---
title: How did premenstrual syndrome become recognized as a social problem?
description: PMS became recognized as a social problem in the early 1980s through a combination of medical research, popular media, feminist writing, and a famous British
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-emergence-of-premenstrual-syndrome-as-a-social-problem-1991/
---

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- How did premenstrual syndrome become recognized as a social problem?

Study, 1991

# How did premenstrual syndrome become recognized as a social problem?

PMS became recognized as a social problem in the early 1980s through a combination of medical research, popular media, feminist writing, and a famous British legal case where two women charged with manslaughter used PMS as a defense.

 Early or limited evidence

Not applicable; this is a historical and sociological analysis of published materials, not a study of women with PMS

## What they did

The author performed a content analysis of published articles and discourse about PMS to trace how the problem became socially defined.

## What they found

PMS was defined as a social problem through interactions between medical, popular, and feminist literature, and was shaped by dramatic legal events and cultural assumptions about women and their biology.

## What it means for you

This is a historical and sociological analysis of how PMS became socially recognized, not a study with data about PMS itself. While understanding how medical problems become defined is interesting, this type of analysis does not tell us about PMS causes, treatments, or how common it is.

## About the study

Original title The Emergence of Premenstrual Syndrome as a Social Problem Authors C. Amanda Rittenhouse Journal Social Problems Year 1991 Study design Study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1525/sp.1991.38.3.03a00070](https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1991.38.3.03a00070)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/)

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