The impact of sufferers’ wealth status on pain perceptions: Its development and relation to allocation of healthcare resources

IF 3.1 1区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Developmental Science Pub Date : 2023-12-21 DOI:10.1111/desc.13467

Yuhang Shu, Huisi (Jessica) Li, Shaocong Ma, Lin Bian

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Abstract

Wealth-based disparities in health care wherein the poor receive undertreatment in painful conditions are a prominent issue that requires immediate attention. Research with adults suggests that these disparities are partly rooted in stereotypes associating poor individuals with pain insensitivity. However, whether and how children consider a sufferer's wealth status in their pain perceptions remains unknown. The present work addressed this question by testing 4- to 9-year-olds from the US and China. In Study 1 (N = 108, 56 girls, 79% White), US participants saw rich and poor White children experiencing identical injuries and indicated who they thought felt more pain. Although 4- to 6-year-olds responded at chance, children aged seven and above attributed more pain to the poor than to the rich. Study 2 with a new sample of US children (N = 111, 56 girls, 69% White) extended this effect to judgments of White adults’ pain. Pain judgments also informed children's prosocial behaviors, leading them to provide medical resources to the poor. Studies 3 (N = 118, 59 girls, 100% Asian) and 4 (N = 80, 40 girls, 100% Asian) found that, when evaluating White and Asian people's suffering, Chinese children began to attribute more pain to the poor than to the rich earlier than US children. Thus, unlike US adults, US children and Chinese children recognize the poor's pain from early on. These findings add to our knowledge of group-based beliefs about pain sensitivity and have broad implications on ways to promote equitable health care.

Research Highlights

Four studies examined whether 4- to 9-year-old children's pain perceptions were influenced by sufferers’ wealth status.
US children attributed more pain to White individuals of low wealth status than those of high wealth status by age seven.
Chinese children demonstrated an earlier tendency to attribute more pain to the poor (versus the rich) compared to US children.
Children's wealth-based pain judgments underlied their tendency to provide healthcare resources to people of low wealth status.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

患者的财富状况对疼痛认知的影响：其发展及其与医疗资源分配的关系。

医疗保健中的贫富差距是一个亟待解决的突出问题，穷人在疼痛情况下得不到足够的治疗。对成年人的研究表明，这些差异部分源于将穷人与对疼痛不敏感联系在一起的刻板印象。然而，儿童在感知疼痛时是否以及如何考虑患者的财富状况仍是未知数。本研究通过对来自美国和中国的 4 至 9 岁儿童进行测试来解决这一问题。在研究 1（人数 = 108，56 名女孩，79% 为白人）中，美国参与者看到富有和贫穷的白人儿童经历了相同的伤害，并指出他们认为谁感到更疼痛。虽然 4 至 6 岁的儿童的回答是偶然的，但 7 岁及以上的儿童认为穷人比富人更疼。研究 2 采用了新的美国儿童样本（样本数=111，56 名女孩，69% 为白人），将这一效应延伸到了对白人成年人疼痛的判断上。对疼痛的判断也会影响儿童的亲社会行为，促使他们向穷人提供医疗资源。研究 3（人数=118，59 名女孩，100% 亚洲人）和研究 4（人数=80，40 名女孩，100% 亚洲人）发现，在评价白人和亚洲人的痛苦时，中国儿童比美国儿童更早开始将更多痛苦归因于穷人而非富人。因此，与美国成人不同，美国儿童和中国儿童很早就认识到穷人的痛苦。这些发现增加了我们对基于群体的疼痛敏感性信念的了解，并对如何促进公平的医疗保健产生了广泛的影响。研究亮点：四项研究考察了 4 至 9 岁儿童对疼痛的感知是否受患者财富状况的影响。到 7 岁时，美国儿童对财富地位低的白人比财富地位高的白人更容易产生疼痛感。与美国儿童相比，中国儿童更倾向于将更多疼痛归因于穷人（相对于富人）。儿童基于财富的疼痛判断表明，他们倾向于为财富地位低的人提供医疗资源。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Developmental Science Multiple-

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

8.10%

发文量

132

期刊介绍： Developmental Science publishes cutting-edge theory and up-to-the-minute research on scientific developmental psychology from leading thinkers in the field. It is currently the only journal that specifically focuses on human developmental cognitive neuroscience. Coverage includes: - Clinical, computational and comparative approaches to development - Key advances in cognitive and social development - Developmental cognitive neuroscience - Functional neuroimaging of the developing brain