---
title: Do women with PMS report more stress arousal than women without PMS during their cycle?
description: Yes. Women who self-diagnosed with PMS reported significantly greater increases in arousal during the premenstrual phase compared to women without PMS, though
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/interactions-between-stress-and-performance-during-the-menstrual-cycle-in-1992/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Do women with PMS report more stress arousal than women without PMS during their cycle?

Case-control study, 1992

# Do women with PMS report more stress arousal than women without PMS during their cycle?

Yes. Women who self-diagnosed with PMS reported significantly greater increases in arousal during the premenstrual phase compared to women without PMS, though there were no differences in actual task performance.

 Moderate study design

Women with self-diagnosed PMS and women without PMS, including oral contraceptive users and naturally cycling women.

## What they did

Researchers compared women who self-diagnosed with PMS to women without PMS, including some using oral contraceptives. They measured reported stress and arousal, performance on a word-matching task, and personality traits at premenstrual and other cycle phases.

## What they found

All women reported increased arousal during the premenstrual phase, but PMS women reported significantly greater increases. There were no differences between groups in actual task performance. All women improved their word-matching performance during the premenstrual phase. Women with PMS scored higher on neuroticism and were more Type A personality.

## What it means for you

PMS may relate more to how women perceive and react to stress than to actual changes in ability. Personality traits like neuroticism and Type A behavior appear connected to PMS. Stress management combined with attention to personality may help. Limitation: women self-diagnosed PMS without formal diagnosis, and results are from a case-control study.

## About the study

Original title Interactions between stress and performance during the menstrual cycle in relation to the premenstrual syndrome Authors Jane Maria Ussher, John M. Wilding Journal Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology Year 1992 Study design Case-control study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/02646839208403941](https://doi.org/10.1080/02646839208403941)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)

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

Case-control study, 2014

How common is severe period pain and what causes it?

Cohort study, 2026

Does a birth control pill with estetrol and drospirenone help PMS?

Survey study, 2025

Do menstrual problems and poor sleep affect mood and thinking in teenage girls?

Survey study, 2021

Do female military officers want to suppress their periods during training?

Survey study, 2021

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect women's menstrual cycles and symptoms?

Survey study, 2020

Is PMS common in female university students and linked to anxiety, depression, and stress?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗