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Article Open Access February 10, 2025

Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023

Shervin Assari 1, 2, 3, 4, Amanda Sonnega 5 and Hossein Zare 6, 7
1
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
3
Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
4
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
5
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
6
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
7
School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), Adelphi, MD, United States
Publihed in: Current Research in Public Health (Volume 5, Issue 1, 2025)
Page(s): 12-23
DOI: 10.31586/ojp.2025.1149
Received
August 30, 2024
Revised
October 27, 2024
Accepted
January 29, 2025
Published
February 10, 2025
Keywords
Educational Attainment; Welfare Reliance; Racial Disparities; Socioeconomic Benefits; American Indian/Alaska Native
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Scientific Publications
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Cite This Article

APA Style
Assari, S. , Sonnega, A. , & Zare, H. (2025). Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023. Current Research in Public Health, 5(1), 12-23. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1149
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Sonnega, A. ; Zare, H. Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023. Current Research in Public Health 2025 5(1), 12-23. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1149
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, Amanda Sonnega, and Hossein Zare. 2025. "Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023". Current Research in Public Health 5, no. 1: 12-23. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1149
AMA Style
Assari S, Sonnega A, Zare H. Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023. Current Research in Public Health. 2025; 5(1):12-23. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1149 
@Article{crph1149,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Sonnega, Amanda and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {5},
YEAR = {2025},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {12-23},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/1149},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/ojp.2025.1149},
ABSTRACT = {Background: 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. Objective: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.},
}
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%A Assari, Shervin
%A Sonnega, Amanda
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2025
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%T Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023
%M doi:10.31586/ojp.2025.1149
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/1149

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AU  - Assari, Shervin
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AU  - Zare, Hossein
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T2  - Current Research in Public Health
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AB  - Background: 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. Objective: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.
DO  - Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Welfare Receipt of American Indian/Alaska Native People: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023
TI  - 10.31586/ojp.2025.1149
ER  -