Perceived Stress, Coping Styles and Emotional Regulation in Relation to Psychological Well-Being among Women During Menopausal Phase

The term natural menopause is the absence of menstruation for 12 consecutive months. The average age of menopause in India is 51 years, although this can vary widely. During this transition period, women undergo many changes along with its underlying hormonal changes like hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal symptoms, difficulty sleeping and other symptoms such as anxiety, irritability and depression which abruptly disturb their daily activities and overall health. The objectives of this study were to identify the relationship between perceived stress, coping styles and emotion regulation on psychological well-being among menopausal women and also to find out the influence of perceived stress, coping styles and emotion regulation on psychological well-being among menopausal women. The sample consists of 193 middle aged women who attained menopause using Purposive sampling and snow ball technique and whose age ranged from 47-60 years. Ex-post facto research design was used. Assessment tools used were Menopause Rating Scale Heinemenn, et al. 2003, Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen ,1988), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations- short (CISS 21) (Endler and Parker, 1999), Emotion Regulation Scale (Gross & John, 2003), Psychological Well-being Index (Dupay, 1984). Percentage analysis was done to find out the intensity of symptoms. Pearson product moment and multiple regression were used for data analysis. The study has implications for Psychologists and Doctors as this would help women to reduce negative impact and to view menopause in a positive way