title: Experiencing Pain in the Presence of Others: A Structured Experimental Investigation of Older Adults.
abstract: The role of various forms of social support (including the mere presence of another person) in pain has been studied in children and younger adults, but parallel studies involving older persons have not been conducted. In this investigation, older adults (N = 100) took part in a series of experimental pain tasks in each of the following conditions: alone, in the presence of a stranger, and in the presence of a family member. Indices of pain (threshold, tolerance, intensity, unpleasantness, facial expressions) and facial expressions of emotion were analyzed. Facial expressions of pain and happiness were more prominent when a family member was present. In the presence of a stranger, pain was reported as less unpleasant and facial expressions of fear were more frequent. In examining sex differences, male participants reported higher pain tolerance and female participants displayed more prominent facial expressions of pain. Moreover, facial expressions of neutral states and happiness were more frequent among female participants, whereas facial expressions of anger were more frequent among male participants. Results show that the presence of others influences the experience and expression of pain in older persons.
  
  
  
  We showed that the presence of others influences the experience and expression of pain in older adults. The presence of a family member increases nonverbal pain expressiveness whereas the presence of a stranger results in decreased self-reported pain unpleasantness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Centre on Aging and Health, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: Natasha L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Gallant
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Centre on Aging and Health, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Electronic address: Thomas.Hadjistavropoulos@uregina.ca.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hadjistavropoulos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D058748:Pain Perception / Q000502:physiology; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Thermal pain; facial expressions; nonverbal expressions; pain communication; social support