Pain Tolerance in the Presence of Others: Implications for Youth Sports

Abstract
In brief: Forty-three second- and third-graders were compared with 40 college students to determine if youths and adults responded differently to pain alone and in the presence of others. The college students showed significantly greater pain tolerance than did the children. The youths displayed significantly greater pain tolerance when others were present; college students' tolerance, on the other hand, did not change when an audience was present. These results are relevant to youth sports situations, in which volunteer coaches must regularly assess reports of pain by those they supervise.