---
title: Can a questionnaire reliably measure how women cope with premenstrual symptoms?
description: Yes, researchers developed and tested a 12-item questionnaire that reliably measures two main ways women cope with premenstrual symptoms: seeking positive act
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/methods-for-coping-with-premenstrual-change-development-and-validation-of-the-2018/
---

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- Can a questionnaire reliably measure how women cope with premenstrual symptoms?

Survey study, 2018

# Can a questionnaire reliably measure how women cope with premenstrual symptoms?

Yes, researchers developed and tested a 12-item questionnaire that reliably measures two main ways women cope with premenstrual symptoms: seeking positive activities and seeking support. This tool can help assess coping strategies.

 Moderate study design

150 women with PMDD or severe PMS (testing sample), plus 89 women (validation sample)

## What they did

Researchers developed a 33-item questionnaire about coping with premenstrual changes and tested it with 150 women diagnosed with PMDD or severe PMS using exploratory factor analysis. They then confirmed the structure in a second sample of 89 women using confirmatory factor analysis.

## What they found

The 33-item questionnaire was reduced to a 12-item scale with two factors: seeking positive affect-inducing activities (Cronbach's alpha 0.73) and seeking support (Cronbach's alpha 0.71). A potential three-factor solution including healthcare use behavior showed Cronbach's alpha values of 0.70 to 0.72.

## What it means for you

The Premenstrual Change Coping Inventory is a valid and reliable tool for measuring how women cope with premenstrual symptoms. This is primarily a methodological study about developing a measurement tool, not about whether particular coping strategies actually help improve symptoms. The sample sizes are modest.

150

women in development sample

89

women in validation sample

12

items in final questionnaire

## About the study

Original title Methods for coping with premenstrual change: Development and validation of the German Premenstrual Change Coping Inventory Authors Kaiser G, Kues JN, Kleinstäuber M et al. Journal Women & health Year 2018 Study design Survey study Participants 150 What was tested None (questionnaire development and validation study) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2017.1377802](https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2017.1377802)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/)

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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