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Cultural aspects of pain CULTURAL ASPECTS OF PAIN
Some ethnic communities encourage their members to express pain, whereas others are admonished to 'take it in your stride' and 'don't be a baby'.The British psychiatrist and pain researcher, Dr Michael Bond, found that the degree of pain experienced is associated with the degree of severe anxiety and the complaint of pain with the characteristic which makes people seem outgoing. The expression of pain thus appears to be a characteristic of extroversion and the inhibition of pain expression, with introversion.
Some anxious individuals may suffer silently. But those with an outgoing personality have little difficulty in expressing their pain. In other words, they may just open their mouths and scream the roof down! Cultural background also has a powerful effect on the pain perception threshold. American pain researchers, Sternbach and Tursky, report that women of Italian descent tolerate less electrical shock than women of old American or Jewish origin.
In a similar experiment in which Jewish and Protestant women served as subjects, the Jewish women increased their tolerance levels after they were told that their religious group tolerated pain poorly compared with others. These differences in pain tolerance reflect different ethnic attitudes towards pain.
Another American pain researcher, Dr M.Zborowski, found that 'Old Americans' have a matter-of-fact attitude towards pain and pain expression. They tend to withdraw when the pain is intense and cry or moan when alone. Jews and Italians tend to complain loudly in openly seeking support and sympathy, as do other southern European and Middle Eastern groups. This behaviour is natural and entirely acceptable in their society.
The evidence that pain is influenced by cultural factors naturally leads to an examination of the role of early experience in adult pain behaviour. It is fascinating how each patient attaches various meanings to pain-producing situations. This greatly influences the degree, and severity, of the pain felt. For example, if your attitude is focused on a potentially painful experience, you will tend to perceive pain more intensely than usual. The mere anticipation of pain is the perceived pain. It is well known that distraction of attention away from pain can diminish or even abolish it.
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