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Survey study, 1992

Does having a Type A personality change how stress affects menstrual symptoms?

Women with Type A personality traits reported more menstrual symptoms at all levels of stress compared to women with other personality types.

Early or limited evidence 102 college women

What they did

102 college women completed three surveys: one about stress in their lives, one about Type A personality traits like being competitive and goal-oriented, and one about their menstrual symptoms. Researchers used statistical analysis to see how personality type was linked to symptom reports.

What they found

Type A personality scores were associated with more reported menstrual symptoms at all stress levels. This means even when stress was low, women with Type A traits reported more symptoms.

What it means for you

If you have Type A personality traits, you may notice more menstrual symptoms regardless of how stressed you are. The main limit is that this was only college women, symptoms were self-reported, and the study is cross-sectional, so we don't know if personality causes higher symptoms or vice versa.

102

college women studied

About the study

Original title
Jenkins Type A scores in the relation of stress and premenstrual symptoms
Authors
Dinning WD, Guptill AM
Journal
Psychological reports
Year
1992
Study design
Survey study
Participants
102
What was tested
none

Topics