2018 Volume 23 Issue 2 Pages 114-122
Women who suffer from menstruation-related symptoms need to be supported not only by medical treatment but also by psychosocial support in order to live their lives to their fullest extent. Therefore this study developed a method to assess this psychological suffering. 318 women aged 20 to 39 years old completed an original version of a scale designed to assess psychological sufferings in menstruation-related symptoms (PSMS). A factor analysis indicated two contributing factors ; one consisting of 12 items of “a feeling of being out of control” and the other of 8 items of “a feeling of obscurity.” The Cronbach’s α coefficient of each factor of the PSMS scale had a high internal consistency. The PSMS scale correlated significantly with the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ) and PMS-Impact Questionnaire. The scale was expected to have a high level of reliability and validity. The result of a multiple regression analysis shows that women who feel changes during their premenstrual period have greater psychological suffering than women who do not feel changes until their menstrual period has begun. The PSMS scale is expected to become a standard for assessing the effects of psychological interventions to support the well-being of women suffering from menstruation-related symptoms.
