---
title: Do women commit violent crimes more often at certain times in the menstrual cycle?
description: Yes. Among 50 women charged with violent crimes, 44% committed their offense during the paramenstrual phase (just before or after the period), with very few c
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/violent-crime-and-the-menstrual-cycle-1980/
---

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- Do women commit violent crimes more often at certain times in the menstrual cycle?

Study, 1980

# Do women commit violent crimes more often at certain times in the menstrual cycle?

Yes. Among 50 women charged with violent crimes, 44% committed their offense during the paramenstrual phase (just before or after the period), with very few crimes during ovulation and the post-ovulatory phase.

 Early or limited evidence

50 women charged with violent crimes.

## What they did

Researchers examined records of 50 women charged with violent crimes and determined when in their menstrual cycle each crime occurred.

## What they found

44% of crimes happened during the paramenstrual phase (just before or after the period). Very few crimes happened during the ovulatory and post-ovulatory phases. The timing of crimes was not related to whether women reported having PMS symptoms.

## What it means for you

This study found a pattern of more crimes during certain cycle phases in women who committed violent crimes. The pattern was not explained by women's self-reported PMS symptoms. This is a descriptive study of criminal records, not a controlled trial.

50

Women studied

44%

Crimes during paramenstrual phase

## About the study

Original title Violent crime and the menstrual cycle Authors d'Orbán PT, Dalton J Journal Psychological medicine Year 1980 Study design Study Participants 50 Read the paper [doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700044123](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700044123)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Legal and forensic](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-legal-crime/)

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