Premenstrual Discomforts and Coping in University Students

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was carried out to identify premenstrual discomforts and coping patterns and their effects. METHOD: The participants of this study were 297 female university students in C area. The Menstrual Discomfort Questionaire (MDQ) and coping method lists were used as measurement tools. RESULTS: There were significant differences premenstrual discomforts according to age (F=5.76, p=.003) and according to health condition (F=3.43, p=.034). The mean scores of the sub-categorical factors of premenstrual discomfort were 2.35 points for pain, 2.29 for instability and 2.25 for water retention. The worst symptoms among the subcategories of premenstrual discomfort were as follows backache (M=2.68) in the pain subcategory, irritability (M=2.53) in the instability subcategory and swelling(M=2.40) in the water retention subcategory. Their common coping patterns were "coping according to menstrual period", "active behavioral coping" and "evasional coping". Frequently used coping methods were "taking a rest and sleep (99.3%)" and "taking a warm shower (86.2%)". Effective coping methods were "taking a rest and sleep (89.5%)" and "taking a warm shower (87.1%)". CONCLUSION: Most participants have their own coping pattern. Some methods were very effective to PMS but some were not effective to PMS. To manage PMS, effective coping methods should be encouraged for female university students. To keep up with effective coping, education and counseling should be continued. It is considered necessary to make the same research with a larger number of samples and more specified assessment.