The Impact of High Effort Coping Among Black Americans

By: Phylicia Allen, LCSWA

It is an ideal time to illuminate stories of Black Americans that focus on their strengths; and within mental health settings Black Americans are sharing the impact that high-effort coping has on their well-being. High-effort coping is the idea that individuals must put forth more effort than their counterparts due to racism and discrimination. Coping strategies are essential to manage stressors and many studies reflect how coping minimizes the effect of stress. Some studies show that high-effort coping has helped Black women, men, adolescents, individuals with disabilities, and the Black LGBTQ community navigate adverse spaces and experiences. In the same light, these studies express how high-effort coping can lead to more stress, as Black Americans are exuding their energy to show their worth. The lack of space to just “be” makes mental health a crucial area of concern.

But how did we get here? Although, overt forms of racism are minimized there are still many covert ways that racism and discrimination show up in the lives of Black Americans. Black women and men are continuously stereotyped. For instance, Black women are often viewed as the Strong Black Woman, a woman who pushes through and caters to the needs of everyone else before herself. Black men often are viewed as a threat based on their physical features alone. The media continues to send a message further impacting negative stereotypes of Black men and women.

For Black individuals who also have a disability, they find continuous differential treatment. In many situations, Black people with disabilities have been deemed as a threat, when not enough time and energy has been put into understanding their needs. In mental health settings, Black people with disabilities have been misdiagnosed and/or even turned away from services. This can ultimately impact one’s ability to complete education and secure a job.

Furthermore, the Black LGBTQ populations is discriminated against because of their intersecting identities, and this shows up in the workplace and police interactions. Many studies show that Black LGBTQ individuals experience discrimination, and that this discrimination can lead to poor mental health outcomes. In the workplace Black LBGTQ individuals are paid lower salaries and among police they are targeted more often. These adverse discriminatory experiences have negative effects on the over well-being of Black LGBTQ individuals.

The findings and media narratives highlight a need for greater support of Black Americans. Individually, Black Americans have used the coping strategy of working hard and working well in many settings in effort to avoid racial discrimination. One study even found that high-effort coping protected Black adolescents from racial discrimination from teachers, suicidal ideation, and anger (Jelsma et al., 2022). However, constantly having to focus on protecting oneself from negative treatment can lead to poor health and well-being. Thus, to ensure that Black Americans are protected from these experiences it is the role of community and policy makers to confront inequities in practice.

Jelsma, E., Chen, S. & Varner, F. Working Harder than Others to Prove Yourself: High-Effort Coping as a Buffer between Teacher-Perpetrated Racial Discrimination and Mental Health among Black American Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 51, 694–707 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01563-4