A study to examine the relationship of stress and dysmenorrhea among adolescent girls

Background: Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to adulthood and is characterized by a spurt in physical, endocrinological, emotional and mental growth with a change from complete dependence to relative independence. The period of adolescence for a girl is a period of physical and psychological preparation for safe motherhood. / Objectives were to: examine the relationship between dysmenorrhoea and stress ,determine the association between stress level of adolescent girls and their intensity of pain during menstruation and find the relationship between intensity of pain during dysmenorrhoea and the mean stress score in adolescent girls. / Materials and Methods: A correlative survey design was used to establish the relationship between dysmenorrhoea and stress. / Results: Majority of the adolescent girls under the study had experienced dysmenorrhoea. The mean stress score was 132.25 with a standard deviation of 13.91. As stress increases, dysmenorrhoea severity also increased significantly. It is also found that higher the stress level the higher was the intensity of pain during menstruation. / Conclusion: Stress and dysmenorrhoea are related and the higher the stress the more is the severity of dysmenorrhoea problem and the intensity of pain during dysmenorrhoea and Vis-à-vis