Abstract
BackgroundLower levels of education are strongly associated with negative health outcomes. The current study examined the degree to which those without a history of 4-year college attendance experience social stigmatization of their educational status and if these experiences are associated with mental health symptoms.MethodsData was obtained from 488 emerging adults who never attended 4-year college using Qualtrics Panels.Results79.4% of participants agreed to one of the six statements that not attending 4-year college is stigmatized, and 71.8% endorsed experiencing at least one form of discrimination. Higher levels of education-related stigma and more frequent experiences of education-related discrimination was associated with greater past-month anxiety and depression symptoms.ConclusionsThese findings could serve to increase awareness regarding the unique and significant discrimination faced by young adults who do not attend 4-year college and identify specific areas of intervention that can help these young adults cope with the effects of stigma and discrimination.
Highlights
Lower levels of education are strongly associated with negative health outcomes
Guided by social stigmatization theory, the current study examined 1) the extent to which young adults who do not attend 4-year college experienced stigma and discrimination based on their education and 2) if experiences of stigma and discrimination in this group were negatively associated with mental health symptoms
Many individuals felt that they were discriminated against because they did not attend 4-year college. These findings suggest that young adults who do not attend 4-year college experience education-related stigma and discrimination
Summary
Lower levels of education are strongly associated with negative health outcomes. The current study examined the degree to which those without a history of 4-year college attendance experience social stigmatization of their educational status and if these experiences are associated with mental health symptoms. Individuals with lower levels of education are more likely to be depressed [1] and are more likely to smoke heavily [2] Those with higher levels of education are more likely to engage in various preventive behaviors, such as getting mammograms, flu shots, and other health tests such as colorectal screening, and are more likely to comply with HIV and diabetes treatments [3, 4]. Not surprisingly, those with lower levels of education have a shorter life expectancy [5]. These differences in life expectancy by education are persistent over time [5,6,7] and are well-documented across several countries [8,9,10].
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