Cohort study, 2025
Does trait anger explain why trauma and stress lead to premenstrual disorder symptoms?
Trait anger appears to be the key factor linking trauma and stress to premenstrual disorder symptoms. Anger affects the actual symptoms themselves, while rumination and sense of control only affect how women perceive the severity of their symptoms.
What they did
Two-part study with 339 women aged 18-47 answering questions retrospectively about their symptoms and 76 women aged 18-44 tracked prospectively over time. Researchers measured trauma exposure, current stress, trait anger, rumination, and locus of control. They tested whether anger, rumination, or locus of control explained the connection between trauma or stress and premenstrual symptoms.
What they found
Trait anger mediated the relationship between stress and retrospectively measured premenstrual symptoms. Trait anger also mediated the relationship between trauma and both retrospectively recalled and prospectively measured premenstrual symptoms. In contrast, locus of control and rumination were primarily related to how severely women perceived their symptoms, not the actual symptoms themselves.
What it means for you
Anger management might help treat premenstrual disorders in women with trauma or high stress. This is based on a small sample and self-reported data. Main limitation: prospective sample was only 76 women, all measured through questionnaires.
339
Women in retrospective analysis
76
Women in prospective analysis
0.35
Trait anger indirect effect (trauma/prospective)
About the study
- Original title
- The role of trait anger, rumination, and locus of control in the relationship between trauma, stress, and premenstrual disorders
- Authors
- Antosz-Rekucka R, Prochwicz K
- Journal
- Scientific reports
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 339
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11146-z
Topics
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