The downside of ‘John Henryism’ | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
▻https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/the-downside-of-john-henryism
In the mid-1980s, James created a 12-item scale to measure John Henryism. It included statements such as “When things don’t go the way I want, that just makes me work even harder,” and “It’s not always easy, but I usually find a way to do the things I really need to get done.” Stronger agreement with such statements puts people higher on the John Henryism scale.
He noted that while many of the attributes of John Henryism are positive—including characteristics such as good mental health, low perceived stress, good social supports, and high levels of conscientiousness—those same positive characteristics may lead people to push themselves so hard that it takes a toll on their bodies. Repeated high-effort coping can lead to surges of stress hormones, which over time “can lead to a whole remodeling of the cardiovascular system and the onset of high blood pressure and organ damage,” he said.