Effects of Ethnic Classification on Substantive Findings in Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes.

Although most adolescents are healthy, epidemiological studies show that a significant number experience mental health challenges, and that Indigenous and ethnic minority youth tend to have poorer mental health outcomes. However, ethnic classification in adolescence is complex due to increasing multi-ethnic identification, and little is known about how different classification methods affect research conclusions. This study used a nationally representative adolescent sample from Aotearoa New Zealand (N = 8275; ages 12-18; 55% female; 32% multi-ethnic) to investigate the effects that five ethnic classification methods have on substantive findings in three mental health outcomes: overall psychosocial difficulties, deliberate self-harm, and suicide attempts. The results showed that, depending on the classification method used, reported outcomes within the same nominal ethnic group varied by an effect size (d) of up to 0.12, and the reported magnitude of difference between nominal ethnic groups varied by an effect size (d) of up to 0.25. These effects are substantial given that they are solely due to a change in method. The impact that ethnic classification method has on substantive findings highlights the importance of criticality and transparency in research involving ethnicity data.

Demographic discrepancies between administrative-prioritisation and self-prioritisation of multiple ethnic identifications.

Ethnic classification is an inherently subjective process, especially when multiple ethnic identifications are involved. There are two methods commonly used to classify multiple ethnicities into single categories: administrative-prioritisation (assignment via a predetermined hierarchy) and self-prioritisation (where individuals select their "main" ethnicity). Currently, little is known about whether the demographic composition of outputted ethnic groups differs by prioritisation method. This study utilised large-scale data of multi-ethnic children (N = 1,860), adolescents (N = 2,413), and adults (N = 1,056) from Aotearoa New Zealand to examine individual and contextual demographic characteristics associated with discrepancies between administratively-prioritised and self-prioritised ethnicity. Results showed that discrepancy rates, which exceeded 50%, were systematically associated with neighbourhood ethnic composition and socioeconomic deprivation, but largely not associated with gender, age, and birthplace. The contextual nature of self-prioritisation highlights the importance of researchers' choice of ethnic classification method. Implications are discussed in the context of increasing multi-ethnic prevalence.

Student conceptions of feedback: Impact on self-regulation, self-efficacy, and academic achievement.

BACKGROUND: Lecturers give feedback on assessed work in the hope that students will take it on board and use it to help regulate their learning for the next assessment. However, little is known about how students' conceptions of feedback relate to students' self-regulated learning and self-efficacy beliefs and academic performance. AIMS: This study explores student beliefs about the role and purpose of feedback and the relationship of those beliefs to self-reported self-regulation and self-efficacy, and achievement. SAMPLE: A total of 278 university students in a general education course on learning theory and approaches in a research-intensive university. METHODS: Self-reported survey responses for students' conceptions of feedback (SCoF), self-regulation (SRL), academic self-efficacy (ASE), and Grade Point Average (GPA) were evaluated first with confirmatory factor analysis and then interlinked in a structural equation model. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Three SCoF factors predicted SRL and/or GPA. The SCoF factor 'I use feedback' had positive associations with SRL (ß = .44), GPA (ß = .45), and ASE (ß = .15). The SCoF factors 'tutor/marker comments' and 'peers help' both had negative relations to GPA (ß = -.41 and -.16, respectively). 'Peers help' had a positive connection to SRL (ß = .21). ASE itself made a small contribution to overall GPA (ß = .16), while SRL had no statistically significant relation to GPA. The model indicates the centrality of believing that feedback exists to guide next steps in learning and thus contributes to SRL, ASE, and increased GPA.