Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and community
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J Child Health Care · Dec 2017
Gender differences in the experience of pain dismissal in adolescence.
This study examined physician-generated pain dismissal experiences in adolescence between males and females. Young adults (ages 18-24, N = 178) with chronic or recurrent pain reported at least one pain dismissal experience in adolescence and answered a series of questions regarding the experience during this time period. ⋯ Females were more likely to report a desire to plead for understanding with the dismisser. Results suggest that female adolescents are more likely to report a pain dismissal experience with physicians, raising concerns that adolescent females may receive, or at least perceive, differential treatment for their chronic pain.