GENDERED RACISM AND PAIN: THE INTERSECTION OF RACISM AND SEXISM ON PAIN OUTCOMES

Abstract

African-Americans and women are at higher risk of developing chronic pain and greater pain-related disability compared to Non-Hispanic whites and men. Self-reported discrimination (SRD) is a known chronic stressor that negatively affects health outcomes for both African Americans and women. However, there is a scant research investigating relations of racial and gender SRD, or their interaction with sex, to chronic pain disability. The present study examined interactive relations among racial SRD, gender SRD, and sex with self-reported number of pain sites (NPS) and pain interference with daily life in a community-dwelling sample of 930 African Americans. Depressive symptoms were also explored as a potential mediator of these relations. Results revealed no significant three-way or two-way interactions of racial SRD, gender SRD, and/or sex for either pain outcome. However, several significant main effects were found: higher levels of racial SRD and female sex predicted increased odds of endorsing the presence of one or more pain sites (OR = 1.26, p < .05; OR = 1.98, p < .01, respectively); and higher levels of gender SRD and female sex predicted increased odds of endorsing pain interference with daily life (OR = 1.40, p < .01; OR = 1.61, p < .05, respectively). Depressive symptoms partially mediated the relations between racial SRD and NPS (b = .03, Z (925) = 2.57, p = .01), as well as gender SRD and pain interference (b = .06, Z (925) = 3.62, p < .01). However, depressive symptoms did not mediate the relation between sex and either of the pain disability outcomes. These findings are consistent with emerging literature on SRD and pain outcomes, support the importance of assessing discrimination as a health determinant, and have potential implications for public health efforts to address pain disparities among marginalized populations.