Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of gender differences with regard to pain among university students. The participants comprised 408 university students. They were administered the following questionnaire. (1) Did you experience pain during the last month? (2) What kind of pain did you experience during the last month? (3) What was the strongest pain you experienced during the last month? (Subjective evaluation of pain) (4) Did you take any pain medication during the last month? (5) Did you go to hospital because of pain during the last month? (6) How much did the pain disturb your daily life during the last month? (7) How did you cope with pain during the last month? The results confirmed that over 60% of the participants, both male and female, experienced pain, and the gender differences with respect to pain were of little significance among Japanese adolescents. Moreover, the results indicated a correlation between the tendency to cope with catastrophic pain and subjective perception of pain. It was suggested that in addition to medical treatment, psychological coping strategies such as psychological pain education and cognitive restructuring are effective methods of managing pain among young people.
