A Critical Quantitative Approach to Intersectionality: Interrogating Race and Class in the Context of Female Chronic Pain

ABSTRACT

Addressing calls to advance critical quantitative approaches to intersectionality, this study used multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to examine how female chronic pain patients’ (N = 350) interactions with their healthcare providers are, in addition to gender, shaped along axes of race and socioeconomic status. Guided by intersectionality and the theory of communicative (dis)enfranchisement (TCD), this study illustrates how quantitative methods can be used to examine how identities intersect with one another and systems of power to produce complex communication processes and outcomes, which might further exacerbate existing disparities. This study offers theoretical, methodological, and practical implications for communication scholars seeking to conduct empirical, quantitative intersectional scholarship.

KEYWORDS:

• Intersectionality
• theory of communicative (dis)enfranchisement
• critical quantitative research
• chronic pain

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Intersectionality has been interpreted as a “frame of analysis,” theoretical lens, methodological lens, and heuristic device, among others (Cho et al., 2013). In this study, we used intersectionality as a theoretical lens and refer to “intersectionality” or “intersectional lens” throughout.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel V. Tucker

Rachel V. Tucker (M.A., University of Cincinnati) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. Her research examines stigmatized sexual health conditions, identities, and experiences, and how they are managed communicatively.

Jacqueline N. Gunning

Jacqueline N. Gunning (M.A., University of Nebraska–Lincoln) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. Her research examines how individuals approach difficult conversations about health, and how these conversations shape their health behaviors and outcomes.

Elizabeth A. Hintz

Elizabeth A. Hintz (Ph.D. University of South Florida) is an Assistant Professor of Health Communication at the University of Connecticut. Elizabeth’s research examines how individuals managing poorly understood health conditions and identities navigate challenging conversations with important others.

Amanda Denes

Amanda Denes (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. Her primary area of specialization is interpersonal communication, with emphases in biosocial models of communication, sexual communication, and communication processes related to maintaining successful relationships.