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Study, 2025

Does your personality type affect how much emotional PMS symptoms you have?

Yes. Your temperament or personality type is a strong predictor of emotional PMS symptoms like irritability and mood swings.

Early or limited evidence 119 people classified by temperament type

What they did

119 people were classified by their temperament type and assessed for stress, anxiety, depression, and PMS symptoms using standardized measures.

What they found

Temperament was the strongest predictor of emotional PMS symptoms. Women with a choleric (excitable) temperament had much higher odds of irritability, tension, and mood swings compared to women with a phlegmatic (calm) temperament. Stress levels were moderately linked to overall PMS severity but did not independently predict emotional symptoms once temperament was accounted for.

What it means for you

Your baseline personality or temperament type may strongly influence your emotional PMS symptoms, beyond just stress levels. This study used a traditional medicine framework combined with modern measures, so it may not apply equally to all populations. The study was a snapshot in time, not following people over time.

119

participants

About the study

Original title
An integrative study of temperament-specific susceptibility to stress-related emotional symptoms in premenstrual syndrome
Authors
Saba Zaidi
Journal
International Journal of Unani and Integrative Medicine
Year
2025
Study design
Study
Participants
119
What was tested
None
Open access
Yes

Topics