Survey study, 2006
Does spiritual well-being make PMS and stress worse or better?
Surprisingly, women with higher spiritual well-being reported more PMS symptoms and stress, not less. Spiritual well-being partially explained the relationship between stress and PMS.
What they did
Cross-sectional survey of 145 women who completed questionnaires about PMS symptoms, perceived stress, and spiritual well-being.
What they found
Increases in spiritual well-being were positively related to more PMS endorsement and more stress endorsement. Spiritual well-being served as a partial mediator between stress and PMS (meaning it partly explained how the two are connected).
What it means for you
Women with higher spirituality reported more PMS and stress, which is the opposite of what researchers expected. Women of Christian faith may benefit from increased stress management practices. Main limits: the design cannot prove cause and effect; it is unclear why higher spirituality was linked to more symptoms; women self-reported both spirituality and symptoms.
145
Number of women surveyed
About the study
- Original title
- Relationships among Perceived Stress, Premenstrual Symptomatology and Spiritual Well-Being in Women
- Authors
- M. Kathleen B. Lustyk, Christopher Ryan Beam, Andrea C. Miller et al.
- Journal
- Journal of Psychology and Theology
- Year
- 2006
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 145
- What was tested
- No intervention; observational study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1177/009164710603400401
Topics
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