Age Differences in Thermal Pain Responses: A Direct Laboratory Comparison

Objectives: According to a widely cited assertion, older adults are less likely than younger individuals to express pain complaints. Age-related differences in pain responses have been discussed in the literature despite a paucity of research involving direct comparisons of younger and older adults' pain reactions (i.e., verbal, nonverbal) in the context of a single experimental investigation. Our goal was to test the hypothesis that older adults are more stoic than younger adults in their expression of pain.

Methods: We measured trait stoicism as well as multiple responses to thermal pain.

Results: In contrast to suggestions in the literature, equivalence testing indicated that older and younger adults displayed similar verbal and nonverbal pain responses. Our results suggest that older adults are no more stoic about their pain than are younger persons.

Discussion: This is the first attempt to explore a wide array of age differences in pain expression within the context of a single experimental study.