TY - JOUR
T1 - Coping, Discrimination, and Physical Health Conditions Among Predominantly Poor, Urban African Americans
T2 - Implications for Community-Level Health Services
AU - Barajas, Clara B.
AU - Jones, Shawn C.T.
AU - Milam, Adam J.
AU - Thorpe, Roland J.
AU - Gaskin, Darrell J.
AU - LaVeist, Thomas A.
AU - Furr-Holden, C. Debra M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2019/10/15
Y1 - 2019/10/15
N2 - African Americans and ethnic minorities experience racial discrimination in a variety of settings. Racial discrimination is a potent stressor that has been linked to psychosocial stress and poor physical health. To cope with discriminatory experiences and daily life event stressors, African Americans frequently use the concept of John Henryism (a high effort coping strategy with prolonged exposure to stress). This cross-sectional analysis explored the relationship between racism/discrimination, John Henryism, and health problems in a predominately African American sample. Data were collected through health care screenings for hypertension, diabetes, and obesity and a self-report survey to assess experiences of discrimination and use of John Henryism. Logistic and linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between the John Henryism score, racism/discrimination score, and health problems among 352 participants. John Henryism was associated with a decrease in systolic blood pressure (b = − 12.50, 95% CI = − 23.05, − 1.95) among men, after adjusting for experiences of racism/discrimination and demographic characteristics. Experiences of racism/discrimination were associated with an increase in systolic blood pressure (b = 11.23, 95% CI = 0.38, 22.09) among men, after adjusting for John Henryism and demographic characteristics. Among women, there was no association found between John Henryism and experiences of racism/discrimination with systolic blood pressure. No association was found between John Henryism and experiences of racism/discrimination with being overweight/obese in women nor men. The study found that John Henryism was positively associated with the health of men, while experiences of racism/discrimination were negatively associated with their health. Limitations of the study are discussed, and recommendations are made to guide future research exploring the concept of John Henryism as a relevant factor between stress, racial discrimination and poor health.
AB - African Americans and ethnic minorities experience racial discrimination in a variety of settings. Racial discrimination is a potent stressor that has been linked to psychosocial stress and poor physical health. To cope with discriminatory experiences and daily life event stressors, African Americans frequently use the concept of John Henryism (a high effort coping strategy with prolonged exposure to stress). This cross-sectional analysis explored the relationship between racism/discrimination, John Henryism, and health problems in a predominately African American sample. Data were collected through health care screenings for hypertension, diabetes, and obesity and a self-report survey to assess experiences of discrimination and use of John Henryism. Logistic and linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between the John Henryism score, racism/discrimination score, and health problems among 352 participants. John Henryism was associated with a decrease in systolic blood pressure (b = − 12.50, 95% CI = − 23.05, − 1.95) among men, after adjusting for experiences of racism/discrimination and demographic characteristics. Experiences of racism/discrimination were associated with an increase in systolic blood pressure (b = 11.23, 95% CI = 0.38, 22.09) among men, after adjusting for John Henryism and demographic characteristics. Among women, there was no association found between John Henryism and experiences of racism/discrimination with systolic blood pressure. No association was found between John Henryism and experiences of racism/discrimination with being overweight/obese in women nor men. The study found that John Henryism was positively associated with the health of men, while experiences of racism/discrimination were negatively associated with their health. Limitations of the study are discussed, and recommendations are made to guide future research exploring the concept of John Henryism as a relevant factor between stress, racial discrimination and poor health.
KW - Chronic disease
KW - Coping
KW - Discrimination
KW - Racism
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U2 - 10.1007/s10900-019-00650-9
DO - 10.1007/s10900-019-00650-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 30915675
AN - SCOPUS:85064232214
SN - 0094-5145
VL - 44
SP - 954
EP - 962
JO - Journal of Community Health
JF - Journal of Community Health
IS - 5
ER -