Predicting Menstruation-Related Topic Avoidance between Daughters and Mothers in Two Regions of Northern India

Abstract

Young women in India report that avoidant talk within families hinders their ability to communicate about menstruation, further promoting stigma and limiting knowledge. Participants included 287 college-attending women from one of two colleges in different locations in northern India. Participants completed surveys that were guided by the disclosure decision-making model (DD-MM) and asked about menstruation-related topic avoidance with mothers. Results find that the stigma of being dramatic is a consistent predictor across the two locations but that predictors otherwise differ. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• DD-MM
• Disclosure Efficacy
• Health
• India
• Menstruation
• Stigma
• Topic Avoidance

Acknowledgments

Thank you to both The College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University that afforded us the opportunity to conduct research in India and to the women who participated in this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, MKV, upon reasonable request.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. General class is a category assigned in the Indian census to a group of people who are included in the five-stage caste system in Hindu religion.

2. Information about other recipients is available from the first author.

Additional information

Funding

The College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University supported this work under the Global Synergy Grant.

Notes on contributors

Maria K. Venetis

Dr. Maria K. Venetis (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Communication at Rutgers University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of interpersonal and health communication and examines how individuals talk about health and the outcomes of these conversations. Her work identifies specific patient disclosure strategies when sharing this medically relevant, non-visible, and potentially stigmatizing information. Venetis also studies how relational partners manage ongoing communication concerning cancer and other non-visible health conditions. Recent research includes communicative behaviors that promote resilience among relational partners and supportive communication during disease and illness management.

Ashleigh N. Shields

Dr. Ashleigh Shields (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Northeastern University within the Department of Health Sciences and Communication. Ashleigh has a doctorate in health communication and a Master of Public Health from Purdue University. She explores how social interactions affect how individuals perceive and value themselves. Additionally, she has done work in sexual health education, nurse bullying and incivility, menstrual health disclosure, eating disorder and listening instruction, and evaluating communication education.

Meghana Rawat

Dr. Meghana Rawat (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Utah Valley University. Her research center on the structural challenges and organizational networks which influence social issues such as women's health, climate change, and organizational changes. Specifically, Dr. Rawat studies how organizations and individuals build relationships with each other to influence systemic changes in society by using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Her work has been published in communication journals at the regional and national levels.

Jyoti Seth

Dr. Jyoti Seth (she/her/hers) is a social worker/ activist and a professor and Head (retd.) of the Department of Sociology, Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 42, Chandigarh. She has spent several decades teaching and researching topics relation to gender discrimination in India. She conducts workshops on gender discrimination and sensitization of gender issues in India.