Study, 1980
Does personality type affect whether women develop premenstrual tension?
Standard personality tests did not show that personality type predicts premenstrual tension, but women did report higher anxiety and more symptoms during the menstrual phase.
What they did
Researchers measured personality and anxiety in 80 women (including those with and without children) at different points in their menstrual cycle. The women ranged from 21 to 30 years old and included both single and married women.
What they found
During the menstrual phase, women reported higher anxiety compared to non-menstrual times and reported more breast, urinary, and pelvic symptoms. Standard personality tests did not show differences between women with and without premenstrual symptoms.
What it means for you
Higher anxiety during menstruation may partly explain why women report more symptoms at that time, but personality type alone does not predict who gets premenstrual tension. The limitation is that the study did not track other factors that might affect anxiety.
80
women studied
21-30
age range in years
About the study
- Original title
- Personality and menstruation
- Authors
- Awaritefe A, Awaritefe M, Diejomaoh FM et al.
- Journal
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Year
- 1980
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 40
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198003000-00002
Topics
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