--- title: Do women with PMS perceive and handle stress differently at different times of their cycle? description: Yes. Women with PMS perceive more stressors and find them more stressful during the premenstrual phase than women without PMS. They also cope with stress diff url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/perceptual-and-coping-processes-across-the-menstrual-cycle-an-investigation-in-a-1997/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women with PMS perceive and handle stress differently at different times of their cycle? Case-control study, 1997 # Do women with PMS perceive and handle stress differently at different times of their cycle? Yes. Women with PMS perceive more stressors and find them more stressful during the premenstrual phase than women without PMS. They also cope with stress differently during this phase. Moderate study design Women attending a PMS clinic and control women without symptoms ## What they did Women from a PMS clinic and control women without symptoms tracked stressors, how they coped with stress, and emotional and physical symptoms daily for one complete menstrual cycle. ## What they found Women with PMS reported facing more personal competency stressors before their period than after. During the premenstrual phase, women with PMS encountered more stressors and perceived them as more stressful than controls did. After their period, both groups perceived stress similarly. Women with PMS used a coping strategy called situational redefinition less often than controls during the premenstrual phase. For women with PMS, daily stressors were linked to emotional and physical symptoms both before and after their period. ## What it means for you Women with PMS may perceive and respond to stress differently across their cycle in ways that increase symptoms. Stress perception and coping appear to play a role in PMS. The study used only self-report and didn't test any specific treatments. 1 full cycle Study duration ## About the study Original title Perceptual and coping processes across the menstrual cycle: an investigation in a premenstrual syndrome clinic and a community sample Authors Fontana AM, Badawy S Journal Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.) Year 1997 Study design Case-control study What was tested Daily self-monitoring of stressors, coping, and symptoms Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/08964289.1997.10543548](https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.1997.10543548) ## 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/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[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. ## Related studies Survey study, 2023 Does stress cause women with PMDD to eat emotionally? Case-control study, 1994 Do women with PMS respond to stress differently than other women? Cohort study, 2026 Does brain structure differ between women with PMDD and healthy controls? Survey study, 2024 How do hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle affect gut health and mood? Survey study, 2013 Can headaches happen in the middle of a woman's cycle? Cohort study, 2001 Do women with PMDD handle stress hormones differently than women without it? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗