ABSTRACT
Pain is the most common reason why people around the world seek medical attention. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of research examining how the experience and treatment of pain varies across cultures. The experience of pain is in part influenced by attentional focus and beliefs about normative physical distress; it is therefore likely that cultural factors—which influence both attention and beliefs—will impact the experience of pain. Furthermore, culture influences the perceived acceptability of certain treatments and thus treatment adherence. This chapter reviews the limited research on how the experience and treatment of pain varies across cultures and highlights how cultural variables such as racial discrimination and stoicism interact with neurobiological processes to influence the pain experience. This chapter also discusses some challenges of measuring pain (e.g., the lack of studies showing measurement invariance of commonly used pain measures across different cultural groups), suggests key areas for future research, and proposes guidelines for practitioners for how to address cultural issues when treating pain.
