Premenstrual mood and behavior changes

The purpose of this research was to examine the variety of changes in behavior, mood, and physical condition that appear during the premenstrual period; to differentiate the various symptoms that appear premenstrually; to provide a description of the dimensions of change; and to provide for typological categorization of the clinical features of the premenstrual period.

Data were collected from a group of professional women working in New York City. The instrument used was the Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF). This consists of a set of limited demographic data as well as information on age of onset of menses, average duration of menses, duration of premenstrual periods and menstruation, number of pregnancies/miscarriages, medications taken and any physical conditions of illness during the time period, and presence of pain. The PAF also includes 95 items which describe physical, behavioral and mood changes. Respondents rank from "no change" to "extreme change" if these symptoms were present during the premenstrual period for the last three months.

The Murray Center has acquired copies of completed PAFs from 34 professional women; 11 are business women and 23 are lawyers. The scores from the 95 symptom items are also available in computer-accessible form for 33 participants.