Menarcheal timing, memories of menarche, and later attitudes toward menstruation

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to explore memories of menarche in a sample of 404 young adult Mexican women who had reached menarche on-time or earlier or later than their peers. Current attitudes toward menstruation were also assessed and compared to memories of menarche and menarcheal timing.

Methods: The study used both quantitative (Beliefs and Attitudes toward Menstruation scale; checklist items about menarche memories) and qualitative (responses to the sentence stem “My first period was…”) methods.

Results: Early maturers had the most negative memories of menarche and were most likely to believe that menstruation should be kept secret. Regression analyses showed that more positive emotional reactions to menarche are associated with more positive attitudes toward menstruation (i.e. pride, pleasant) in young adulthood, whereas more negative reactions are associated with more negative (i.e. secretive, shameful) attitudes in young adults.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that education about physiological, psychological, and practical aspects of menstruation should be provided to girls at younger ages so that early maturing girls will be better prepared for menarche and will have more positive (or, at least, less negative) experiences with and emotional reactions to it.

Keywords:

• Menarche
• attitudes
• menarcheal timing
• menstruation

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Menarche, the first menstruation, is a memorable event for most women, and it has a profound impact on girls’ lives. We explored memories of menarche in adult Mexican women, as well their current attitudes toward menstruation. Those women who reached menarche at an earlier age than their peers reported the most negative memories of menarche, and were most likely to believe that menstruation should be kept secret. Moreover, negative reactions to menarche were associated with more negative attitudes toward menstruation when women reached adulthood. We concluded that education about physiological, psychological, and practical aspects of menstruation should be provided to girls at younger ages so that those who reach menarche at an early age will be better prepared and will have more positive experiences with and emotional reactions to menarche.

Geolocation

Xalapa, the capital city of the state of Veracruz, is located near Mexico’s east coast, along the Gulf of Mexico. It is located 233 km northeast of Mexico City.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Fabiola Orihuela, who assisted them in the collection of data.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Ma. Luisa Marván

Ma. Luisa Marván is a Mexican researcher in the field of Health Psychology. She belongs to the Academic Team “Psychology, Health and Society”, and her main interests are psychosocial variables related to women’s reproductive health.

Joan C. Chrisler

Joan C. Chrisler is Professor of Psychology at Connecticut College, where she teaches courses on gender and health psychology. She edits the journal Women’s Reproductive Health.

The information in the current article is complementary with previous articles that they have published in many international journals and books. Although both authors have their own research projects in their respective countries, they have published together several articles about attitudes toward menstruation, one of which concerns the design of a questionnaire to measure these attitudes.