Men and Women's Perceptions of the Menstrual Cycle A Cross-Cultural Study

Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Raghavan, Chemba

Keywords

Menstruation, Menarche, PMS, Asian Indian, Cross-Cultural, Oremenstral Syndrome, Culture, Gender, Beliefs

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

An individual's cultural background and gender affect their attitudes and beliefs. This study looks at the relationship the two predictor variables of culture and gender have with the response variables of attitude toward menstruation and beliefs about PMS. Seventy-four male and female college-age Asian Indian and American students filled out the Menstrual Self-Evaluation Scale (Roberts, 2004) and a modified form of the Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (Brooks-Gunn & Ruble, 1980). The language of the questionnaire was changed from the first person to the third person to make it applicable to both male and female participants. Most differences in attitude were associated with cultural differences, rather than gender differences. Asian Indian students associated more loathing and positive emotions with menstruation than did their American counterparts. Asian Indian participants also agreed with restrictive menstrual behaviors more often than American participants did. Americans felt that PMS was less debilitating and more natural than Asian Indians did. Health care providers and researchers should keep these differences in mind when interacting with Asian Indian students.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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