RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL SUPPORT AND PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1983
Number of pages: 161
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This descriptive correlational survey was conducted to evaluate if there was a relationship between social support and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The purposes of the study were to ascertain if there is a relationship between social support and PMS, develop a profile of women assigned ranks of mild, moderate, and severe PMS, and ascertain if there is a relationship between selected person characteristics and social support.

The data collection instruments were the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire, Person Characteristics Form, and Menstrual Symptomatology Questionnaire. A convenience sample of 103 women who had responded to advertisements in local newspapers were assigned ranks of PMS. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance, and Kendall correlation tests were used for data analysis.

There were statistically significant relationships disclosed (p (LESSTHEQ) .05) between total network support and PMS and between total loss of support and PMS. No statistically significant differences were revealed between selected person characteristics or selected menstrual history variables and PMS. Statistically significant relationships were uncovered between: (a) marital status and total network support, (b) educational level and size of networks, (c) religious participation and size of networks, and (d) religious participation and existence of loss, number of persons lost, or perceived amount of support lost.

Several conclusions were reached: (a) As the severity of PMS increased, the size of the social support network decreased; (b) Women assigned ranks of PMS are members of the same population in respect to the selected profile variables; (c) As the number of years of formal education increased, the size of networks increased while the duration of relationships decreased.

Further research should be directed toward replication of this study with the addition of a control group and evaluation of the differences in social support of those groups. Studies should also be designed to continue development of the profile of women with PMS, evaluate the relationship between sources of support and loss and PMS, and insure inclusion of various ethnic and religious groups.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, Section: B, page: 0127.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1983.

School code: 0005.