Implications for Coding Race and Ethnicity for American Indian and Alaska Native High School Students in a National Survey (Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved)

​Summary: Authors 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. Authors analyzed data (N=28,422) from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2017 and 2019). 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.

Findings: Of students who self-identified 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. 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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• Journal Article: Implications for Coding Race and Ethnicity for American Indian and Alaska Native High School Students in a National Survey