Analysis of children's responses describing the pain experience revealed that 9- to 12-year-olds can identify causes of pain, can select words that describe pain, and can express how they feel when in pain. Hospitalized children described painful experiences related to surgery and medical procedures and used words related to tension, fear, and overall pain intensity significantly more often than nonhos-pitalized children.

Funded by the Committee on Research of the Academic Senate of the University of California, San Francisco.