Health locus of control and pain tolerance among groups with different socio-cultural characteristics

Abstract

A number of studies have positively correlated the experience of pain with socio-cultural factors. These studies are a part of a not enough developed area of researcher's demands to identify factors that might contribute to the individual's pain experience. These could include somatic (physical) and psychological factors, as well as contextual factors, such as situational and cultural considerations. These articles have discussed several socio-cultural factors that contribute to individual differences in pain perception, including ethnicity, sex and psychological variables (health locus of control). These factors have been discussed in the context of the biopsychosocial model of pain, which posits that pain perception is influenced by interactions among biological, psychosocial, and socio-cultural factors. 62 students were involved in this investigation as volunteers. 30 students self defined their ethnicity as Turkish and 32 self defined their ethnicity as Bulgarian. Cold pressure test and Health locus of control questionnaire were used. Cold pressure test was used to identify pain tolerance toward experimentally induced pain. The result of investigation suggests that health locus of control correlated with ethnicity. In addition, pain tolerance ranged within different socio-cultural groups. Finally, the scientific implications of individual differences in pain are discussed.