The effect of social support on women's perception of perimenstrual changes.

Abstract

The unidimensional approach that has dominated research on premenstrual syndrome (PMS) has been remiss in visualizing the diversity of factors that may be involved in women's menstrual cycle experiences. Traditional menstrual cycle research reflects a stereotypic negative bias that does not encompass the complexity of the phenomena. For example, even though, the majority of menstrual cycle literature has focused on negative changes during the perimenstruum, some women report positive changes. This research represents an endeavor of a unique nursing intervention aimed at reframing perceptions of menstrual cycle experiences for the purpose of diminishing perimenstrual impairment. The intervention was a health promotion program which provided social support and a positive reframing component among women with PMS across four menstrual cycles. Utilizing a pre-experimental design, data was collected on eighteen women. Daily measures included prospective assessment of perceptions of perimenstrual changes (impairment and activation). Retrospective assessments of moods (anxiety and depression), social resources (personal resources and marital satisfaction), and perimenstrual change perceptions were gathered at three time periods, before, during, and after the experimental condition. Data analysis included descriptive and multivariate analyses strategies. Results indicated that although perimenstrual activation did not increase significantly, impairment did decrease. In addition, there were significant changes from baseline to follow-up on state depression and personal resource variables. This study is among the first to develop and empirically test a nursing intervention that utilized the psychotherapeutic technique of positive reframing aimed at decreasing women's negative menstrual cycle experiences. This study lends support for further investigation of women's diverse menstrual cycle experiences which challenges assumptions guiding menstrual cycle research which has continued to perceive menstruation within an illness perspective. Until researchers agree on the cause, definition, significance, and management of PMS, studies such as this one, may provide scientists a more expansive view of women's menstrual cycle experiences. Results of this study are of benefit to nurses and health care providers who are in a unique situation to facilitate support groups by virtue of the variety of their work settings.