Two formats to enable children and adolescents to report the changing
intensity, duration, and pattern of their pain were developed and test
ed: (a) a dot matrix with intensity markers on the y-axis and time mar
kers on the x-axis and (b) a list of words or word phrases describing
the temporal dimension of pain. Analyses of the dot matrix markings re
vealed six patterns of pain: steady decrease, steady increase, ongoing
sharp increases and decreases, stair-step increase and decrease, stea
dy increase and decrease, and constant. The 12 words and phrases descr
ibed how pain began as well as how the pattern of pain changed over ti
me.