This article presents a review and archival analysis to assess age differences in acquiring
biofeedback control and success in treating recurrent
headache by using data from 56 studies with either adult (total N = 503) or child (total N = 98) subjects. All studies focused on treating
headache with temperature
biofeedback (TBF) or electromyographic (EMG)
biofeedback. To standardize the varied measures across studies, we calculated each study's percent change scores for
biofeedback performance and
headache activity. All
headache activity scores included assessments of
pain intensity. We then calculated subject-weighted means of percent change for
biofeedback performance and for
headache activity by summing the products of each relevant percent change score and N and then dividing by the total number of subjects contributing to those sums. Results showed that both children and adults reported substantial improvements in
headache activity with TBF and EMG
biofeedback treatment (Ms ranged from 34% to 81%), but children showed significantly greater improvement than adults. No age differences were found in the acquisition of
biofeedback control. Further analyses revealed two additional findings. First,
biofeedback control and
headache improvement were strongly correlated. Second,
headache activity continued to decrease in the weeks following treatment, and this decrease was significantly greater for children than adults.