The approved minority coping strategy of hard striving can be physically harmful via hypertension

Evidence

Directly consistent with Allport’s views, many minority groups in the United States endorse hard work and determination as a means of overcoming their minority status (Kleugal & Smith, 1986). This value is reflected in the African American community in the legendary story of John Henry, a nineteenth-century steel driver, who beat a machine in a steel-driving competition only to drop dead of exhaustion. A dispositional preference to work harder to achieve success and advancement, despite sometimes overwhelming obstacles, has been called “john-henryism” ( James, Hartnett, & Kalsbeek, 1983). Research linking john-henryism to hypertension among African Americans suggests that adopting this coping strategy may be physically harmful, even though it may indeed be the coping strategy most approved of in society ( James, Hartnett, & Kalsbeek, 1983). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 965

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to existing vault claims on minority coping strategies and the physical costs of psychologically approved self-help narratives.
• CANDY: The John Henry founding story, where beating the machine kills the man, is a compact conversation piece about culturally sanctioned striving.
• SEED: Could seed an essay angle on how culturally endorsed coping strategies carry hidden physiological costs, against the ‘pull yourself up’ narrative.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 965