John Henryism Active Coping and COVID‐19 policy compliance

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine whether the way one copes with stressful situations, as measured by John Henryism Active Coping (JHAC), influences behavioral responses to the pandemic, such as whether they engaged in mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing. The data for this study come from the 2020 Blair Center Poll, which was conducted by the Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas. Results show that high JHAC had a significant effect on COVID‐19 policy compliance. Additionally, there was an interaction effect between JHAC and race on COVID‐19 policy compliance. This effect was significant for only African Americans and Hispanics—not Whites. In other words, among African Americans and Hispanics, high JHAC had a significant effect on their compliance with COVID‐19 policies. These findings suggest that coping structures policy compliance during the COVID‐19 pandemic.