Survey study, 1986
How common are hostile feelings and social problems before periods?
These symptoms vary greatly by group studied: from 15% to 83% for hostile feelings, and from 14% to 92% for social functioning problems.
What they did
Researchers recruited 505 women through different pathways: women seeking treatment, women who responded to media coverage, medical center employees and student nurses, and business executives. They used the Premenstrual Assessment Form to assess types of premenstrual changes.
What they found
Hostile features ranged from 83% in treatment-seeking women to 15% among executives. Impaired social functioning was reported by 91% and 92% of women who responded to media coverage compared to 14-45% in other groups. Eighty percent of treatment-seeking women showed impulsivity symptoms compared to 12-40% in other groups. Very few successful professional women reported these symptoms.
What it means for you
How common these symptoms are depends heavily on which women you study. Women seeking treatment report much higher rates than successful professionals, which is important for understanding research findings about premenstrual changes.
505
women
15% to 83%
range for hostile features by group
80%
treatment-seeking women with impulsivity symptoms
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Hostility, Impulsivity and Impaired Social Functioning*
- Authors
- Susanna Goldstein, Uriel M Halbreich, Jean Endicott et al.
- Journal
- Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Year
- 1986
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 505
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674828609016740
Topics
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