Gender role expectations of pain: Relationship to sex differences in pain

Empirical research supports the existence of sex differences in pain; yet t hese differences are poorly understood. Although biological mechanisms have been posited to explain variability, results of pain modeling manipulation s suggest social learning may be a stronger influence on pain response. In this report we use the term sex to refer to the biological category of male or female. We use the term gender to refer to the socially acquired aspect s of being male or female sometimes referred to as femininity and masculini ty. This study investigated a new measure, the Gender Role Expectations of Pain questionnaire (GREP), which was designed to measure sex-related stereo typic attributions of pain sensitivity, endurance, and willingness to repor t pain. Subjects were 156 male and 235 female undergraduates at a southeast ern university. Psychometric investigation of the questionnaire revealed a 5-factor solution that closely mirrored the theoretical construction of the items. Test-retest reliability was also shown for individual items on a se parate sample of 28 subjects. Results supported hypotheses about gender rol e: both men and women rated men as less willing to report pain than women ( F-1,F-389 = 336, P < .001); both men and women rated women more sensitive ( F-1,F-389 = 9.5, P < .05) and less enduring of pain (F-1,F-389 = 65.7, P < .001) than men; and men rated their own endurance as higher than the typica l man (F-1,F-389 = 65.7, P < .001). Sex accounted for 46% of the variance i n willingness to report pain. Results suggest that the GREP distinguished b etween the socially learned reactions to pain for men and women. It is reco mmended that the influence of gender-related expectations for pain be asses sed in all studies investigating human sex differences in pain. (C) 2001 by the American Pain Society.