---
title: Do women with PMS show personality changes during their menstrual cycle?
description: Yes. Women with PMS showed significantly increased personality disorder traits during the luteal phase (before menstruation) compared to the follicular phase.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-the-menstrual-cycle-on-measures-of-personality-in-women-with-2001/
---

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- Do women with PMS show personality changes during their menstrual cycle?

Survey study, 2001

# Do women with PMS show personality changes during their menstrual cycle?

Yes. Women with PMS showed significantly increased personality disorder traits during the luteal phase (before menstruation) compared to the follicular phase. This pattern did not happen in women without PMS.

 Moderate study design

40 women with PMS, 20 women without PMS, and 20 women with depression unrelated to their cycle

## What they did

Researchers gave a personality questionnaire to three groups of women during both the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycle: 40 women with PMS, 20 women without PMS (asymptomatic controls), and 20 women with depression unrelated to their menstrual cycle (symptomatic controls).

## What they found

Only women with PMS showed a significant increase in personality disorder traits from the follicular to luteal phase (p < .01). Women with PMS had significantly higher personality disorder scores than asymptomatic controls during both the follicular (p < .05) and luteal (p < .01) phases. Women with PMS had similar scores to women with depression.

## What it means for you

PMS may involve both temporary changes in personality traits (during the luteal phase) and lasting personality features. However, the study cannot show whether personality changes cause PMS or result from PMS, nor does it explain the biological reason for these changes.

40

women with PMS

20

women without PMS

20

women with non-menstrual depression

## About the study

Original title Effects of the menstrual cycle on measures of personality in women with premenstrual syndrome: a preliminary study Authors Berlin RE, Raju JD, Schmidt PJ et al. Journal The Journal of clinical psychiatry Year 2001 Study design Survey study Participants 40 What was tested None - personality questionnaire completed at two cycle phases Read the paper [doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v62n0505](https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v62n0505)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Borderline personality disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-bpd/)[Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)

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## Related studies

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