Psihofizičke osobitosti predmenstrualnog razdoblja

The goal of this study was to investigate whether there are any psychophysical characteristics of the premenstrual period in regard to the period following menstruation. Psychophysical characteristics are defined as assessments of the physical state (fatigue, breast tenderness, bloating and lack of sleep), emotional sense (happiness, anger, sadness, irritability, anxiety and distraction) and general assessments of physical attractiveness and satisfaction with oneself. Diary of symptoms of PMS was designed for this study as well as a questionnaire containing socio-demographic questions and a menstrual cycle calendar. The study entailed keeping a diary of symptoms a week before menstruation and four days one week after the onset of menstruation, during two menstrual cycles. In the morning, afternoon and the evening participants noted in their diaries assessments of their psychophysical state on a scale of 1-5 (1-I don't feel like that at all, 5-I feel like that, markedly). The study was conducted on a convenient sample of 75 women, however 24 women were excluded from further analyses due to incorrectly kept or missing diaries; therefore data from 51 women was analyzed. The difference in assessment of physical attractiveness, happiness and satisfaction with oneself, when measured before and after menstruation, is statistically significant with lower intensities in the days preceding menstruation. Statistically significant are the differences in assessed intensities of breast tenderness, bloating, sadness, anxiety, irritability and distraction, all reaching higher intensities in the days before menstruation. Differences in assessed intensities of fatigue, lack of sleep and anger are not statistically significant. Results indicate that the premenstrual period, in regard to the period after menstruation, is characterized by higher intensities of negative emotions and certain physical states, and lower intensities of feelings of physical attractiveness and satisfaction with oneself.Cilj provedenog istraživanja bio je ispitati postoje li psihofizičke osobitosti predmenstrualnog razdoblja u usporedbi s razdobljem nakon menstruacije. Psihofizičke osobitosti operacionalizirane su kao procjena tjelesnih stanja (umor, osjetljivost grudi, naotečenost, neispavanost), emocionalnih doživljaja (sreće, ljutnje, tuge, razdražljivosti, tjeskobe i rastresenosti), te općenite procjene tjelesne privlačnosti i zadovoljstva samom sobom. Za potrebe istraživanja konstruiran je dnevnik za praćenje simptoma vezanih uz PMS te upitnik za ispitivanje socio-demografskih varijabli i praćenje menstrualnog ciklusa ispitanica. Istraživanje je uključivalo ispunjavanje dnevnika simptoma tjedan dana prije menstruacije i četiri dana tjedan dana nakon menstruacije, kroz dva menstrualna ciklusa. Ispitanice su ujutro, poslijepopodne i navečer u dnevnik zapisivale procjene vlastitih psihofizičkih stanja, na skali od 1-5 (1-uopće se ne osjećam tako, 5-izrazito se osjećam tako). Ispitivanje je provedeno na prigodnom uzorku od 75 žena, no 24 ispitanica je izuzeto iz daljnje obrade jer nisu pravilno ispunile dnevnike ili nisu vratile svoje dnevnike, stoga su obrađeni podaci 51 ispitanica. Razlika u intenzitetima osjećaja privlačnosti, sreće i zadovoljstva samom sobom, mjerene prije i nakon menstruacije, pokazala se statistički značajnom s nižim intenzitetom u danima koji su prethodili menstruaciji. Statistički značajnim su se pokazale i razlike u intenzitetima osjećaja osjetljivosti grudi, naotečenosti, tuge, tjeskobe, razdražljivosti i rastresenosti, sve s višim intenzitetima u predmenstrualnom razdoblju. Razlike u intenzitetima osjećaja umora, neispavanosti i ljutnje nisu se pokazale statistički značajnim. Rezultati provedenog istraživanja upućuju na zaključak kako je predmenstrualno razdoblje, u odnosu na razdoblje nakon menstruacije, obilježeno višim intenzitetima neugodnih osjećaja i određenih tjelesnih stanja te sniženim osjećajima privlačnosti i zadovoljstva samom sobom