My past research with medical students found a consistent gender bias in the evaluation of patients presenting CHD symptoms in the context of stressful life events, where women were less likely to be given a CHD diagnosis and less likely to be referred to a cardiologist than men. No evidence of a bias was found when CHD symptoms were presented without stressors. Results consistently showed that when presented without stressors, symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath were perceived as having an organic origin for both men and women, while the addition of stressors produced a shift in symptom interpretation, from organic to psychogenic in origin, for women but not for men. One goal of the proposed project is to replicate the earlier research with a large sample of family physicians; the selection of family physicians is particularly relevant as they are generally the first medical professionals to evaluate patients' symptoms and to refer them for specialized care. A greater understanding of the psychological processes undelying gender bias in this group would be especially meaningful, and practical. A second goal is to examine how physicians respond to patients presenting stress and anxiety in addition to typical and atypical CHD symptoms. Finally, the proposed project will test two competing hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the psychological processes underlying gender bias in CHD assessment.
