Assari Shervin, Sonnega Amanda, Zare Hossein
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Open J Psychol. 2025;5(1):12-23. doi: 10.31586/ojp.2025.1149. Epub 2025 Feb 10.
Educational attainment is generally associated with reduced reliance on Social Security and disability benefits; however, the Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) theory suggests that the socioeconomic benefits of education are weaker for minoritized populations. This study investigates the relationship between educational attainment and welfare receipt among American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) and White adults in the United States.
Using the MDRs framework, we analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023 to examine how educational attainment impacts welfare receipt among AIAN and White adults.
We analyzed a nationally representative sample of AIAN and White adults from the NHIS 2023 dataset. Welfare receipt was assessed as the receipt of any public assistance or welfare payments from state or local welfare offices. Educational attainment was categorized into three levels: less than high school (reference), high school diploma to some college, and college degree or higher. Logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between educational attainment and welfare receipt, with separate analyses for AIAN and White adults to evaluate differential effects.
Higher educational attainment (high school diploma to some college and college degree or higher) was associated with lower odds of welfare receipt across both groups. However, the protective effect of a college degree was significantly weaker for AIAN adults compared to White adults. Consequently, AIAN adults remain at a higher risk of welfare reliance even with higher education, consistent with the Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) framework.
Although educational attainment generally reduces welfare reliance, this protection is less pronounced for AIAN adults than for White adults. This discrepancy suggests that structural factors, segregation, and social stratification may undermine the economic and health benefits of education for racialized groups in the U.S. Addressing these disparities requires policy interventions that extend beyond education, emphasizing quality job opportunities, healthcare access, and reduced labor market discrimination for individuals with advanced educational credentials, regardless of race.
教育程度通常与减少对社会保障和残疾福利的依赖相关；然而，少数群体回报递减（MDRs）理论表明，教育的社会经济利益对少数群体来说较弱。本研究调查了美国印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民（AIAN）和美国白人成年人的教育程度与福利领取之间的关系。
使用MDRs框架，我们分析了2023年全国健康访谈调查（NHIS）的数据，以研究教育程度如何影响AIAN和白人成年人的福利领取情况。
我们分析了NHIS 2023数据集中具有全国代表性的AIAN和白人成年人样本。福利领取情况通过是否从州或地方福利办公室获得任何公共援助或福利支付来评估。教育程度分为三个层次：高中以下（参照组）、高中文凭至部分大学学历、大学学位及以上。使用逻辑回归模型评估教育程度与福利领取之间的关系，对AIAN和白人成年人分别进行分析以评估差异效应。
在两组中，较高的教育程度（高中文凭至部分大学学历以及大学学位及以上）与较低的福利领取几率相关。然而，与白人成年人相比，大学学位对AIAN成年人的保护作用明显较弱。因此，即使接受了高等教育，AIAN成年人仍面临更高的福利依赖风险，这与少数群体回报递减（MDRs）框架一致。
尽管教育程度通常会减少福利依赖，但这种保护对AIAN成年人不如对白人成年人那么明显。这种差异表明，结构性因素、隔离和社会分层可能会削弱教育对美国种族化群体的经济和健康益处。解决这些差异需要超越教育范畴的政策干预，强调为拥有高等教育资历的个人提供优质就业机会、医疗保健服务，并减少劳动力市场歧视，无论其种族如何。
