Women's experience of premenstrual syndrome: a case of silencing the self

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between self‐silencing and premenstrual distress in women who position themselves as PMS sufferers. A mixed method design, consisting of multiple regression analyses of 257 questionnaires, and qualitative analysis of two contrasting case studies, was utilized. Externalized self‐perception, silencing the self, and divided self subscales of the Silencing the Self Scale (STSS) were significantly related to premenstrual distress, and externalized self‐perception, divided self and care as self‐sacrifice subscales significantly related to premenstrual coping. In conjunction with the case study accounts of self‐silencing, this confirms previous research findings that women with PMS use hegemonic constructions of femininity against which to judge themselves, and repress feelings and behaviours which deviate from these ideals, or attribute them to the reproductive body. Accounts of the inter‐subjective negotiation of PMS and of reactions to premenstrual distress reinforced previous suggestions that partners play a crucial role in women's experience of premenstrual change. Levels of anxiety were significantly higher than non‐clinical population norms. However, levels of depression were lower than both population norms and previous reports of depression in women with similar STSS scores. This is interpreted as women with PMS directing their anger outwards once a month, rather than internalizing it and becoming depressed.

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council, ‘An examination of the development, experience and construction of premenstrual symptoms’, with pilot data collection funded by a UWS internal research grant. Full ethics approval was obtained from UWS. Thanks are extended to Julie Mooney‐Somers and Lee Shepherd, who conducted the interviews and assisted with quantitative analysis, respectively, as well as commenting on a draft of the paper. Thanks also to Emilee Gilbert, for comments on the paper.