---
title: Are mood changes before your period linked to personality type?
description: Psychological symptoms like irritability, depression, and tension before the period are linked to personality traits. But painful periods are not.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstruation-and-personality-1963/
---

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- Are mood changes before your period linked to personality type?

Study, 1963

# Are mood changes before your period linked to personality type?

Psychological symptoms like irritability, depression, and tension before the period are linked to personality traits. But painful periods are not.

 Early or limited evidence

General population sample (number of participants not specified)

## What they did

Surveyed people about period pain, mood symptoms, and personality traits using a standard personality test.

## What they found

Psychological symptoms including irritability, depression and tension were worst in the premenstrual period and clearly linked to neuroticism. Headaches and swelling around menstruation were also linked to neuroticism. Painful periods showed no link to personality and were less common in older women and in women who had given birth.

## What it means for you

Mood symptoms before your period may be connected to personality type, but this survey cannot show if personality causes mood changes or mood changes affect personality. A main limitation is that the study does not specify how many people were surveyed.

## About the study

Original title MENSTRUATION AND PERSONALITY Authors COPPEN A, KESSEL N Journal The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science Year 1963 Study design Study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1192/bjp.109.463.711](https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.109.463.711)

## Topics

[Borderline personality disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-bpd/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)

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