Body self and the perception of menopausal symptoms

Abstract

A great number of previous research has proved that there is a relation between psychological factors and experiencing menopausal symptoms. There have been analysed, among others, personal subject qualities as well as the importance of life events happening to women in the menopausal period. It has been shown that the role of psychological variables most of all appears in moderating the perception of the signals coming from the body and in the ways of interpreting them. In the research hitherto conducted there has been no analysis of the relation/dependence between body identity, the qualities of body self and experiencing menopausal symptoms, although many researchers have been suggesting the existence of such a relation/dependence. The aim of the article is to present the results of the research identifying the relation between the body self and the frequency and intensity of experienced menopausal symptoms, and to identify the predictors of the frequency and intensity of menopausal symptoms. 40 women, age 40–50, participated in the research. The analysis of the Pearson correlation proved the existence of the relation between the body self and the frequency of psychic, vasomotorical and somatic menopausal symptoms and the intensity of psychic menopausal symptoms. The linear regression analysis distinguished the statistically significant predicators of the frequency of psychic, vasomotorical and somatic menopausal symptoms and of the intensity of psychic and vasomotorical menopausal symptoms. The results show that the body self plays an important role in the perception of the menopausal symptoms.