Gender Biases in Adult Ratings of Pediatric Pain

Accurate assessment is critical in pediatric pain, and often adults gauge pain via children’s behavior. To measure adults’ gender biases in regard to children’s pain, 183 adults completed measures and rated the pain of a videotaped child receiving a finger stick blood test. Half of the participants were told the child was male and half female. Participants rated the “male” patient as having greater pain. Similarly, participants’ indicated beliefs that girls are more sensitive and reactive to pain than boys. Results suggest adults hold explicit and implicit biases that girls are more sensitive and reactive to pain than boys.