---
title: What do college women think and expect about how menstruation affects them?
description: College women generally see menstruation as normal and not very disruptive. They have complex beliefs about menstruation, with different expectations for how
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/college-women-s-attitudes-and-expectations-concerning-menstrual-related-changes-1977/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- What do college women think and expect about how menstruation affects them?

Survey study, 1977

# What do college women think and expect about how menstruation affects them?

College women generally see menstruation as normal and not very disruptive. They have complex beliefs about menstruation, with different expectations for how it affects physical symptoms versus mood.

 Early or limited evidence

college women

## What they did

College women completed the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire twice, once imagining they were premenstrual and once imagining they were between periods. They also completed questions about their attitudes toward menstruation.

## What they found

Women accepted menstruation as routine and did not see it as overly disruptive. Their beliefs about menstruation were complex, involving different views of physical symptoms versus psychological symptoms.

## What it means for you

College women's beliefs about menstruation vary depending on whether symptoms are physical or psychological. This is a snapshot of attitudes only and does not measure actual symptoms or whether expectations match reality.

## About the study

Original title College women's attitudes and expectations concerning menstrual-related changes Authors Brooks J, Ruble D, Clark A Journal Psychosomatic medicine Year 1977 Study design Survey study What was tested none (survey) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00006842-197709000-00002](https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-197709000-00002)

## Topics

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

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

Systematic review, 2025

Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS?

Cohort study, 2026

Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how much physical activity women do?

Randomised trial, 2026

Does yoga or foot reflexology work better for teenage PMS?

Randomised trial, 2026

Does acceptance and commitment therapy help women with PMS manage emotions and unhelpful thoughts?

Survey study, 2026

Is the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool valid in Serbian?

Survey study, 2025

Is the Chinese uncertainty anxiety scale reliable for measuring PMS-related anxiety?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗