The premenstrual mind: cognitive distortions across levels of premenstrual syndrome severity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20263705Keywords:
Premenstrual syndrome, PMS severity, Cognitive distortions, Nursing studentsAbstract
Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a prevalent condition in menstruating women, encompassing varied symptoms ranging from physical, behavioural, emotional, psychological, to cognitive symptoms. Cognitive changes during the PMS phase may contribute to distorted thinking patterns such as all-or-nothing thinking, emotional reasoning, personalization, etc, which may worsen mood, leading to exaggerated emotional responses. Emerging evidence suggests that the nature and extent of these cognitive distortions may vary with the severity of PMS symptoms. This study aims to investigate the presence of cognitive distortions during the premenstrual phase and examine whether the types of cognitive distortions vary across symptom profiles of PMS.
Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted female B.Sc. nursing students ranging from 17 to 26 years of age from S.C.B Medical College of Nursing, recruited after obtaining informed consent. PMS severity and cognitive distortions during the premenstrual phase are assessed and categorised using the premenstrual syndrome scale (PMSS) and cognitive distortion scale (CDS), respectively. Data is analysed for descriptive statistics and correlation was done using appropriate statistical packages and regression analysis was done.
Results: The PMS total score and PMS severity showed moderated positive correlation with most cognitive distortions, with the strongest relationship observed for emotional reasoning, catastrophization, all-or-nothing thinking, and mind reading. Moreover, within symptom domains, psychological symptoms demonstrated the strongest associations across most cognitive distortions.
Conclusions: The present study highlights a significant association between the severity of PMS and cognitive distortions, among female nursing students, highlighting the importance of addressing cognitive patterns in the psychological management of PMS among young women.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Saumyashree Mohapatra, Somani Acharya, Pratiti Das, Jashobanta Mahapatra
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