Survey study, 1988
Do women blame different things for their moods at different cycle stages?
Yes. Women tended to blame health problems for bad moods before their period, but blamed environment and lifestyle for good moods. However, these attribution patterns did not match whether women actually had menstrual complaints.
What they did
60 women at a family planning clinic filled out assessments of how they explained their moods at different cycle stages.
What they found
Negative moods before menstruation were almost always attributed to health factors. Positive moods were attributed to environment and lifestyle. Personality was cited for moods between periods. No link was found between these thinking patterns and actual menstrual complaints.
What it means for you
Women have different ways of explaining their feelings depending on their cycle phase. This is only a description of thoughts, not whether these patterns are helpful. The study was small and from one clinic, so results may not apply to all women.
60
women studied
About the study
- Original title
- Attributional patterns, moods, and the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Bains GK, Slade P
- Journal
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Year
- 1988
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None - observational study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198809000-00003
Topics
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