Background
Methods
Participants and procedure
Premenstrual coping item pool
Category | Item |
---|---|
Looking after the body
| I make more of an effort to eat healthy food |
I eat less sugary foods | |
I eat more sugary foods | |
I increase my alcohol consumption | |
I decrease my alcohol consumption | |
I increase my sexual activity | |
I decrease my sexual activity | |
I exercise more | |
I exercise less | |
I take vitamins or minerals | |
I use alternative forms of treatment e.g. naturopathy, acupuncture, | |
I take prescribed medication | |
I take over the counter medicine for pain relief e.g. paracetamol | |
Planning
| I refer to a calendar or diary to know when I will be premenstrual |
I use a mobile app or online tool to track when I will be premenstrual | |
Self-care
| I allow myself extra time to rest |
I do things to make myself more comfortable | |
I take time to focus on my own needs | |
I focus less on the needs of others | |
I make time to do things that I enjoy | |
I spend time doing things that help me relax e.g. have a bath, massage, read a book | |
I take time out from my usual responsibilities | |
I give myself permission to let go of the usual demands I place on myself | |
Social support and communication
| I tell others about how I am feeling |
I ask for help from others | |
I feel confident to tell people how I feel | |
I feel confident to tell people what I need | |
Avoiding harm to self
| I avoid thinking about things that I know annoy me |
I avoid having conversations that are liable to upset me | |
I avoid raising topics that have the potential to create conflict | |
I raise issues that I usually keep to myself | |
I try to avoid dealing with difficult family issues | |
I avoid people that have the potential to provoke me | |
I avoid situations that have the potential to provoke me | |
I avoid situations where I know I will feel vulnerable | |
I remove myself from a situation if it starts to provoke me | |
Acceptance
| I believe that my premenstrual changes are a normal part of a woman’s experience |
I know that other women go through this | |
I see positive aspects to my premenstrual change | |
I think it is okay to be feeling differently when I am premenstrual | |
I think it is okay to be more emotional or sensitive when I am premenstrual | |
I think it is okay that my physical needs may be different when I am premenstrual | |
I think that what I feel like doing shouldn’t change when I am premenstrual | |
I accept my changeable moods | |
Awareness
| I am aware of my bodily changes |
I am aware of my emotional changes | |
I am aware that my premenstrual changes are only temporary. | |
I am aware of things that ‘trigger’ me when I am premenstrual | |
I know what I need to do to support myself | |
I know when I am beginning to feel ‘premenstrual’ | |
Emotional regulation
| I try to keep my emotions under control |
I openly express increased feelings of anger, frustration or irritability | |
I vent my feelings through emotional outbursts | |
I try not to express how I am feeling | |
I don’t express my feelings in the heat of the moment but talk about my feelings later when I feel calmer | |
I am able to express my anger or irritation without blaming others | |
I use positive self-talk | |
I challenge my negative thoughts | |
Desire to be alone
| I take time to be on my own |
I enjoy doing things on my own | |
I withdraw from others | |
I communicate with others about my need to be on my own | |
I decrease my social activities | |
I increase my social activities |
Skinner’s analysis of coping | Carver’s brief cope | Premenstrual coping measure |
---|---|---|
Problem solving | Active coping | Looking after the body |
Planning | Planning | |
Substance use | ||
Support seeking | Using emotional support | Social support and communication |
Instrumental support | ||
Escape avoidance | Denial | Avoiding harm to self |
Distraction | Self-distraction | Self-care |
Positive cognitive restructuring | Positive reframing | Awareness |
Acceptance | Acceptance | |
Religion | ||
Social withdrawal | Desire to be alone | |
Emotional regulation | Emotional regulation | |
Rumination | ||
Helplessness | Behavioural disengagement self-blame | |
Negotiation | Self-care | |
Opposition | Venting | |
Information seeking |
Assessment of coping
Statistical analysis
Psychometric development and testing of the PMCM
Results
Factor analysis
Components and items | Loadings |
h
2
| Variance explained | α |
---|---|---|---|---|
Avoiding harm
| 11.05 | .89 | ||
1. I avoid situations that have the potential to provoke me | .816 | .764 | ||
2. I avoid people that have the potential to provoke me | .809 | .747 | ||
3. I avoid raising topics that have the potential to create conflict | .788 | .718 | ||
4. I remove myself from a situation if it starts to provoke me | .765 | .699 | ||
5. I avoid situations where I know I will feel vulnerable | .762 | .692 | ||
6. I avoid having conversations that are liable to upset me | .733 | .661 | ||
7. I try to avoid dealing with difficult family issues | .669 | .584 | ||
8. I challenge my negative thoughts | .500 | .507 | ||
Awareness and acceptance of premenstrual change
| 8.54 | .86 | ||
9. I accept my changeable moods | .676 | .577 | ||
10. I am aware that my premenstrual changes are only temporary | .670 | .496 | ||
11. I think it is okay to be feeling differently when I am premenstrual | .664 | .585 | ||
12. I am aware of my bodily changes | .660 | .545 | ||
13. I think it is okay to be more emotional or sensitive when I am premenstrual | .658 | .632 | ||
14. I am aware of my emotional changes | .655 | .634 | ||
15. I think that my premenstrual changes are a normal part of a woman’s experience | .637 | .457 | ||
16. I know that other women go through this | .574 | .466 | ||
17. I think it is okay that my physical needs may be different | .454 | .445 | ||
18. I know what I need to do to support myself | .437 | .431 | ||
Adjusting energy
| 7.80 | .73 | ||
19. I vent my feelings through emotional outbursts | .660 | .546 | ||
20. I decrease my social activities | .628 | .568 | ||
21. I focus less on the needs of others | .608 | .480 | ||
22. I exercise less | .605 | .482 | ||
23. I eat more sugary foods | .540 | .366 | ||
Self-care
| 6.61 | .81 | ||
24. I spend time doing things that help me relax e.g. have a bath, massage, read a book | .698 | .618 | ||
25. I take time to focus on my own needs | .681 | .622 | ||
26. I allow myself extra time to rest | .678 | .641 | ||
27. I do things to make myself more comfortable | .647 | .576 | ||
Communicating
| 4.98 | .68 | ||
28. I feel confident to tell people how I feel | .665 | .579 | ||
29. I feel confident to tell people what I need | .663 | .569 | ||
30. I tell others about how I am feeling | .500 | .410 | ||
31. I try not to express how I am feeling | -.470 | .394 | ||
32. I ask for help from others | .378 | .397 |
Reliability testing of the PMCM
Validity testing of the PMCM
Variable | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
M
|
SD
| Range |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coping | ||||||||
1. Deal with PMS | - | - | - | - | - | 6.33 | 2.21 | 1-10 |
2. Avoiding Harm | -.272*** | - | - | - | - | 20.61 | 7.97 | 8-40 |
3. Aware and Accept | .125* | .344*** | - | - | - | 35.07 | 7.52 | 10-50 |
4. Energy | -.512*** | .452*** | .216** | - | - | 14.35 | 4.50 | 5-25 |
5. Self-Care | -.220*** | .518*** | .398*** | .408*** | - | 11.36 | 3.74 | 4-20 |
6. Communicate | .073 | .209** | .410*** | .188** | .378*** | 13.41 | 3.63 | 5-24 |
Variable | Avoiding harm | Awareness and acceptance | Adjusting energy | Self-care | Communicating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self-distraction | .288*** | .199** | .072 | .252*** | .233*** |
Active | .303*** | .351*** | .150* | .257*** | .307*** |
Denial | .252*** | -.128* | .163* | .106 | .183** |
Substance | .195** | -.049 | .202** | -.044 | .064 |
Emotional support | .238*** | .251*** | .173** | .342*** | .441*** |
Instrumental support | .309*** | .141* | .091 | .315*** | .333*** |
Behavioural disengagement | .228*** | -.143* | .329*** | .131* | .086 |
Venting | .278*** | .310*** | .227*** | .209** | .225*** |
Positive reframing | .287*** | .251*** | .004 | .291*** | .274* |
Planning | .243*** | .291*** | .117* | .225*** | .235*** |
Accepting | .371*** | .168** | .215** | .444*** | .315*** |
Religion | .220*** | .038 | .424*** | .106 | .171** |
Self-Blame | .333*** | .133* | .232** | .192** | .131* |
Humour | .238*** | .183** | .059 | .279*** | .201** |
PMCM subscale | Coded response | Number of responses |
---|---|---|
Avoiding harm | ||
Avoid irritations | 13 | |
Positive thinking | 6 | |
Awareness and acceptance | ||
Self-aware/awareness of premenstrual change | 10 | |
Acceptance | 9 | |
Keep track of menstrual cycle | 6 | |
Know it is only temporary | 8 | |
Be prepared for period | 4 | |
Adjusting energy | ||
Time alone/out/for self | 36 | |
Eat sugar/chocolate | 27 | |
Eat | 15 | |
Crying | 4 | |
Self-care | ||
Rest, relax, slow down | 53 | |
Sleep | 42 | |
Watch TV, movies, read | 37 | |
Hot water bottle/heat pack | 28 | |
Bath/Shower | 20 | |
Do things I enjoy | 10 | |
Music | 9 | |
Massage | 8 | |
Make comfortable | 6 | |
Warm food and drink | 5 | |
Communicating | ||
Social support/partner support | 42 | |
Express how you feel/communicate with others | 17 | |
Non matching codes | ||
Pain killers | 44 | |
Exercise | 28 | |
Eat healthy | 9 | |
Distraction | 7 | |
Vitamins | 6 | |
Drink more water | 5 | |
Cook | 5 | |
Spend time with pets | 5 | |
Clean | 4 | |
Shopping | 4 | |
Yoga | 4 |
PMCM subscale | Coded response for least helpful things | Number of responses |
---|---|---|
Avoiding harm | ||
Conflict/argue/raise issues with people | 33 | |
Give into moods/emotions | 26 | |
Stress/deadlines | 22 | |
Be with negative/irritating people | 18 | |
Ruminating/over thinking | 17 | |
Take frustrations out on others | 16 | |
Deal with relationship/family issues | 9 | |
Complain | 6 | |
Awareness and acceptance | ||
Frustrated with/criticise self | 10 | |
Ignoring feelings | 8 | |
Ignoring feelings | 8 | |
Not being aware of being premenstrual | 4 | |
Adjusting energy | ||
Exercise | 21 | |
Overdoing it e.g. exercising, socialising | 12 | |
Not adjusting | 10 | |
Not enough sleep | 10 | |
Socialising | 7 | |
Self-care | ||
Work/Study | 23 | |
Eating unhealthy food | 17 | |
Housework | 6 | |
Communicating | ||
Isolating self | 14 | |
Non matching codes | ||
Binge eating/overeating | 18 | |
Not control emotions | 17 | |
Drinking alcohol/taking drugs | 17 | |
Eat chocolate/sugar | 12 | |
Increase caffeine | 7 | |
Eating | 6 | |
Sleep | 5 | |
Cry | 4 | |
Forget vitamins | 4 | |
Jokes/comments about PMS | 4 |