Sex Differences in Coping Strategies Based on Chronic Pain Intensity Among Older Adults

The aim of the current study was to investigate chronic pain coping strategies of older adults and the differences between sexes according to the intensity of pain. A cross-sectional study was performed in specialty clinics in midwestern Brazil. Participants comprised 276 older adults with chronic pain. The Brief Pain Inventory and Chronic Pain Coping Inventory-Brazilian version were used to assess self-reported pain intensity and pain coping strategies. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Dunn tests were used for intergroup comparisons. The task persistence and coping selfstatements subscales were the most used coping strategies. The strategies of exercise/stretching and task persistence were used differently between males and females. Males showed significant differences in asking for assistance, task persistence, and guarding subscales when pain intensity was taken into account, whereas females showed differences in the guarding and resting subscales. Adaptive coping was the most used coping strategy; however, some non-adaptive subscales were significant in both sexes when compared with levels of chronic pain intensity.