Abstract
The Relationship Between Confirmed Premenstrual Dysphoria and Behaviour and Mood Changes
A. Christensen & T.P. Oei
Although there has been an association between personality variables and premenstrual distress, very little has been done to identify the relationships between different types of premenstrual changes. This study investigated this issue using 80 female undergraduate students. The results confirmed an earlier study by suggesting that undergraduate females, who experience dysphoric changes premenstrually, report higher levels of state and trait anxiety and more frequent negative automatic thoughts compared to others. This relationship was apparent in women who were informed about the study's premenstrual theme as well as in those who were not. The Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF) was used to assess other premenstrual physical, behavioural and mood changes in women with prospectively confirmed (PMD+) and unconfirmed (PMD-) premenstrual dysphoria. Compared to usual nonpremenstrual times, the PMD+ women differed from PMD- women on one of the 18 PAF unipolar subscales, viz. anxiety. The utility of the PAF in future research is outlined.