School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom; Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.
J Pain. 2018 Feb;19(2):178-185. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2017.09.009. Epub 2017 Oct 24.
Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory studies show sex differences in pain responses, with women more sensitive to nociceptive stimulation and more vulnerable to long-term pain conditions than men. Because of evidence that men are culturally reinforced for the ability to endure (or under-report) pain, some of these findings might be explained by sociocultural beliefs about gender-appropriate behavior. One potential manifestation of these effects might be differential participation in pain studies, with men adhering to stereotypical masculine roles viewing participation as a way to demonstrate their masculinity. To test this possibility, we assessed gender identification in 137 healthy participants. At the end of the assessment, they were asked if they would like to participate in other research studies. Interested participants were then asked to participate in a study involving administration of pain-evoking stimulation. We compared individuals who agreed to participate in the pain study with those who declined. We observed a significant Sex × Participation interaction in masculine gender identification, such that men (but not women) who agreed to participate identified significantly more with masculine gender. Among masculine gender traits examined, we found that high levels of aggression and competitiveness were the strongest predictors of pain study participation. Our results suggest that men in pain studies might have higher levels of masculine gender identification than the wider male population. Taken together with previous findings of lower levels of pain sensitivity (or reporting) in masculine-identifying male participants, these results suggest an explanation for some of the sex-related differences observed in pain responses.
To examine whether sex and gender affect willingness to participate in pain studies, we assessed gender identification in men and women, then attempted to recruit them to participate in a pain study. Men who agree to participate in pain studies are significantly higher in masculine gender identification than men who decline to participate or women who agree to participate. Men who agreed to participate were rated particularly high in aggressiveness and competitiveness.
流行病学、临床和实验室研究表明，疼痛反应存在性别差异，女性对伤害性刺激更敏感，且比男性更容易患上长期疼痛疾病。由于有证据表明，男性因能够忍受（或少报）疼痛而受到文化上的强化，因此这些发现中的一些可能可以用关于性别适当行为的社会文化观念来解释。这些影响的一个潜在表现可能是在疼痛研究中的参与度存在差异，坚持典型男性角色的男性将参与视为展示其男子气概的一种方式。为了检验这种可能性，我们评估了 137 名健康参与者的性别认同。在评估结束时，他们被问到是否愿意参加其他研究。有兴趣的参与者随后被要求参加一项涉及疼痛诱发刺激的研究。我们比较了同意参加疼痛研究的个体与拒绝参加的个体。我们观察到在男性性别认同方面存在显著的性别×参与交互作用，即同意参加疼痛研究的男性（而不是女性）的男性性别认同显著更高。在所检查的男性性别特征中，我们发现高水平的攻击性和竞争力是参加疼痛研究的最强预测因素。我们的结果表明，疼痛研究中的男性可能比更广泛的男性人口具有更高的男性性别认同。结合之前发现的在具有男性认同的男性参与者中疼痛敏感度（或报告）较低的研究结果，这些结果为观察到的疼痛反应中的一些性别相关差异提供了一种解释。
为了检验性别和性别认同是否会影响参加疼痛研究的意愿，我们评估了男性和女性的性别认同，然后试图招募他们参加疼痛研究。同意参加疼痛研究的男性的男性性别认同明显高于拒绝参加或同意参加的男性。同意参加的男性在攻击性和竞争力方面的评价特别高。
