Socioeconomic Status, John Henryism, and Blood Pressure in Black Adults
Abstract
The joint influence of socioeconomic status and John Henryism on blood pressure was examined in a probability sample of 1,784 black adults aged 25-50 years in Pitt County, North Carolina, in 1988. John Henryism was measured by means of the John Henryism Active Coping Scale. Socioeconomic status (low, medium, and high) was based on respondents' education and occupation. Prior research indicated that, for blacks, the inverse association between socioeconomic status and hypertension may be stronger for individuals who score high in John Henryism. In this more urban sample of blacks, the hypothesized interaction achieved modest statistical support (p less than 0.08) only for hypertension prevalence. For individuals with high levels of John Henryism, adjusted prevalences declined with increasing socioeconomic status (29.4%, 26.2%, and 20.5% for low, medium, and high socioeconomic status, respectively); for individuals with low levels of John Henryism, hypertension prevalence was similar in the low (22.6%) and medium (22.8%) socioeconomic categories but higher in the high socioeconomic category (25.9%). Elevated psychological stress in white-collar workers was probably responsible for the nonsignificant inverse gradients between socioeconomic status and mean blood pressures and for the weak interaction between socioeconomic status and John Henryism with regard to hypertension prevalence.
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The benefits of probability-based samples include the ability to account for potential non-response bias.
“However, we note the benefits of probability-based samples (Hudson et al., 2016;James et al., 1992;LeBrón et al., 2015;Robinson and Thomas Tobin, 2021) including the ability to account for potential non-response bias.”
From Superwoman Schema and John Henryism among African American women: An intersectional perspective on coping with racism (2023) · cites this paper as James et al., 1992
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“In a second study of 1,690 African Americans aged 25-50 years, and pooling data on men and women, James et al (1992) observed a smooth, negative SES gradient in HTN among persons scoring high on John Henryism: HTN prevalence for low SES =29.4%, for medium SES =26.2%, and high SES =20.5% .”
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“…health effects of John Henryism also implemented an SES index due to recognition that there are differences in both the meaning and economic benefits of distinct forms of socioeconomic resources (i.e., education and occupation) for black Americans compared to other groups (James et al. 1987, 1992).”
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- Authors
- James, S. A., Keenan, N. L., Strogatz, D. S., Browning, S. R., & Garrett, J. M.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- James, Sherman A.
- Venue
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1992-01-01
- Volume
- 135
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 59-67
- ISSN
- 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-6256
- OpenAlex
- W2170399867
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 2.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL-33211, R01HL033211)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Keywords
- socioeconomic status, John Henryism, blood pressure, hypertension prevalence, Black people, psychological stress, coping, occupational stress, urban-rural differences, Pitt County, North Carolina
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Black or African American, Blood Pressure, Female, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, North Carolina, Occupations, Rural Population, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress, Psychological, Prevalence
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