---
title: Does marital communication change during the menstrual cycle?
description: Yes, according to this study, married couples reported less marital communication during the premenstrual phase than the postmenstrual phase. More severe prem
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/marital-communication-and-premenstrual-symptoms-1995/
---

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- Does marital communication change during the menstrual cycle?

Survey study, 1995

# Does marital communication change during the menstrual cycle?

Yes, according to this study, married couples reported less marital communication during the premenstrual phase than the postmenstrual phase. More severe premenstrual symptoms were linked with even less communication. However, this was a small study in Mexico only.

 Early or limited evidence

35 Mexican married couples with regular menstrual cycles

## What they did

Researchers studied 35 Mexican married couples. Women were ages 35 to 40, men were ages 32 to 51, and they had been married 5 to 19 years. Women completed a menstrual symptoms questionnaire during two consecutive cycles. Both spouses completed a marital communications questionnaire during each cycle, once during the premenstrual phase and once during the postmenstrual phase.

## What they found

Marital communication decreased during the premenstrual period compared to the postmenstrual phase. The severity of a woman's premenstrual symptoms correlated with reduced marital communication reported by both partners, though the effect was stronger for women.

## What it means for you

Premenstrual symptoms can affect couple relationships, even in women who don't have a PMDD diagnosis. Even mild symptoms that women may not think matter can reduce communication with their partner. However, this was a small study of Mexican couples only, so the findings may not apply universally.

35

Number of couples studied

35-40 and 32-51

Age range of women and men

5-19 years

Duration of marriage

## About the study

Original title [Marital communication and premenstrual symptoms] Authors Marván ML, Martínez Millán ML Journal Acta psiquiatrica y psicologica de America latina Year 1995 Study design Survey study What was tested None - observational study Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7660842/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7660842/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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