---
title: Do women with PMDD have more difficulty controlling their emotions?
description: Yes. Women with PMDD reported significantly more trouble controlling emotions and more impulsive behavior than healthy women. Cognitive and behavioral strateg
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/emotion-regulation-in-women-with-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-2016/
---

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- Do women with PMDD have more difficulty controlling their emotions?

Cohort study, 2016

# Do women with PMDD have more difficulty controlling their emotions?

Yes. Women with PMDD reported significantly more trouble controlling emotions and more impulsive behavior than healthy women. Cognitive and behavioral strategies might help, but this finding is based on a small study.

 Early or limited evidence

36 women (18 with PMDD and 18 healthy controls)

## What they did

Cohort study of 36 women (18 with PMDD and 18 healthy controls) who provided daily symptom ratings based on DSM-5 criteria. Researchers measured emotion regulation using two questionnaires and also measured stress, social connectedness, and mood.

## What they found

Women with PMDD reported significantly more behavioral impulsivity and greater difficulties in emotion regulation and socioemotional functioning compared to healthy controls. Relationships were found between emotion regulation ability and PMDD symptom severity, as well as other measures of mood and social connectedness.

## What it means for you

Difficulty controlling emotions and managing impulsive behavior may be important features of PMDD that cognitive and behavioral therapy could address. However, this finding is based on a small study of 36 women, so larger studies are needed to confirm.

36

Total number of women in study

18

Women with PMDD

18

Healthy controls

## About the study

Original title Emotion regulation in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder Authors Petersen N, London ED, Liang L et al. Journal Archives of women's mental health Year 2016 Study design Cohort study Participants 36 What was tested None - observational study Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0634-4](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0634-4)

## Topics

[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/)

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.

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