Premenstrual syndrome in relation to personality type and death anxiety.

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationshi1>=e:personality type, death anxiety and the number of premenstrual symptoms suffered by females. The effects of age on premenstrual symptoms were also studied There were 142 females who participated in the study. The subjects were administered the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) to assess Type A-B behavior and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) to measure the degree of fear regarding death and dying. Lastly, a Premenstrual Symptom (PMS) checklist was administered to assess severity ofPMS. Eighty-two females met the criteria for Type A personality. The remaining 60 females met the criteria for the Type B personality. Of the 82 Type A females, 22 manifested high death anxiety, 34, moderate death anxiety and 26, low death anxiety. Ofthe 60 Type B females, 15 manifested high death anxiety, 30, moderate death anxiety and 15, low death anxiety. The entire subject population ranged from age 18 to 24 and were enrolled in an Introductory or Developmental Psychology course at Emporia State University. A 2X3 analysis of covariance was employed to analyze the results. Results indicated significant differences for personality type. Specifically, females who scored as Type A individuals tended to have more PMS symptoms than females who scored as Type B individuals. No significant differences were found between death anxiety and PMS symptoms. In other words, females who scored high on the DAS reported no more PMS symptoms than females who scored moderately or low. Additionally, the interaction between personality type and level of death anxiety was not significant. Consequently, there were no differences between Type A females who experienced high, moderate or low death anxiety and Type B females who experienced high, moderate or low death anxiety. When PMS scores were adjusted for age, no significant differences were found.