Ethnocultural Factors Influencing Pain and Illness Behavior

Three classic works in the area of ethnocultural factors on the human pain response are discussed in detail. Their results indicate that differences appear to exist in pain behavior and response between various ethnocultural groups involving pain tolerance, verbal complaints of pain, attitudes toward pain, and illness, and orientations toward the future. It is concluded that we still lack experimental studies with good algesimetric and anthropological sophistication but that there is sufficient evidence to suggest cultural differences, including religious and minority group distinctions, rather than racial differences.