(349) Sensation seeking and stoicism mediate the relationship between sex and pain tolerance.

s The Journal of Pain S63 relationship between participant sex and pain outcomes. Results indicated that stoic fortitude and SS were significant mediators of the relationship between sex and heat and cold tolerance. SS, but not stoicism, also mediated the relationship between sex and ischemic and electric pain tolerance. These findings lend support for stoicism and SS as mediators for sex differences in pain, particularly differences in pain tolerance. No evidence was found for mediation of the sex-pain threshold relationship. These findings may have important implications for treatment seeking in males. Because males are more likely to report higher levels of SS, stoicism, and tolerances for pain, they may be less likely to seek treatment. This might inflate sex differences in the precedence rates of chronic pain. This research reported was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01MD007807. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.