Case-control study, 1992
Do women with PMS report more stress arousal than women without PMS during their cycle?
Yes. Women who self-diagnosed with PMS reported significantly greater increases in arousal during the premenstrual phase compared to women without PMS, though there were no differences in actual task performance.
What they did
Researchers compared women who self-diagnosed with PMS to women without PMS, including some using oral contraceptives. They measured reported stress and arousal, performance on a word-matching task, and personality traits at premenstrual and other cycle phases.
What they found
All women reported increased arousal during the premenstrual phase, but PMS women reported significantly greater increases. There were no differences between groups in actual task performance. All women improved their word-matching performance during the premenstrual phase. Women with PMS scored higher on neuroticism and were more Type A personality.
What it means for you
PMS may relate more to how women perceive and react to stress than to actual changes in ability. Personality traits like neuroticism and Type A behavior appear connected to PMS. Stress management combined with attention to personality may help. Limitation: women self-diagnosed PMS without formal diagnosis, and results are from a case-control study.
About the study
- Original title
- Interactions between stress and performance during the menstrual cycle in relation to the premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Jane Maria Ussher, John M. Wilding
- Journal
- Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
- Year
- 1992
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/02646839208403941
Topics
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