--- title: How do women cope with menstrual cycle symptoms and which methods work best? description: Women use four types of coping strategies. Active-cognitive (thinking-based) and active-behavioral (action-based) methods were most helpful, though how often url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/how-do-women-cope-with-menstrual-cycle-changes-1995/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - How do women cope with menstrual cycle symptoms and which methods work best? Survey study, 1995 # How do women cope with menstrual cycle symptoms and which methods work best? Women use four types of coping strategies. Active-cognitive (thinking-based) and active-behavioral (action-based) methods were most helpful, though how often a strategy was used didn't predict how helpful it was. Early or limited evidence 342 women ## What they did Survey of 342 women using a specially designed coping checklist about how they dealt with menstrual cycle changes. ## What they found Four types of coping emerged: active-behavioral, active-cognitive, avoidance, and menstrual cycle specific. Most women used active-cognitive coping. Active-behavioral and active-cognitive coping were rated as most helpful. There was no relationship between how often a coping strategy was used and how helpful it was thought to be. ## What it means for you This study suggests that action-based and thinking-based coping strategies work better for menstrual symptoms than other approaches, even though they are not the most commonly used. The main limitation is that we don't know if women who use these strategies actually developed them successfully, or if successful copers just tend to use them. 342 Women surveyed 4 Types of coping strategies identified ## About the study Original title How do women cope with menstrual cycle changes? Authors Choi PY, Salmon P Journal The British journal of clinical psychology Year 1995 Study design Survey study Participants 342 Read the paper [doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1995.tb01446.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1995.tb01446.x) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Cognitive behavioral therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-cbt/) 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? Review, 2024 What are the most effective treatments for PMDD? Systematic review, 2021 Can cognitive behavioral therapy treat PMS without medication? Randomised trial, 2019 Does online cognitive behavioral therapy help women with PMDD? Review, 2017 What causes PMDD and what are the best treatments? Review, 2015 What do we know about PMS and PMDD and how are they treated? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗