--- title: Do religious beliefs affect how bothersome your period feels or how severe your symptoms are? description: Religious background affected whether women thought their period was bothersome, but it did not clearly change how severe their actual symptoms were. Attitude url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/religious-influence-on-menstrual-attitudes-and-symptoms-1990/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do religious beliefs affect how bothersome your period feels or how severe your symptoms are? Study, 1990 # Do religious beliefs affect how bothersome your period feels or how severe your symptoms are? Religious background affected whether women thought their period was bothersome, but it did not clearly change how severe their actual symptoms were. Attitudes about menstruation differed by religion, but physical symptoms did not differ much. Moderate study design 18 Orthodox Jewish Mikvah attenders, 23 Orthodox Jewish Mikvah non-attenders, 35 Protestant women, and 45 Catholic women ## What they did Researchers compared menstrual attitudes and symptoms across four religious groups: 18 Orthodox Jewish women who attended Mikvah (ritual bath), 23 Orthodox Jewish women who did not attend Mikvah, 35 Protestant women, and 45 Catholic women. They adjusted their analysis for age, education, number of pregnancies, and how religious each woman was. ## What they found Among those studied, Orthodox Jewish Mikvah non-attenders and Protestant women most strongly saw menstruation as bothersome. No significant differences appeared in the actual menstrual symptoms women reported. Orthodox Jewish women were more likely to agree that menstruation makes women unclean compared to Catholic or Protestant women. For Catholic women only, negative attitudes were linked with symptom severity. ## What it means for you How you feel about your period is shaped by your religious background, but religion may not change how severe your physical symptoms actually are. Your beliefs about menstruation can affect your thoughts without changing your body's response. 45 Catholic women studied 23 Orthodox Jewish Mikvah non-attenders 18 Orthodox Jewish Mikvah attenders ## About the study Original title Religious influence on menstrual attitudes and symptoms Authors Rothbaum BO, Jackson J Journal Women & health Year 1990 Study design Study Participants 45 What was tested None (observational) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1300/j013v16n01_05](https://doi.org/10.1300/j013v16n01_05) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/) 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. ## Related studies Case-control study, 2026 Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle? Systematic review, 2025 Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS? Cohort study, 2023 Is PMDD a valid medical diagnosis? Systematic review, 2012 Does the menstrual cycle cause negative mood, especially before your period? Survey study, 2011 What premenstrual symptoms do women experience around the world and how much do they affect daily life? Randomised trial, 2006 What herbs and dietary supplements have evidence for treating premenstrual syndrome? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗