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Survey study, 2020

Is a woman's personality linked to how much PMS she gets?

Yes, personality traits were linked to PMS scores in this study, but this only shows a connection, not that personality causes PMS.

Early or limited evidence 353 women in a city in the Mediterranean region of Turkey

What they did

Researchers surveyed 353 women in a city in the Mediterranean region of Turkey between 1 April and 31 August 2019, using a PMS scale, a short Big Five personality test, and a questionnaire.

What they found

PMS was weakly linked to lower extraversion, very weakly linked to lower conscientiousness, moderately linked to lower neuroticism, and very weakly (but significantly) linked to higher openness (P < .05).

What it means for you

The authors suggest that women who are more introverted, have weaker self-confidence, more negative feelings, and weaker coping skills may be more at risk for PMS. This is a one-time snapshot study in one region, so it cannot show which comes first, and it cannot prove personality causes PMS.

353

Women studied

P < .05

Significance level

About the study

Original title
Are premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea related to the personality structure of women? A descriptive relation-seeker type study
Authors
Erenoğlu R, Sözbir ŞY
Journal
Perspectives in psychiatric care
Year
2020
Study design
Survey study
Participants
353
What was tested
None tested; this looked at the link between personality traits and PMS
Open access
Yes

Topics