BACKGROUND: Education is one of the strongest predictors of health. People with more schooling have greater financial and material resources, have increased access to health information and tools, and are better enabled to address social stressors. Evidence has shown that American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students have lower high school graduation rates than the national average. This study aims to understand the graduation expectations and graduation-associated risk and protective factors for urban AI/AN students and how these factors compare to urban white students.
METHODS: National data from the 2003-2013 Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey was used for the analysis. MTF is an on-going survey of the attitudes, behaviors, and values of secondary students, college students, and young adults in the United States. Predictors included substance use, school behavior and attitude, extracurricular activities, and social support. The outcome was defined as expecting to not graduate from high school. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were conducted.
RESULTS: Expectations for not graduating high school were twice as high for urban AI/AN students than for urban white students. Compared to urban white students, urban AI/AN students reported a significantly higher percentage of risk factors, such as not being happy and having ever had alcohol or marijuana. Urban AI/AN students reported being held back a grade or suspended twice as much as urban white students. The odds of expecting to not graduate high school were significantly greater for urban AI/AN students than for urban white students. Disciplinary actions, such as being suspended, were significantly stronger risk factors for urban AI/AN students than for urban white students; however, this significance was lost when adjusting for other predictors. Certain protective factors, such as an average grade of A/A-, were stronger for urban AI/AN students, but a significant difference was not found between the two student groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Urban AI/AN students are at greater risk of not graduating high school, compared to their white counterparts. Certain factors, such as disciplinary actions and high academic achievement, may have a greater influence on urban AI/AN students than urban whites. The implementation of interventions to address these factors could exert an influence on higher graduation rates, and thereby improved health, for urban AI/ANs.