Title
"I'll Die with the Hammer in My Hand": John Henryism as a Predictor of Happiness
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Quantitative Health Sciences
Date
6-15-2011
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Happiness; Forecasting
Disciplines
Biostatistics | Epidemiology | Health Services Research | Psychology
Abstract
This paper examines the association between John Henryism - a behavioral predisposition to cope actively with psychosocial environmental stressors - and happiness. On the basis of previous research on aspiration and goal regulation, we predicted that John Henryism would be negatively associated with happiness when controlling for demographic factors and attainment in various domains of life. We tested the prediction in a sample of hypertensive participants (n=758) drawn from an inner-city, mainly African-American, safety-net hospital in Jefferson County, Alabama. Bivariate analysis revealed no association between John Henryism and attainment in six domains of life: marriage, children, education, employment, income, and health. However, a significant negative association between John Henryism and happiness was found both in bivariate analysis (Spearman's rho= -0.335; p
Comments
Citation: J Econ Psychol. 2011 Jun;32(3):357-366. DOI 10.1016/j.joep.2011.01.002