The experience of dysmenorrhea and its relationship to personality variables

Change and stability of masculinity‐femininity from adolescence to adulthood in a sample of Swedish women

A female sample (N = 349) was administered the Attitude Interest Schedule (AIS) and the Cesarec‐Marke Personality Schedule (CMPS) at the ages of 15 and 25. It was found that during adolescence subjects change towards a more conservative feminine self‐image. Differential stability, based on the AIS scores, was substantial. Masculinity‐femininity appeared to be related to needs as measured by the CMPS. Masculinity was related positively to instrumental needs and negatively to expressive needs.

Did Contraceptive Use Patterns Change after the Affordable Care Act? A Descriptive Analysis

BACKGROUND

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) substantially increased rates of insurance coverage within the first year of implementation, including among women of reproductive age. The ACA also requires that private insurance plans cover contraceptives without any out-of-pocket costs. These provisions may have led more women to start using prescription contraception.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted two cross-sectional studies, collecting data from 8,062 women aged 18 to 39 in the fall 2012 and spring 2015. We examined contraceptive use patterns during both time periods. We used logistic regression to determine whether differences between the two time periods were significant, adjusting for the demographic characteristics of respondents.

RESULTS

We observed no changes in contraceptive use patterns among sexually active women. However, use of the pill nearly doubled, from 21% to 40%, among young women aged 18 to 24 who had not had sex in the last month. Many of these women cited benefits of the pill in addition to pregnancy prevention.

CONCLUSIONS

It may be that the ACA has yet to affect contraceptive use patterns, and it is possible that it will do so in the future, but the evidence thus far suggests the importance of further research into contraceptive access and sources of care.

Assessment of anxiety and depression in adolescents with primary dysmenorrhea: a case-control study

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between primary dysmenorrhea and symptoms of depression and anxiety among adolescent female students in Tbilisi, Georgia.

DESIGN

A case-control study.

SETTING

Tbilisi, Georgia.

PARTICIPANTS

Four hundred twenty-four postmenarcheal girls aged 14-20 years (a subset of a larger study involving 2561 girls).

METHODS

The data was gathered in 2011 by the use of a questionnaire prepared for the purpose of this study, completed anonymously. Menstrual pattern, depression and anxiety level were evaluated in both groups; continuous and categorical variables were compared by Pearson chi-square test. Depressive symptoms were determined by a self-reporting scale (Beck Depression Inventory); anxiety was determined using Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS) and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Differences in mental health between two groups.

RESULTS

Patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PD) had significantly higher scores of depression than the control subjects: moderate depression, 15.9% in PD patients vs 6.2% in control subjects and severe depression, 1.8% vs 0% (P < .003, LR 0.001). High anxiety (TMAS) was also more prevalent in adolescents with primary dysmenorrhea (44% vs 9.9%; P < .001, LR < 0.001). STAI scores were also significantly higher in these patients than in healthy women (68.9% vs 25.0%; P < .001, LR < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Primary dysmenorrhea is strongly linked with positive scores for depression and anxiety. Because of this association, attention should be given to effective mental health screening in these patients; psychological support may be necessary during their treatment and follow-up.

Dysmenorrhea: risk factors in women with endometriosis

Although it is generally accepted that endometriosis is responsible for dysmenorrhea, as well as other symptoms such as infertility, the precise relationship between the severity of dysmenorrhea and various characteristics of disease, such as stage and the type or site of endometriotic lesions, has been elusive and often a matter of heated debate, owing largely to conflicting reports. Here we review factors that are reported to be associated with dysmenorrhea in endometriosis. We also demonstrate, through a real example, that different statistical models employed in data analyses may yield somewhat different sets of risk factors, and the difference may not be always resolved within the same data set. In addition, we make the point that despite the best-fitting models, there may still be a sizable portion of variation in the severity of dysmenorrhea that can not be explained completely by the identified risk factors, suggesting that factors other than those of surgical findings or patient characteristics may also be responsible for dysmenorrhea severity. We review some possible factors that may also be responsible for the risk and severity of dysmenorrhea. Finally, we expose areas in need of further research.

Work-related stress factors and menstrual pain: a nation-wide representative survey

While imposing research has been conducted with respect to the biological determinants of painful menstruation, little is known about the psychosocial factors, including work-related stress that might influence menstrual pain. We conducted a study in which we aimed to determine besides the prevalence of dysmenorrhoea whether menstrual pain was associated with job control, co-worker social support, job security and dissatisfaction with the job. Data of 2772 working women aged 18-55 years, participants in the Hungarostudy 2002 nation-wide representative survey was analyzed. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the association between work stress factors and menstrual pain. Altogether 15.5% of women reported to experience menstrual pain that limits their daily activity. Low job control, low co-worker social support and low job security were found to be associated with a higher risk for menstrual pain even after controlling for the effect of age, educational attainment, parity status, smoking, body-mass index and treatment for gynecological problems. Job dissatisfaction was also related to dysmenorrhoea, albeit not significantly. The relationship between work-related psychosocial factors and painful menstruation deserves further investigation in order to determine the possible pathways of this association.

Psychiatric comorbidity of adolescents with sleep terrors or sleepwalking: a case-control study

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the psychiatric comorbidity, personality traits and family history of adolescents with sleep terrors and/or sleepwalking.

METHOD

Thirty students with sleep terrors and/or sleepwalking and 30 classroom controls were selected on the basis of a sleep habit questionnaire. After completing the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory (JEPI), the 60 subjects were interviewed by the first author with the Chinese-version Kiddie-SADS-E (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for Children--Epidemiology Version). All subjects and their parents were interviewed for the subjects' sleep habits, sleep disorders, and personality characteristics in the previous year. The case and the control groups were divided based on whether the sleep terrors and/or sleepwalking had occurred in the previous year. There were 21 case and 30 control subjects in the final data analysis.

RESULTS

The case group had more psychiatric diagnoses and problems; there were statistically significant differences in overanxious disorder, panic disorder, simple phobia and suicidal thoughts between the two groups. The case group had more sleeptalking and nightmares during the previous year as well as more enuresis in earlier years. From their parents' perspective, the case group was more nervous and pessimistic. The results of the JEPI showed a high neuroticism score in the case group. There was an increased familial occurrence of these two sleep disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents with sleep terrors and sleepwalking were found to have an increased prevalence of other sleep disorders, neurotic traits, and psychiatric disorders and problems. Whereas sleep terrors and sleepwalking in childhood are related primarily to genetic and developmental factors, their persistence and, especially, their onset in adolescence may be related to psychological factors.

Gender variations in clinical pain experience

This review is a critical summary of research examining gender variations in clinical pain experience. Gender-comparative pain research was identified through Medline and Psychlit searches and references obtained from bibliographies of pertinent papers and books. Review of this research demonstrates that women are more likely than men to experience a variety of recurrent pains. In addition, many women have moderate or severe pains from menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth. In most studies, women report more severe levels of pain, more frequent pain and pain of longer duration than do men. Women may be at greater risk for pain-related disability than men but women also respond more aggressively to pain through health related activities. Women may be more vulnerable than men to unwarranted psychogenic attributions by health care providers for pain. Underlying biological mechanisms of pain and the contribution of psychological and social factors as they contribute to the meaning of pain for women and men warrant greater attention in pain research.

Is personality involved in the expression of dysmenorrhea in patients with endometriosis?

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether a relationship exists between personality and expression of pain in women with endometriosis.

STUDY DESIGN

With use of the Rosenzweig picture frustration study, the personality of women with endometriosis was assessed. These results were then correlated with the manifestation of pain.

RESULTS

Women without dysmenorrhea tended to be less assertive compared with women who complained of dysmenorrhea and women without endometriosis. Those women without dysmenorrhea showed a destructive attitude in face of a problem.

CONCLUSIONS

Personality affected the expression of pain. Pain caused by endometriosis was influenced by each personality type.