Study, 1980
What kinds of changes do women experience before their period?
Women reported a variety of physical, behavioral, and mood changes during the premenstrual period, with responses ranging from no change to extreme change.
What they did
34 professional women (11 businesswomen and 23 lawyers) in New York City completed a Premenstrual Assessment Form. The form asked about 95 different physical, behavioral, and mood changes during the premenstrual period over the last 3 months, with responses ranging from no change to extreme change.
What they found
The study collected detailed information about premenstrual changes from 34 professional women. The data included information on age of menses onset, duration of menses, duration of premenstrual period, pregnancies, medications, physical conditions, and presence of pain, along with 95 symptom items. However, the abstract does not provide specific findings about which symptoms were most common.
What it means for you
This study documented the range of changes women experience before their period. To learn which symptoms were most common or most severe, you would need to read the full study. Limited to professional women in one city, so results may not apply to all women.
34
women surveyed
95
symptom items on assessment form
11
businesswomen in sample
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Mood and Behavior Changes, 1980
- Authors
- Bonnie Mueller Barnes, Jean Endicott
- Journal
- Harvard Dataverse
- Year
- 1980
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 34
- What was tested
- None - survey using Premenstrual Assessment Form
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.7910/dvn/nhxzaj