Interview study, 2011
How do teenage girls in Malaysia learn about and manage periods and PMS?
Many girls are not prepared for periods when they arrive, and both urban and rural girls manage PMS and period pain on their own without seeing a doctor.
What they did
Researchers conducted 27 focus group discussions with 172 girls aged 13-19 years between November 2008 and April 2009. The girls were from 7 schools in urban Kuala Lumpur and 4 schools in rural Kelantan, Malaysia. They were asked about their experiences with periods, premenstrual symptoms, and period pain.
What they found
Most girls had not received detailed information about how periods work before they started. Many described the first period as shocking and said it had a big emotional impact. Urban girls had more positive views of periods than rural girls. Both urban and rural girls saw PMS and period pain as completely normal and relied on self-care methods. Rural girls were more embarrassed to talk to their mothers or doctors about period-related problems than urban girls.
What it means for you
Better education about periods before they start could help girls feel more prepared and have better attitudes toward menstruation. Even with common problems like PMS and period pain, girls do not seek medical help. The main limitation is this is qualitative feedback from only one country and from over a decade ago.
172
girls in focus groups
27
focus group discussions
13-19
age range
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea: urban-rural and multiethnic differences in perception, impacts, and treatment seeking
- Authors
- Wong LP
- Journal
- Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology
- Year
- 2011
- Study design
- Interview study
- Participants
- 172
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2011.03.009
Topics
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