Sullivan, Jas M., and Moriah Harman. 2023. African American Coping in the Political Sphere. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
          We explore—for the first time, to our knowledge—the role of active coping in politics. More specifically, we explore the role John Henryism Active Coping (JHAC) plays in shaping the political behaviors and attitudes of African Americans. Individuals who score high on JHAC, referred to as active (or high) copers, are known for their relentless determination, hard work, and tendency to put forth a considerable amount of effort in order to overcome challenges and stressors in their lives. Active copers tend to have a strong sense of self-efficacy and reflect an internal locus of control, believing that their actions can affect change. Individuals who score low on JHAC, referred to as passive (or low) copers, do not put forth consistent, considerable effort to overcome challenges and stressors in their lives.
          We argue and demonstrate that active coping has effects on a range of political attitudes and behaviors, from policy preferences to ideological views and information consumption. We show that active copers are more likely than low copers to pray, to work harder to prove others wrong, and to try to do something about experiences of discrimination; to embrace ideological views that fall within the realm of Black nationalism and American values; to support race-specific policies; and are more likely to consume (and more often at that) information from Black (media) sources. We argue that active coping offers a fruitful area of research for political scientists, political psychologists, and political communication scholars, and we hope our book will inspire more work on this timely and important topic.