John Henryism, education, and blood pressure in young adults. The CARDIA study. Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Abstract

John Henryism refers to an individual's self-perceived ability to meet the demands of the environment through hard work and determination. Prior research has shown that those with above average John Henryism but below average education (education being a measure of coping resources) had higher blood pressure levels than those with other combinations of John Henryism and education. The joint influence of John Henryism and education on blood pressure was examined among 4,986 black and white men and women, 18-30 years of age, from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. The combination of high John Henryism and low education was not associated with elevated systolic or diastolic blood pressure in any of the four groups defined by race and sex. However, the youthfulness of the population and the absence of a previously noted inverse association between education and blood pressure in this population draw into question the appropriateness of this setting to interpret the effect of John Henryism on the blood pressure-education relation.