---
title: Do women with PMS explain their symptoms differently depending on when in their menstrual cycle they are?
description: Yes. Women with PMS blamed the menstrual cycle more often for their symptoms during the premenstrual phase than at other times, while women without PMS showed
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/causal-attributions-in-premenstrual-syndrome-1995/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Do women with PMS explain their symptoms differently depending on when in their menstrual cycle they are?

Survey study, 1995

# Do women with PMS explain their symptoms differently depending on when in their menstrual cycle they are?

Yes. Women with PMS blamed the menstrual cycle more often for their symptoms during the premenstrual phase than at other times, while women without PMS showed no difference. This suggests that cycle phase changes how women interpret their symptoms.

 Early or limited evidence

38 women with PMS and 26 control women

## What they did

Cross-sectional study comparing 38 women with PMS and 26 control women. Researchers asked them what they thought caused their complaints during both premenstrual and non-premenstrual phases of their cycle.

## What they found

Women with confirmed PMS blamed the menstrual cycle more frequently for their complaints during the premenstrual phase than during other phases. Control women gave the same types of explanations in both phases. Women with PMS also more often blamed psychological distress and physical exertion for complaints at any time compared to controls.

## What it means for you

How women interpret their own symptoms changes with their cycle phase. Understanding these patterns could help design better treatments. The main limitation is the study was relatively small and observational, not experimental.

38

Women with PMS

26

Control women

## About the study

Original title Causal attributions in premenstrual syndrome Authors Arend T. Veeninga, Floris W. Kraaimaat Journal Psychology and Health Year 1995 Study design Survey study Participants 38 What was tested None (observational) Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/08870449508401951](https://doi.org/10.1080/08870449508401951)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual exacerbation (PME)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pme/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Review, 2024

What do brain wave patterns show about PMS and PMDD?

Review, 2024

What is premenstrual exacerbation and how does it affect different psychiatric illnesses?

Systematic review, 2022

Do mental health disorders get worse during the menstrual cycle?

Review, 2018

What are the most effective treatments for premenstrual syndrome and PMDD?

Review, 2012

How should premenstrual disorders be diagnosed and organized?

Randomised trial, 2000

How should PMDD be diagnosed and treated?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗