege, R. (2021). Transforming practice with HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences). Maternal and Child Health Journal, 25(7), 1019–1024.

Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental Health
Associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and risks for adult depression, poor mental health, and insufficient social and emotional support have been documented. Less is known about how positive childhood experiences (PCEs) co-occur with and may modulate the effect of ACEs on adult mental and relational health. This study evaluates associations between adult-reported PCEs and (1) adult depression and/or poor mental health (D/PMH) and (2) adult-reported social and emotional support (ARSES) across ACEs exposure levels.

Suggested Citation: Bethell, C., Jones, J., Gombojav, N., Linkenbach, J., & Sege, R. (2019). Positive childhood experiences and adult mental and relational health in a statewide sample: associations across adverse childhood experiences levels. JAMA pediatrics, 173(11), e193007.