---
title: Do women's beliefs about PMS change how they remember their symptoms?
description: Women report more premenstrual symptoms when remembering them than when tracking them day by day. Women who believe PMS is very common are especially likely t
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/women-s-beliefs-about-the-prevalence-of-premenstrual-syndrome-and-biases-in-2001/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Do women's beliefs about PMS change how they remember their symptoms?

Survey study, 2001

# Do women's beliefs about PMS change how they remember their symptoms?

Women report more premenstrual symptoms when remembering them than when tracking them day by day. Women who believe PMS is very common are especially likely to exaggerate their remembered symptoms.

 Early or limited evidence

49 women

## What they did

49 women completed a questionnaire about menstrual discomfort in two ways: once by remembering the past month, and once by tracking symptoms day by day. They were also asked what percentage of women they thought have PMS.

## What they found

Women reported higher premenstrual symptoms on the memory questionnaire than on the daily tracking. 75% believed the majority of women have premenstrual changes. Among this group, those who also believed most women have PMS showed larger differences between their remembered and actual symptoms.

## What it means for you

Memory of premenstrual symptoms is not reliable because beliefs and culture influence how women remember their symptoms. The main limitation is the small sample, so these findings may not apply to all women.

49

women studied

75%

believed majority of women have premenstrual changes

two ways

methods used to report symptoms (memory and daily tracking)

## About the study

Original title Women's beliefs about the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and biases in recall of premenstrual changes Authors Marván ML, Cortés-Iniestra S Journal Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association Year 2001 Study design Survey study What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.20.4.276](https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.20.4.276)

## 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

↗