Study, 1982
Can we measure all the different types of premenstrual changes women experience?
Yes. A new measurement tool called the Premenstrual Assessment Form can measure the wide variety of mood, behavior, and physical changes women experience before their period and recognizes that PMS is not one single syndrome.
What they did
Researchers developed a new questionnaire called the Premenstrual Assessment Form to measure changes during the premenstrual period. The form was designed to capture a broad range of positive and negative changes in mood, behavior, and physical symptoms using several scoring methods.
What they found
The Premenstrual Assessment Form includes more types and more specific descriptions of changes than older questionnaires, with both negative and positive symptoms. It provides summary scores and rating scales that measure different types of changes and their severity. It also provides categories to describe different patterns of symptom changes, especially in mood and behavior. The tool successfully reflects the great diversity of changes women experience premenstrually.
What it means for you
This tool can help researchers and doctors measure the many different ways PMS affects women instead of treating it as one condition. Recognizing that women experience different patterns is important for understanding PMS. The limitation is this is a tool development study, not a test of whether using the tool improves treatment outcomes.
3
scoring systems provided
About the study
- Original title
- The diversity of premenstrual changes as reflected in the Premenstrual Assessment Form
- Authors
- Halbreich U, Endicott J, Schacht S et al.
- Journal
- Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica
- Year
- 1982
- Study design
- Study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1982.tb00820.x
Topics
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