(910): Ethnicity and pain: Experimental pain narratives

Abstract

A recent study of experimental pain suggests expectations of pain experiences contribute to differences in response to painful stimuli in experimental settings. In addition, factors such as gender and ethnicity/culture have also been found to have an impact on the perception of pain experiences. These expectations can be confounding factors in experimental pain research. It is therefore important to understand and relate participant expectations to experimental pain situations. As part of a larger study of healthy volunteers that examines gender and ethnic difference in response to experimental pain participants responded to a structured, open-ended interview. The participants were asked to describe past physical pain experiences and to compare their responses to those of other genders and ethnicities. Participants in the study self-identified as belonging to one of three ethnic groups: Non-Hispanic White (n=23), African American (n=22) or Hispanic (n=20). Each ethnic group contained both male and female participants. Interviews were coded using Atlas-ti and analysis included a comparison of responses, themes and narratives between and among gender and ethnic groups. Differences were observed in the type of pain experiences recalled with men reporting more sports or trauma injuries and women generally reporting menstrual or somatic pain. Expectations of pain tolerance also varied by gender and ethnicity. Participant responses reflected the belief that men were expected to tolerated pain better than women, however many women in the study reported having a higher pain tolerance than their male peers. This belief was also expressed for various ethnicities. Participants often described their pain experiences in a narrative context. The unique aspects of the acute pain narratives are discussed within the context of the chronic pain narrative literature. The results of this study suggest that a qualitative research approach provides a unique understanding of cultural values and expectations that can affect experimental pain responses.