Gallant Natasha L, Hadjistavropoulos Thomas
Department of Psychology and Centre on Aging and Health, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Department of Psychology and Centre on Aging and Health, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
J Pain. 2017 Apr;18(4):456-467. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2016.12.009. Epub 2017 Jan 3.
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.
各种形式的社会支持（包括仅仅有他人在场）对疼痛的影响已在儿童和年轻人中进行了研究，但尚未对老年人进行类似研究。在本调查中，100名老年人参与了一系列实验性疼痛任务，分别处于以下每种情境：独自一人、有陌生人在场、有家庭成员在场。分析了疼痛指标（阈值、耐受性、强度、不愉快程度、面部表情）以及情绪的面部表情。有家庭成员在场时，疼痛和快乐的面部表情更为明显。有陌生人在场时，报告的疼痛不愉快程度较低，恐惧的面部表情更为频繁。在研究性别差异时，男性参与者报告的疼痛耐受性较高，女性参与者表现出更明显的疼痛面部表情。此外，中性状态和快乐的面部表情在女性参与者中更为频繁，而愤怒的面部表情在男性参与者中更为频繁。结果表明，他人在场会影响老年人对疼痛的体验和表达。
我们表明，他人在场会影响老年人对疼痛的体验和表达。家庭成员在场会增加非言语疼痛表达，而陌生人在场会导致自我报告的疼痛不愉快程度降低。
