title: John Henryism Active Coping as a Cultural Correlate of Substance Abuse Treatment Participation Among African American Women.
abstract: The rates of illicit drug use among African American women are increasing, yet African American women are least likely to participate in treatment for substance use disorders when compared to women of other racial groups. The current study examined family history of substance use, perceived family support, and John Henryism Active Coping (JHAC) as correlates to seeking treatment for substance abuse. The underlying theoretical frame of JHAC (James et al., 1983) suggests that despite limited resources and psychosocial stressors, African Americans believe that hard work and self-determination are necessary to cope with adversities. The current study is a secondary data analyses of 206 drug-using African American women (N=104 urban community women with no criminal justice involvement and N=102 women living in the community on supervised probation) from urban cities in a southern state. It was expected that African American women with a family history of substance abuse, higher levels of perceived family support, and more active coping skills would be more likely to have participated in substance abuse treatment. Step-wise logistic regression results reveal that women on probation, had children, and had a family history of substance abuse were significantly more likely to report participating in substance abuse treatment. Perceived family support and active coping were significant negative correlates of participating in treatment. Implication of results suggests coping with psychosocial stressors using a self-determined and persistent coping strategy may be problematic for drug-using women with limited resources.
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky. Electronic address: d.stevenswatkins@uky.edu.
authors.forename: Danelle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stevens-Watkins
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Joi-Sheree'
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Knighton
authors.affiliation: Florida State University.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Sycarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Candice
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crowell
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mahaffey
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leukefeld
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oser
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D003376:Counseling; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: African American; Coping; Culture; Treatment; Women