The John Henryism and Framingham type A scales. Measurement properties in elderly blacks and whites

Abstract

In 1984-1985, the authors interviewed 1,017 participants in the Charleston Heart Study in Charleston County, South Carolina to investigate the measurement properties of the Framingham Type A Scale in elderly blacks and whites and those of the John Henryism Scale for Active Coping, which was originally designed for use in black populations. They conclude that the Framingham Type A and John Henryism scales do in fact measure two quite different behavior patterns, and do have different correlates in elderly blacks and whites. The results are of particular interest since the Charleston Heart Study sample includes an oversampling of high socioeconomic status black males (n = 69). In this respect, it is unique among long-term cardiovascular studies and provides the opportunity to estimate separate race and socioeconomic status effects, as well as to examine their interaction.