Title
Gender-biased Diagnosing, the Consequences of Psychosomatic Misdiagnosis and 'Doing Credibility'
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2011
Abstract
This research was aimed at exploring patient perspectives on the gender-politics of
doctor-patient relationship , finding the number of men and women who had
experienced psychosomatic diagnosis or misdiagnosis, and assessing the detrimental
health consequences of psychosomatic misdiagnosis by investigating patient
experiences. Thirty-nine respondents (13 men and 26 women) of ages ranging 18 to
71 completed open-ended questionnaires designed to gauge their relevant feelings
and experiences. Hypothesis was that findings would be indicative of gender-biased
diagnosing; that women would have significantly more reports of psychosomatic
diagnosis and misdiagnosis, more negative experiences with doctors, and more
experiences in which they physically suffered as a result of psychosomatic
misdiagnosis. This research found strong evidence of gender-biased diagnosing. It
also found that 1) many women reported experiencing sex discrimination in a
doctor-patient relationship, and over half of women had discontinued seeing a
doctor for this reason, 2) a small phenomenon of "doing credibility" was found in
that patients, mostly female, reported downplaying severity of symptoms in dialog
with their doctor in fear of complaining or appearing "irrational," and 3) women
were found to suffer traumatic and health-crippling experiences, sometimes ending
up in the emergency room needing surgery or suffering for years with debilitating
undiagnosed medical conditions, as a direct consequence of their symptoms being
mislabeled as psychosomatic.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Eda Clare, "Gender-biased Diagnosing, the Consequences of Psychosomatic Misdiagnosis and 'Doing Credibility'" (2011). Sociology Student Scholarship.
http://scholar.oxy.edu/sociology_student/5