---
title: Does sense of control change with the menstrual cycle in women with PMS?
description: Yes, women with PMS feel significantly less in control of their lives during the premenstrual phase compared to other women, while women without PMS show no s
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-syndrome-and-locus-of-control-1988/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does sense of control change with the menstrual cycle in women with PMS?

Case-control study, 1988

# Does sense of control change with the menstrual cycle in women with PMS?

Yes, women with PMS feel significantly less in control of their lives during the premenstrual phase compared to other women, while women without PMS show no such change.

 Moderate study design

76 women, some with PMS and some without, followed for three months

## What they did

The researchers followed 76 women for three months. Women completed questionnaires about their sense of control during their follicular phase and during their premenstrual phase.

## What they found

Women with PMS showed significantly increased external locus of control premenstrually (feeling less in control), while women without PMS showed no significant change. Women with PMS had significantly higher external locus scores premenstrually compared to women without PMS.

## What it means for you

Women with PMS experience a real shift in how much control they feel over their lives during their premenstrual phase. This shows that psychological changes happen alongside physical PMS symptoms. The 3-month prospective design strengthens the findings.

76

women studied

3 months

study duration

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual syndrome and locus of control Authors O'Boyle M, Severino SK, Hurt SW Journal International journal of psychiatry in medicine Year 1988 Study design Case-control study Read the paper [doi.org/10.2190/hmnx-9v7j-652x-pwj4](https://doi.org/10.2190/hmnx-9v7j-652x-pwj4)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗