Educational Attainment Better Reduces Perceived Economic Hardship for White than Black Americans

Abstract

Background: Lower levels of stress are one of many plausible mechanisms that may explain the health effects of educational attainment. Minorities’ Diminished Returns, however, are defined as systemically weaker health effects of educational attainment for Blacks compared to Whites. We are, however, unaware of previous studies on the differential effects of educational attainment on perceived economic hardship across racial groups. Purpose: The aim was to compare Blacks and Whites for the association between educational attainment and perceived economic hardship in a national sample of American adults. Methods: This study analyzed cross-sectional data of 24,874 adults who had participated in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS 2015). Educational attainment was the predictor variable. Perceived economic hardship was the outcome. Race was the moderator. Age, gender, marital status, employment, and income were the covariates. Results: Overall, higher educational attainment was associated with lower levels of perceived economic hardship. Race interacted with educational attainment, suggesting that the protective effect of educational attainment on reducing perceived economic hardship is smaller for Blacks than Whites. Conclusions: Educational attainment is not similarly protective against perceived economic hardship across all racial groups. Thus, perceived economic hardship may be one mechanism by which Black people receive fewer health benefits from their educational attainment than White people.