Racial Differences in Feelings of Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic and John Henryism Active Coping in the United States: Results from a National Survey.
Samaah M Sullivan, Jas M Sullivan, D'Andra Orey, Najja Kofi Baptist
Author Information
Samaah M Sullivan: Department of Epidemiology; Human Genetics, and Environmental Science; University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Jas M Sullivan: Department of Psychology, Political Science and African American Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
D'Andra Orey: Department of Political Science, Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, USA.
Najja Kofi Baptist: Department of Political Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.
Objective: To examine whether John Henryism Active Coping (JHAC) is a protective risk factor for distress during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether this association differs by race/ethnicity. Methods: Data were collected as part of the 2020 National Blair Center Poll. Higher scores on JHAC measured a greater behavioral predisposition to cope actively and persistently with difficult psychosocial stressors and barriers of everyday life. Results: High JHAC was associated with lower odds for feeling worried and for feeling afraid when thinking about COVID-19. These associations differed across race/ethnicity such that having a greater JHAC behavioral predisposition to coping was inversely associated with feelings of distress when thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic only among Whites and Hispanics, but not among African Americans. Conclusion: Our findings have important implications as the COVID-19 pandemic continues into 2022 and psychological distress may linger and increase due to unprecedented economic and social impacts.
