Appraisal and response to pain may be a function of its bodily location.

This study explored the hypothesis that appraisals of and responses to pain may in part be a function of where the pain is located. Results revealed that appraising pain as life-threatening, seeking help, disclosing pain to others and emotional distress in response to pain were contingent on the pain's bodily location. Significant ethnic differences in appraisal of pain, and significant gender differences in disclosure of and emotional response to pain also were found.