Citation

Kramer NM, Johnson NL, Johnson DM. Anxiety Stress Coping 2015; 28(6): 601-616.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology , The University of Akron , 290 East Buchtel Ave, Akron , OH 44325-4301.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10615806.2014.1000879

PMID

25559782

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression are two common mental health problems in intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. Research has found that while Black women consistently report higher rates of victimization than White women, they also report less severe PTSD and depressive symptoms, suggesting that Black IPV survivors might be more resilient to PTSD and depression than are White survivors.

DESIGN: We implemented a correlational study with 81 Black and 100 White female survivors of IPV to determine if John Henryism (JH; i.e., a predisposed active coping mechanism) contributes to the resilience observed in Black IPV survivors.

METHODS: Participants completed the John Henryism Active Coping Scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Davidson Trauma Scale, and the Abusive Behavior Inventory.

RESULTS: Results demonstrated that White woman endorsed more severe depressive symptoms as compared to Black women. Severity of PTSD symptoms and JH were not significantly different between races. JH did not moderate the relationship between race and depression; however, for PTSD, JH was found to be protective of PTSD in White women, while demonstrating little impact on Black women.

CONCLUSIONS: The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the minority stress model (Meyer, 2003).

Language: en