Anxiety sensitivity, perceived stress, personality traits and premenstrual syndrome in young adult women healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder affecting women of reproductive age. The severity and persistence of PMS may cause deterioration of physical, social and psychological balance and affect relationships and performance in the workplace. Objective: The majority of those work...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Work Vol. 80; no. 2; pp. 940 - 951
Main Authors: Gümüşsoy, Süreyya, Keskin, Gülseren, Yıldırım, Gül Özlem
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. Feb2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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Summary:Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder affecting women of reproductive age. The severity and persistence of PMS may cause deterioration of physical, social and psychological balance and affect relationships and performance in the workplace. Objective: The majority of those working in health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic were women therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the differences and relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS), perceived stress, personality traits with and without the presence of PMS in young adult women healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods: This study consisted of 1008 participants. The following data were collected: PMS, AS Index-3, Perceived Stress Scale, Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, sociodemographic data, and menstruation characteristics. Results: Women with PMS had higher AS (27.64 ± 15.55 vs. 16.51 ± 11.20) and perceived stress (23.52 ± 6.67 vs. 19.16 ± 5.24) levels than women without PMS. The mean neuroticism (4.20 ± 1.72 vs. 3.19 ± 1.81) and psychoticism (1.74 ± 1.06 vs. 1.51 ± 1.24) scores were higher and the mean extraversion score (3.87 ± 1.73 vs. 3.98 ± 1.77) was lower in women with PMS than in those without PMS. PMSS exhibited a statistically significant, moderate, positive correlation with the ASI-3 (r =.414, p <.001) and PSS (r =.487, p <.001) scores. Furthermore, PMSS exhibited a weak positive correlation with the neuroticism (r =.236, p <.001) and psychoticism (r =.219, p <.001) subscales and a moderate negative correlation with the extraversion (r = −.560, p =.015) subscale. As the PMSS score increased, the ASI, PSS, neuroticism, and psychoticism scores increased. However, the extraversion score decreased Conclusions: Young adult women will benefit from psychotherapeutic and educational interventions to manage PMS, which will minimize the number of physical and psychological issues they experience.