Attitudes of low-income clinic patients toward menopause.

Abstract

The bulk of menopause research has been conducted on samples of middle-class White women. In this study, attitudes toward menopause in a sample of 66 low-income women at a women's clinic were studied using Bowles's (1986) Menopause Attitude Scale (MAS) and the attitude segment of Millette's (1981) survey of attitudes and knowledge about menopause. The typical participant was a single, 34-year-old Black woman with a yearly income below $10,000. Research questions examined general attitudes toward menopause, and MAS scores of Bowles's middle-income, White sample were compared with those of the present low-income, predominantly Black sample. Results indicated a somewhat positive attitude toward menopause in the low-income sample. Although the trend was toward higher scores in the low-income group, only the 18- to 25-year-olds in the low-income group had significantly higher MAS scores than the corresponding age group in Bowles's sample. Nursing implications pertain to teaching and support group leadership.