Relationship between symptoms of menopause and personality traits in Polish perimenopausal women: A correlation study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between menopausal symptoms and personality traits. 212 Polish women were administered the Big Five Factor personal inventory. Participants also completed the Polish version of the Menopause Symptom List. I found that personality traits correlated with symptoms of menopause. Neuroticism showed the strongest correlation with the frequency of psychological symptoms of menopause (r = .46, p = .000) and their intensity (r = .45, p = .000). The remaining personality traits demonstrated a negative correlation with menopausal symptoms. No correlation was found between openness to experience and the frequency of vasomotor (r = −.07, p = .268) and somatic (r = −.12, p = .059) symptoms, as well as intensity of vasomotor symptoms of menopause (r = −.10, p = .144). Openness to experience did not differentiate the sample in the frequency of experienced vasomotor symptoms of menopause (p = 0.205). Neuroticism was a significant predictor of the frequency of psychological (β = .486, p = .000), vasomotor (β = .342, p = .000) and somatic (β = .366, p = .000) symptoms, as well as intensity of psychological (β = .470, p = .000), vasomotor (β = .250, p = .008) and somatic (β = .287, p = .001) symptoms of menopause. This study provides further data on the association between menopausal symptoms and personality traits. Neuroticism is shown to be a significant predictor of the frequency and intensity of psychological, vasomotor and somatic symptoms of menopause.