Racialized bias in pediatric pain: the role of observers’ attentional processing and estimations of children’s pain
Date
2025-08-29
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PeerJ
Abstract
Background: Research demonstrates racism in pediatric pain care. However, the
mechanisms underlying these injustices are not well understood. This study
examined White observers’ attentional processing of facial expressions of pain
demonstrated by White vs. Black children and observers’ estimations of the pain
expressiveness levels of these children. Furthermore, we assessed whether differences
in observers’ attentional processing were influenced by observers’ pain beliefs and the
pain expressiveness level.
Method: Eighty White adults (42 women; 38 men) performed the visual search task
(VST), rated the levels of pain that the children expressed, and reported their beliefs
concerning the pain experience of White vs. Black children.
Results: Findings revealed facilitated attentional engagement towards Black
compared to White child pain faces, particularly at high pain expressiveness levels.
No attentional disengagement effects were observed. Pain estimations increased with
increasing pain expressiveness but, contrary to prior findings, did not differ for
White vs. Black children. Observers’ false pain beliefs did not significantly impact
their attentional processing nor pain estimations.
Conclusions: The results underscore the importance of understanding how
racialized disparities in observers’ attentional processing of others’ pain may
contribute to racialized inequities in pediatric pain care
Description
This article was originally published in [Journal Name]. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19969
©Copyright 2025 Kissi et al. Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0
Keywords
Pain, Children, Attention, Racialized bias, Pain estimations, Observer
Citation
Kissi A, Van Ryckeghem D, Mende-Siedlecki P, Hirsh A, Van Alboom I, Debeer D, Vervoort T. 2025. Racialized bias in pediatric pain: the role of observers’ attentional processing and estimations of children’s pain. PeerJ 13:e19969 DOI 10.7717/peerj.19969