Survey study, 2019
Are women with PMS more likely to struggle with anger?
Yes. Women with PMS scored higher on constant anger, anger-in and anger-out, and lower on anger control than other women, based on a large survey in Turkey.
What they did
Researchers surveyed 720 women aged 15 to 49 in Kutahya, Turkey. Each woman filled out a form on PMS symptoms (the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale) and a scale measuring different types of anger (the State-Trait Anger Scale). The study only looked at women at one point in time, it did not follow them over months.
What they found
48.75% of the women had PMS. Compared to women without PMS, those with PMS had significantly higher scores for constant anger, anger-in (bottling it up) and anger-out (expressing it outwardly), and significantly lower scores for anger control (all differences p < .001).
What it means for you
PMS seems to go hand in hand with more anger and less ability to control it, so learning anger management skills and having social support could help. Because this is a snapshot survey, it cannot prove PMS causes the anger, only that the two occur together.
48.75%
PMS prevalence
n=720
Sample size
p<.001
Significance of anger differences
About the study
- Original title
- The relationship between premenstrual syndrome and anger
- Authors
- Saglam HY, Basar F
- Journal
- Pakistan journal of medical sciences
- Year
- 2019
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 720
- What was tested
- None tested; this was a survey study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.2.232
Original abstract
Objective: Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a significant disorder affecting the daily life of women of reproductive age. The aims of this study was to determine the PMS prevalence and the examination of the relationship between PMS and anger. Methods: This was a cross sectional study. The study was carried out with 720 women between the ages of 15-49 living in the province of Kutahya, Turkey. A Personal Information Form, the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS) and the State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS) were used to collect data. Results: The PMS prevalence was 48.75%. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of constant anger, anger-in, anger-out and anger control subscales (p <.001). The average scores of women with PMS for constant anger anger-in and anger-out was significantly higher. The anger control scores were at a significantly lower level. Conclusion: Women with PMS had higher anger and lower anger control levels. It should be advisable to recommend anger control management and provide social support so these women can cope with the symptoms. The result of our study emphasizes the importance of careful assessment of anger in women with premenstrual symptoms.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
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