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Job status and high-effort coping influence work blood pressure in women and blacks
K C Light1, K A Brownley, J R Turner
1Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599-7175, USA.
Insights
High-effort coping, known as John Henryism, is linked to higher blood pressure in women and Black men with high-status jobs. This contrasts with white men, where this coping style did not elevate blood pressure.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Health
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Sociology of Health
Background:
- Work-related stress is a known risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, particularly in white men.
- Research on the impact of stress and coping mechanisms on cardiovascular health in women and Black men is less extensive.
- High-effort coping, or John Henryism, describes a personality trait involving persistent effort to overcome adversity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between high-effort coping (John Henryism) and blood pressure responses during work and laboratory challenges.
- To examine these associations across a biracial sample of men and women.
Main Methods:
- Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was conducted over an 8-hour workday for 72 men and 71 women.
- Laboratory monitoring assessed blood pressure during rest and five brief stressors.
- Participants were categorized based on job status and high-effort coping traits.
Main Results:
- Women with high-effort coping and high job status exhibited higher diastolic blood pressure at work and in the lab compared to other women.
- Black individuals with high-effort coping and high job status showed elevated work and lab diastolic pressure, and higher work systolic pressure.
- High-effort coping was prevalent in high-status women and Black individuals (71%) but less so in high-status white men (36%), where it did not correlate with increased blood pressure.
Conclusions:
- The combination of high-effort coping and high job status is associated with elevated blood pressure in women and Black men.
- John Henryism's impact on blood pressure appears to be moderated by race and gender, particularly in high-status occupations.
- Further research is needed to understand the specific mechanisms linking high-effort coping, job status, and cardiovascular risk in diverse populations.
Abstract:
Work-related stress has been associated with an increased risk of hypertension and more severe cardiovascular problems in white men but has been less studied in women and black men. To determine whether the trait of high-effort coping (John Henryism) was related to higher blood pressure during work and laboratory challenges, we studied a biracial sample of 72 men and 71 women working full time outside the home who underwent ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for one 8-hour workday. This was followed by laboratory monitoring of blood pressure during resting baseline and five brief stressors. Women who were high-effort copers and had high status jobs had higher diastolic pressures at work and in the lab than other women; their pressure levels did not differ from those of men, but other women had lower pressures than men. In blacks, the same combination of high-effort coping plus high job status was similarly associated with high work and laboratory diastolic pressure, as well as higher work systolic pressure. The trait of high-effort coping was observed in the large majority (71%) of the women and blacks who had achieved high status jobs but was seen in a minority (36%) of white men with high status jobs and was unrelated to increased blood pressure in the latter group.