DIFFERENTIATION OF WOMEN WITH 3 PERIMENSTRUAL SYMPTOM PATTERNS

The purpose of this study was to differentiate women with three perime nstrual symptom severity patterns: premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premen strual magnification (PMM), and low symptom (LS). Factors entered into the discriminant functions included social demands, personal resource s socialization, parity, age. personal health practices and psychologi cal distress. A community-based sample of 142 women taking no oral con traceptives was classified into one of the three symptom severity patt erns. Three two-way discriminant analyses were performed. Women with P MS had more psychological distress, more education, and a mother with more premenstrual symptoms than those with an LS pattern. Women with P MM bad more psychological distress and a mother with more premenstrual symptoms, but they also had more stress and were younger than those w ith an LS pattern. Finally, the women with PMS, when compared to the P MM subgroup, were older, had more education, engaged in more positive health practices, and bad more nontraditional attitudes toward women. In addition, the women with PMM bad more stress in their lives than wo men with PMS.