Femininity contribution to pain experience: an exploratory cross-sectional study among undergraduates

Résumé 0

Pain is multidimensional in its nature, so its perception includes sensory, emotional, social and symbolic aspects. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of painful symptoms among dental students and to verify their association with self-reported femininity. This is a cross-sectional study in two public dentistry universities in Recife, Pernambuco. The sample comprised 387 female undergraduate students between 21 and 24 years old. Data collected included socio-demographic characteristics, number of painful sites (McGill Pain questionnaire), pain intensity (VAS), and need to communicate pain. Femininity was assessed using the Traditional Femininity and Masculinity (TMF-s) scale, recently developed to identify central facets of self-attributed masculinity-femininity. Pearson's chi-square test and binary logistic regression were performed to analyze differences regarding the degree of femininity and pain characteristics. The results showed that the regions with the highest frequency of pain were head (56%), spine (50%), shoulder (43%) and face (35%). Participants with greater femininity score reported more painful body regions. Back pain, pain in more than three body sites, and need to communicate pain were significantly associated with greater femininity. Cultural and psychosocial aspects related to pain experience and communication should be considered in the analysis of gender differences within a biological same-sex group.