Emotional Reaction to Menarche and Menstrual Attitudes

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine current attitudes toward menstruation in adolescent postmenarcheal girls in relation to age at menarche, time since menarche had occurred, preparedness, and emotional reaction to menarche. Postmenarcheal adolescent girls from primary and secondary schools (N = 246) participated in the study, with an average age of 15.1 years and average age at menarche 12.4 years. Participants filled out the adapted version of Adolescent Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (AMAQ; Marvan & Molina, 2002), Expected/Experienced Emotions related to Menarche Scale (Emo-M; Nakić Radoš, Mužinić Bikić, & Roso Perić, in press), Preparedness for the Menarche (PM; Rodriguez White, 2013), and Pubertal Development Scale (PDS; Petersen, Crockett, Richards, & Boxer, 1988). The two-way ANOVA showed that early maturers (≤11 years at menarche) had significantly higher level of negative attitudes than average maturers (12 years) and late maturers (≥13 years). Both early and average maturers had a higher level of secretive attitudes than late maturers. However, this effect was present only if menarche occurred in less than two years. Regression analyses showed that higher level of pleasant emotions at menarche predicted higher level of positive attitudes toward menstruation (45.2% variance explained). Lower age at menarche, less time from the menarche, and a higher level of unpleasant emotions at menarche predicted higher levels of secretive attitudes (35.1% variance explained) and negative attitudes (22.7% variance explained). In conclusion, age at menarche, time for adaptation to menstruation, and initial emotional reaction to menarche are significant determinants of menstrual attitudes in adolescent girls. Education and preparing girls for menstruation at early stages of puberty is necessary. Keywords: menarche, menstruation, attitudes, emotions, puberty