Elsevier

The Journal of Pain

Volume 2, Issue 6, December 2001, Pages 354-359
The Journal of Pain

Original Reports
Sex Differences in Negative Emotional Responses to Chronic Pain,☆☆,

https://doi.org/10.1054/jpai.2001.27000Get rights and content
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Abstract

We proposed a sequential model of pain processing with pain intensity as stage 1, pain unpleasantness as stage 2, pain-related emotions (depression, anxiety, frustration, anger, fear) as stage 3, and overt behavioral expression of pain as stage 4. We tested hypotheses about relationships between sex and the first 3 stages of pain processing by conducting simultaneous regression analysis using LISREL-8 with data collected from 967 women and 680 men with chronic pain. We found the following results: (1) women reported higher pain-related frustration and fear; (2) frustration related most highly to pain intensity among women, as compared with anxiety and depression among men; (3) depression and frustration related most highly to usual and highest pain unpleasantness among women, as compared with frustration among men; and (4) contrary to expectations, pain-related emotions were more strongly related to pain for men. Consistent with the sequential model of pain processing, emotional response to pain was more closely related to pain unpleasantness than to pain intensity across sex. Anxiety and frustration were the emotions most highly related to pain. The current results highlight sex differences in the experience of chronic pain and the importance of assessing a range of emotions in patients with pain. © 2001 by the American Pain Society

Keywords

Chronic pain
sex differences
emotions
negative affect

Cited by (0)

Supported in part by DE-07283, R15MH57131, 1P20DE12396-01, and R01- DE13208-A1A2.

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Address reprint requests to Joseph L. Riley III, PhD, PO Box 100415 HSC, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0415. E-mail: [email protected]

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