Reflections on the group dynamic in a group cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for young adult women with moderate to severe dysmenorrhea: a qualitative analysis

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant demographics.

Measure	Mean (SD)
Age	20.9 (2.2)
Menstrual pain NRS	8.0 (1.1)
Age at menarche	11.7 (1.3)
Measure	N (% of group)
Race
White	6 (30.0%)
Asian	6 (30.0%)
American Indian or Alaska Native	1 (5.0%)
Multi-Racial	2 (10.0%)
Does Not Identify	5 (25.0%)
Ethnicity
Hispanic/Latino	11 (55.0%)
Non-Hispanic/Non-Latino	9 (45.0%)

NRS: Numeric Rating Scale.

Table 2. Themes, subthemes, and example quotations.

Theme
Subtheme	Definition	Example Quotations
Young women derived benefit from the intervention’s group dynamics
Camaraderie	Emotional, psychological, or social connections between participants.	“Even though it’s not like a support group, there’s a lot of camaraderie here, so it feels good to talk about these things that you don’t maybe normally get to talk about in your day to day life”. “It’s nice to hear other people have like period pain isn’t just made up but it’s also … I don’t know. It relieves a little bit talking about it”.
Sharing	Participants sharing information, advice, and/or stories with each other.	“I liked how there was a group setting and how you could just talk about our different experiences with menstrual pain. It was good. Bouncing ideas off each other, I liked that a lot…I liked trying the techniques that other people talked about, like exercising and stuff like that and seeing what worked for me”. “I feel like most of what I learned in the group was actually by interaction”.
Structural and logistical elements related to the group dynamic can influence participants’ experiences
Reactions	How the structure of the group influenced the dynamic (e.g. group size, communication, etc.).	“I like that we all took turns talking, and so everyone had input, so that it wasn’t just really quiet and somebody didn’t talk or somebody did all the talking”. “…maybe the group part could have been with more people, because the three of us…we had similar experiences, and it was like, okay. Then we sometimes had the same type of things that we tried to control it with”.
Future	Insights into how structural and logistical elements of the group could be maintained or improved upon for future groups.	“If you guys wanted to do that, with like the (seat) reshuffling, I think maybe you could put like an index card with their name and on the back put like a question that they have to answer for that day, like each time with just a fun question, that when you start it, we can just share”. "For me, that [group video chat] would be even more uncomfortable…Because I don’t even know them and even though I see them more often online, I don’t think I'm gonna be comfortable”.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, LCS. The current approved institutional mechanism for data sharing is by individual data use agreements executed between the interested parties.