KIDS’ HEALTH
GIRLS’ PAIN TAKEN LESS SERIOUSLY THAN BOYS’ PAIN
A new study undertaken by Yale University, USA and published in the Journal of Paediatric Psychology, has revealed that adults take boys’ pain more seriously than girls’ pain. The authors of the study believe this could be because society generally perceives women to be more emotive (and therefore more prone to hypochondria and exaggeration) and men more stoic – so it’s assumed that when boys actually express pain, it must be truly excruciating. Surprisingly, the study found that even women tended to empathise more with boys’ pain, despite being aware that girls were experiencing the same levels of it.
During the study, 264 adults were
