Randomised trial, 1985
Does what women expect to feel affect their reports of menstrual cycle symptoms?
Yes. Women told the study focused on menstrual cycle symptoms reported significantly more negative psychological and physical symptoms during the premenstrual and menstrual phases than women and men not given this information.
What they did
18 healthy women with regular menstrual cycles and 9 men were randomly assigned. One group of women was told the study examined menstrual cycle symptoms. The other women and all men were not told this. Participants reported their psychological and physical symptoms throughout the menstrual cycle.
What they found
Women told the study focused on menstrual cycle symptoms reported significantly more negative psychological and physical symptoms during the premenstrual and menstrual phases than the women and men not informed of this focus.
What it means for you
People's expectations about what they should feel can influence both how they experience and what they report as symptoms. This is important when interpreting menstrual cycle symptom studies, though it does not mean the symptoms are not real.
18
Women participants
9
Men control group
About the study
- Original title
- Menstrual cycle symptomatology: the role of social expectancy and experimental demand characteristics
- Authors
- AuBuchon PG, Calhoun KS
- Journal
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Year
- 1985
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 18
- What was tested
- Being told versus not told that the study focused on menstrual cycle symptoms
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198501000-00004