Relationship between menopausal stage and age and quality of relationships with partners, children and friends

Abstract

Objectives This study investigated the interaction of menopausal stage and age with the quality of women's relationships with their partners, children and close friends.

Method Females from a community sample (n = 48, age range 35–65 years) volunteered to participate in structured interviews. Questions relating to demographic background and relationships with partners, children and friends were included. Seventeen women were premenopausal, 16 women had been postmenopausal for 1–5 years and 15 women had been postmenopausal for between 6 and 10 years.

Results The association of age and menopausal stage could not be separated when relationships with partners were considered. Premenopausal and younger women appeared to be more satisfied and more positive, and rated their relationship as more important to them than did older and postmenopausal women. Menopausal stage, but not age, appeared to be associated with the satisfaction women had with their children and the desire to see their children more often. When the two groups of postmenopausal women were compared, it was found that those women postmenopausal for 1–5 years wanted to see their children more often and were more dissatisfied with the relationship they had with their children than those women postmenopausal for 6–10 years. There were no effects of menopausal stage or age when the quality of close friendships was considered.

Conclusions Further work is needed to explore the implications of these findings as they relate to the interaction of menopausal stage and age with the quality of interpersonal relationships.

Key Words:

• Menopause
• Age
• Relationships
• Planned Comparison