Gillum R F, Gomez-Marin O, Prineas R J
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Miami, FL 33136.
Public Health Rep. 1988 Sep-Oct;103(5):485-8.
To determine the frequency of inaccuracies in racial designations of school children in a health survey, racial designations were examined for a sample of 1,509 children in Minneapolis public schools who participated in the first home interview of the Minneapolis Children's Blood Pressure Study. The data were obtained from three sources: the school enrollment data based on parentally supplied information and teachers' visual judgments, school survey interviewers participating in a research project, and the parents themselves, at home interviews. Assuming the correctness of the information obtained from the parent in the home interview, cross tabulation comparisons were made of the accuracy of the information obtained from the other sources, and within sources. Results show a high degree of agreement between the parents' or teachers' designations at enrollment, and survey interviewers' sight judgments. Furthermore, sight judgments of interviewers show high repeatability. There was a significant degree of disagreement between the designations by teachers' and screeners' visual judgments, obtained in school, and the interviews with the parents. Misidentification occurred for up to 20 percent of Native American children, a rate which, if prevalent, may significantly affect public health studies which are based on racial identifications of school children. When possible, researchers studying Native American or mixed race populations should verify racial designations from school documents or sight judgments. Questionnaires to be answered by parents need to have sufficiently detailed categories to enable parents of different racial groups to identify different racial groups accurately.
为确定一项健康调查中在校儿童种族认定的不准确频率，我们对明尼阿波利斯公立学校1509名参与明尼阿波利斯儿童血压研究首次家访的儿童样本的种族认定进行了检查。数据来自三个来源：基于家长提供信息和教师视觉判断的学校入学数据、参与一个研究项目的学校调查访谈员以及家长本人在家访时提供的信息。假设在家访中从家长处获得的信息正确，我们对从其他来源以及各来源内部获得的信息准确性进行了交叉列表比较。结果显示，入学时家长或教师的认定与调查访谈员的视觉判断之间高度一致。此外，访谈员的视觉判断显示出很高的重复性。在学校进行的教师和筛查人员的视觉判断所做的认定与对家长的访谈之间存在显著程度的不一致。多达20%的美国原住民儿童被误认，如果这种情况普遍存在，可能会对基于在校儿童种族认定的公共卫生研究产生重大影响。研究美国原住民或混血人群的研究人员应尽可能从学校文件或视觉判断中核实种族认定。由家长回答的问卷需要有足够详细的类别，以便不同种族群体的家长能够准确识别不同的种族群体。
