Survey study, 1989
Do premenstrual symptoms affect how well women study or perform academically?
No. Even though many students felt their premenstrual symptoms disrupted their work, no actual change was found in exam or test performance, or in how students approached their studying, around this time of the month.
What they did
Female students taking degree courses in the human sciences filled in a questionnaire about premenstrual symptoms and their academic work. A separate investigation then looked at the same students' approaches to studying at different points in the menstrual cycle, comparing the premenstrual phase with the rest of the cycle, and also comparing women with male students.
What they found
Most students believed their premenstrual symptoms disrupted their academic work. Despite this belief, existing evidence showed no effect of menstruation on academic performance measured by tests or exams. The study of approaches to studying found no variations in women's study orientations during the premenstrual phase, either compared with their own orientations at other times of the cycle or compared with male students.
What it means for you
Feeling that your period affects your ability to study does not mean it actually changes your academic performance. This was a survey and comparison study with no control over other factors, done in one group of students, so it cannot prove what causes the mismatch between how women feel and how they actually perform.
About the study
- Original title
- Student Learning and the Menstrual Cycle: premenstrual symptoms and approaches to studying
- Authors
- John T. E. Richardson
- Journal
- Educational Psychology
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Survey study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/0144341890090304
Topics
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