JOHN HENRYISM AND HYPERTENSION RISK: RACE AND GENDER

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The major goal of this research is to determine if John Henryism, a personality predisposition to cope actively with behavioral stressors in one's environment, is associated with excess risk for hypertension in a bi-racial, community sample of adults (18+ years) living in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. One thousand five hundred forty-eight (1,548) individuals (50% black, 56% women) were interviewed in their homes in mid-summer 1983 for the purpose of collecting data to evaluate the overall effectiveness of a five year, community-based high blood pressure control program. The John Henryism Scale for Active Coping (JHAC12) was administered to all subjects and data were obtained from each respondent on his/her educational and occupational status, the educational and occupational status of his/her parents, the respondent's marital status and, if married, the duration and "supportiveness" of the marital relationship. Pilot studies recently completed on a small sample of black men in Edgecombe County demonstrated that effortful, active coping with behavioral stressors (i.e. high John Henryism) under unfavorble circumstances such as low formal education and chronic exposure to psychosocial job stressors, was associated with higher resting blood pressures. The proposed study will attempt to replicate these findings in a larger sample of black men and will also determine if the "John Henryism Effect" applies equally to white men, and to black and white women. Gender-specific linear regression analyses, which employ race and age interaction terms will be used to test these relationships. The proposed research will also examine specific combinations of intergenerational educational and occupational mobility which are hypothesized to represent chronically challenging and threatening circumstances, and which may also engender behavioral attributes (e.g. high John Henryism) which could contribute to sustained elevations in blood pressure. Variations by race and by age in such effects will be tested. The long term research objective is to identify psychosocial factors which contribute to excess risk of hypertension in black Americans and other low SES populations.