Survey study, 2017
What factors predict how well women cope with premenstrual symptoms?
Physical factors like menstrual pain are the strongest predictor of premenstrual symptoms, which then affects coping ability. Psychological factors like stress also directly affect how well women cope.
What they did
Cross-sectional study with 206 unmarried university women from three universities in South Korea. Data were collected from March 29 to April 30, 2016 using self-report questionnaires. They tested a model to explain how physical, psychological, and symptom factors relate to coping.
What they found
Physical factors like menstrual pain significantly predicted premenstrual syndrome (t=6.45, p<.001). Together, physical factors, psychological factors, and premenstrual syndrome explained 30.9% of the variance in coping ability. Physical factors indirectly affected coping through premenstrual symptoms, while psychological factors directly affected coping.
What it means for you
Managing pain and addressing stress or attitudes about menstruation may help women cope better with premenstrual symptoms. However, the model only explained about 30% of coping, so other unknown factors also matter. This was studied in university students in South Korea, so results may differ for other women.
206
university women studied
22.1%
variance in PMS explained
30.9%
variance in coping explained
About the study
- Original title
- [A Structural Model for Premenstrual Coping in University Students: Based on Biopsychosocial Model]
- Authors
- Chae MO, Jeon HO, Kim A
- Journal
- Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
- Year
- 2017
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 206
- What was tested
- Structural model of factors predicting premenstrual coping
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2017.47.2.257
Topics
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