Culture plays a huge part in so many aspects of our daily lives, it’s perhaps no surprise that it also plays a big role in our perceptions around sickness.  With the coronavirus spreading the world this year, such notions take on greater importance, and so new research from the University of Texas, San Antonio are especially interesting.

The research found that our values have a significant impact on our perception of ‘socially appropriate sickness’, which in turn impacts how we deal with any illness we may encounter.  For instance, people who earned less would often claim to have a high pain threshold, and would also own up to sickness more often (yet carry on anyway).

“It’s ironic. You think that being a stoic would mean that you are more likely to be reserved, but according to our survey, it has the opposite effect,” the researchers say. “Stoics could own up to being ill as a bragging right and maintain a disease for longer than is necessary.”

Stoic attitude

The researchers suggest that those with lower household incomes may have less access to healthcare, which results in symptoms becoming more severe, and therefore more memorable.  It would be interesting to see if similar findings emerge in societies that don’t ration healthcare via one’s financial means.

The research also found that the strength of one’s family also played a part, with men with stronger family ties more likely to report sickness.  The researchers believe this could be due to the support they receive from their family members in the event of sickness.

“Sickness behavior is one of the responses that all living creatures from ants to bees to humans seem to have in common. Yet socioeconomic and cultural norms play a part with us,” the researchers say. “For example, other researchers have shown that the majority of individuals who work in many fields, including medicine, are often likely to show up to work while being sick. If you think about it, this is about work culture and it has consequences.”

While the researchers don’t plan to extend their research outside of the United States, they do plan to further explore the topic by analyzing individuals who are actively sick rather than are merely recalling an illness.

“Maybe people are more comfortable reporting being sick when it’s a common cold,” the researchers conclude, “but what about those stigmatized infections, such as HIV. What about the coronavirus? How are infectious diseases claimed using a cultural or economic lens?”