---
title: Does spiritual well-being make PMS and stress worse or better?
description: Surprisingly, women with higher spiritual well-being reported more PMS symptoms and stress, not less. Spiritual well-being partially explained the relationshi
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/relationships-among-perceived-stress-premenstrual-symptomatology-and-spiritual-2006/
---

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- Does spiritual well-being make PMS and stress worse or better?

Survey study, 2006

# Does spiritual well-being make PMS and stress worse or better?

Surprisingly, women with higher spiritual well-being reported more PMS symptoms and stress, not less. Spiritual well-being partially explained the relationship between stress and PMS.

 Early or limited evidence

145 women

## What they did

Cross-sectional survey of 145 women who completed questionnaires about PMS symptoms, perceived stress, and spiritual well-being.

## What they found

Increases in spiritual well-being were positively related to more PMS endorsement and more stress endorsement. Spiritual well-being served as a partial mediator between stress and PMS (meaning it partly explained how the two are connected).

## What it means for you

Women with higher spirituality reported more PMS and stress, which is the opposite of what researchers expected. Women of Christian faith may benefit from increased stress management practices. Main limits: the design cannot prove cause and effect; it is unclear why higher spirituality was linked to more symptoms; women self-reported both spirituality and symptoms.

145

Number of women surveyed

## About the study

Original title Relationships among Perceived Stress, Premenstrual Symptomatology and Spiritual Well-Being in Women Authors M. Kathleen B. Lustyk, Christopher Ryan Beam, Andrea C. Miller et al. Journal Journal of Psychology and Theology Year 2006 Study design Survey study Participants 145 What was tested No intervention; observational study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1177/009164710603400401](https://doi.org/10.1177/009164710603400401)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/)

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