MENSTRUAL SYNCHRONIZATION (WOMEN'S HEALTH).
Contributors: Texas Woman's University.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 247
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Women's Studies.; Psychology, Psychobiology.
Description: Significance. This phenomenologic study produced descriptions of menstrual synchronization, which is a significant coming together of the onset of menstrual cycles between or among women. These descriptions will assist nurses to design effective strategies and techniques to help women gain knowledge about their cycle functions as well as acknowledge and honor this aspect of their menstrual cycle. Previous scientific studies that documented the objective existence of menstrual synchrony did not discuss the subjective meaning of the experience of menstrual synchronization from the perspective of women who were studied.

Theoretical framework. Martha Rogers' (1970, 1986, 1990) existing conceptual framework of the Science of Unitary Human Beings, Carl G. Jung's (1955, 1973) theory regarding synchronicity, as well as aspects of general systems and human systems theory provided the theoretical framework for the findings. This was especially useful because it generated a systems view of health from which to approach menstrual synchronization, a natural, healthy phenomenon.

Methodology. Using a qualitative research method, data were generated using a loosely structured interview schedule. Coliazzi's (1978) method of data analysis was used to analyze the audiotapes and written transcriptions in conjunction with a sophisticated computer program, QUALPRO (Blackman, 1993). A review of scholarly and fictional literature was done before, during, and after the data analysis. The criteria of rigor commonly expected with scientific inquiry was performed according to Guba's (1981) and Sandelowski's (1986) methods for achieving credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.

Participants. The 13 participants ranged in age from 25 to 46, with a mean age of 37. All of the participants had or were experiencing menstrual synchronization. They were all Caucasian with varied ethnic-cultural identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and religious-spiritual orientations.

Findings. Four themes and respective subthemes emerged related to describing the participants' experience of menstrual synchronization. All of the participants contributed to the theme, "Knowing Menstrual Synchronization is Happening and When." Their described thoughts, opinions, knowledge, feelings, values, beliefs, and explanations about the phenomenon generated the theme, "The Meaning of Menstrual Synchronization." The third theme, "Relationships and Connections," encompassed and interconnected all of the themes. The actual experiences that the women participants had were comprised the fourth theme, "The Experience of Menstrual Synchronization.".
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-02, Section: B, page: 0742.

Thesis (PH.D.)--TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY, 1994.

School code: 0925.