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. 2022;33(3):1245-1257.
doi: 10.1353/hpu.2022.0110.

Implications for Coding Race and Ethnicity for American Indian and Alaska Native High School Students in a National Survey

Sherry Everett Jones, Delight E Satter

Implications for Coding Race and Ethnicity for American Indian and Alaska Native High School Students in a National Survey

Sherry Everett Jones et al. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2022.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the impact of racial/ethnic coding strategies on the estimated prevalence of risk behaviors among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) high school students.

Methods: Data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2017 and 2019) were analyzed (N=28,422). Racial/ethnic data were coded to identify "Multiracial/ethnic AI/AN students" and "AI/AN alone students." The prevalence of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, suicidality, and violence victimization were compared across the coding schemes and with non-Hispanic White students.

Results: Of students who selfidentified as AI/AN, one in six (18%) were AI/AN alone. The prevalence of many health risk behaviors was significantly higher among AI/AN students than non-Hispanic/Latino White students. The precision of the risk behavior prevalence estimates, however, varied considerably.

Conclusion: How racial/ethnic data were coded affected the precision of calculations of risk behavior prevalence among AI/AN students, who are often multiracial and of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) racial/ethnic classifications National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2017 and 2019.a Note: aThe Ns for the race and ethnicity column do not add up to 1554 because 25 respondents who identified as AI/AN did not answer the ethnicity question.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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