COMPARISON OF DEPRESSED AND NON-DEPRESSED ADOLESCENT GIRLS’ AND THEIR MOTHERS’ PREMENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS

Discussion:

The adolescent girls who experienced emotional distress, such as depression, are likely to report the more change in emotional, behavioral and physical problems due to menstruation. The severity of depression is correlated with the severity of premenstrual problems. The results may suggest that depressed girls experience more premenstrual problems or because of their negative cognitions, they are influenced by the negative words/sentences in a self-report scale. We may suggest that the scales which are used to evaluate the premenstrual complaints of depressed subjects retrospectively do not show the correct severity of the premenstrual complaints.

Result:

There were no significant differences between depressed and non-depressed group on sociodemographic variables. Even though more depressed girls complained about dysmenorhea than normal controls, there were no statistical significant differences between two groups. There were statistically differences between depressed and non-depressed adolescent girls on variables of total PAF score, and subscales of PAF scores. There were no statistically differences between the control girls and their mothers on variables of the total PAF scores and subscales of PAF scores.

Method:

Twenty girls between age of 15-18 years who had met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder and had regular menstrual cycle for at least two years were recruited. The control group included 17 volunteer high school female students who had no physical and mental illnesses. The Premenstrual Assessment Form (PAF) was used for the evaluation of the premenstrual emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used for the evaluation of the severity of depressive symptoms. The history of menstrual cycle and medical and mental disorders from the mothers were gathered.

Objective:

In this study, we aimed to compare the severity and profile of premenstrual complaints between depressed and non-depressed adolescent girls and make a correlation between mother’s and daughter’s premenstrual emotional, behavioral and physical complaints.