Abstract not available

The purpose of this study was two fold: 1) To examine possible differences in menstrual reporting between two different age groups, and 2) To examine possible differences in menstrual reporting between two dichotomized action emotion typography groups-- Type A and Type B.The population consisted of 50 women in the age group of 15 to 20 and 50 women in the age group of 30 to 40 years. Data was collected simultaneously and the interrelationships were considered statistically. The Jenkins Activity Survey appropriate for age, and three factors on the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire-- pain, negative concentration, and affective changes during the premenstrual phase and menstrual phase of the cycle were the variables being studied.The design of the study was a 2 x 2 factorial design. In the multivariate sense, the main effects were tested and then univariate statistics were used to interpret significant main effects.No significant differences were found in the vectors of Type A and Type B on any of the three factors, either when premenstrual scores were totaled with menstrual scores or when those two scores were considered separately. No significant differences were found in premenstrual or menstrual pain reporting in the different age groups. No significant differences were found in premenstrual or menstrual reporting of negative concentration factors. A significant difference was found in greater affective change reporting in the older age group. This difference was found to be in premenstrual reporting, but not in menstrual reporting.1. Women in the 30 to 40 age group report significantly more premenstrual affective changes than women in the 15 to 20 age group. 2. Action emotion typography did not prove to be a predictor of differential menstrual reporting.The implications of these findings as related to feminine development were discussed and recommendations for replication and further research were presented.This dissertation contains an extensive bibliography of the most recent research related to the menstrual cycle, Type A and Type B research, stress, and stress as related to the menstrual cycle.

A pilot study was conducted to evaluate whether premenstrual syndrome was a risk factor for breast cancer among premenopausal women. As subjects, 54 women between the ages of 26 and 46 years, each diagnosed with breast cancer, were compared to three separate control groups, consisting of 193 female patients seen in medical offices for routine physical exams, 51 female nursing students, and 559 female graduate students. Each eligible subject was either mailed or personally given a survey questionnaire probing premenstrual and menstrual symptomatology and general descriptive characteristics. An association between premenstrual syndrome and breast cancer was evaluated by estimating exposure odds ratios and associated confidence intervals. Analysis of the data suggested that premenstrual syndrome did not pose a breast cancer risk among premenopausal women. / Graduation date: 1993

Two studies are presented which investigated the relationship between oral contraceptives (o.c.s) and premenstrual changes in mood and physical state. The retrospective pilot study examined possible differences in symptom-reporting between groups of pill-users and non-users. Women using o.c.s had lower severity scores on a number of physical and mood-related symptoms compared to non-users. In the prospective study, eighty-two women with complaints of moderate to severe premenstrual symptoms were recruited for a double-blind, controlled trial of a triphasic o.c. Subjects made daily ratings of symptoms for one to two baseline cycles and were then randomly assigned to receive either placebo or the o.c. for three treatment cycles. Prospective assessment of symptoms was made using a variety of measures, and circulating levels of estrogen and progesterone were measured at three points during the cycle. Bloating and breast pain showed a greater reduction in the o.c. group than in the placebo group. In a subgroup of women with premenstrual depressive change, the o.c. also produced greater improvement in a number of symptoms compared to placebo. For all other symptoms, there was no beneficial effect of the active treatment over placebo. Women who received o.c.s reported decreased sexual interest after starting the pill. Possible hormonal mechanisms for these effects are discussed.

It is now over twenty years since the criminal trials of two women caught the attention of the British media. Sandra Craddock (later Smith) and Christine English both raised a successful defence of diminished responsibility based on premenstrual syndrome to a murder charge. In these cases the Court of Appeal apparently determined that PMS is a factor that can limit criminal responsibility. Although this thesis concentrates on the situation as it exists in English law, many of its conclusions are equally relevant to other legal systems, particularly those in common law jurisdictions. / The issues that are likely to arise in a criminal trial in which a defendant wishes to base a substantive defence on premenstrual syndrome can be condensed into five central questions: (i) Does premenstrual syndrome exist at all? (ii) If so, does the defendant suffer from the condition? (iii) Did PMS cause or contribute to the defendant's actions? (iv) If the answer to (iii) is yes, should the act be excused? (v) If so, under what category of excuse? This thesis will discuss the way in which these questions might best be approached. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The validity of the Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF) typological category "Major Depressive Syndrome", as a distinct subtype of premenstrual change, was assessed. The nature of the depression associated with the premenstrual phase was investigated with standardized measures of depression and a test of dysphoric attentional bias derived from Beck's cognitive model of depression. Three subject groups were delineated based on prospective daily ratings: PMD (depression only premenstrually), controls (no depression), and INTD (intermittent depression throughout cycle). The control group did not exhibit a dysphoric attentional bias. The INTD group demonstrated a dysphoric attentional bias both pre- and postmenstrually. The PMD group, despite clinically elevated premenstrual depression levels, failed to show an associated dsyphoric attentional bias. These findings suggest that although PMD and clinical depression share an affective component, they may differ with regard to other features of depression (i.e. cognitive/information processing). As well, phenomenological differences between PMD and clinical depression were suggested by subjects' prospective daily ratings. For confirmed PMD subjects, depressive mood was only one facet of a multidimensional symptom picture which included signs of water retention, breast pain, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, and associated dysmenorrhea. These findings raise questions concerning the construct validity of premenstrual depression (specifically PAF Major Depressive Syndrome) as a distinctive subtype of premenstrual change.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

M.Tech. (Homeopathy) / The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a mother tincture preparation of Vitex agnus-castus and a hornoeopathic 3x preparation of Vitex agnus-castus in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome. A sample of 15 subjects suffering from premenstrual syndrome was selected. The subjects were selected according to the diagnostic criteria of premenstrual syndrome and certain other criteria requtred for the study. The subjects were given questionnaires to complete regarding their medical history and menstrual details. All subjects signed a consent form before participating in the study. The subjects recorded their premenstrual symptoms on a PMS chart over two months. After the diagnosis of premenstrual syndrome was made. the subjects were then randomly divided into three equally sized groups by a neutral homoeopath. The first group received placebo medication. the second received a homoeopathic 3x preparation of Vitex agnus-castus and the third received a mother tincture preparation of Vitex agnus-eastus. Each subject was given Instructions on how and when to take her medication. At no stage did either the researcher or the subjects know which medication they were receiving. The subjects took their medication for three months. during which they continued to record their symptoms daily. After three months. the PMS charts were again collected and the scores compared to the pre-treatment scores. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to statistically analyse the results. The homoeopathic 3x preparation of Vitex agnus-eastus was found to bring about a statistically significant improvement in symptoms. while the mother tincture preparation of Vitex agnus-castus was not. The common name of Vitex agnus-castus used in homoeopathy is Agnus castus. For the sake of consistency. the name Vitex agnus cestus. as used in the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia. shall be used throughout.

No description available.