Kevin Pang
PSYC144: Psychobiology and Culture of Pain
Fall 2003
Final Project
Paper 3: The Denial of Chronic Pain
This paper, written by Robert W. Teasell, MD, discusses the current trends with
undertreatment of chronic pain. Though it does not focus primarily on the
socioeconomic factors in pain, it does include a section acknowledging its
role. The paper states that chronic pain disability is more frequent in the
lower class, targeting individuals without specific technical skills and
those easily replaced by their employers. The paper mentions
that those in lower socioeconomic groups, in particular those who are poorly
educated, lack transferrable skills, and perform heavy or repetitive
physical labor, are much more susceptable to chronic pain disability because
they are less likely to seek treatment. It is reasonable to assume that their
unwillingness to treat their injuries is a direct result of their fear of
being fired or replaced. These findings support my hypothesis that due to
the nature of unskilled, physical labor, the poor will be less likely to
express their pain.
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