Psychosomatic Medicine 30:378-389 (1968)
© 1968 American Psychosomatic Society

The Duration of Normal Menses as a Psychosomatic Phenomenon

¹ Department of Psychology, San Francisco State College, San Francisco, and the Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

Duration of the menstrual period was selected in order to assess, from the psychosomatic viewpoint, the symptom-free, stable variants of a physiological function. Using Levy's early study as a model, adult subjects with long (6 or more days), short (4 or fewer), and 5-day menstrual periods were compared on the basis of a pool of adolescent and adult behavioral dimensions reflecting masculinity-femininity and general ego functioning, within the framework of the longitudinal Guidance Study. Results indicate that the longer menstrual duration is related to feminine interest and value patterns. Metapsychologically, the longer duration appears also to be connected to a personality integration in which tension is discharged into the body's interior. The roles of somatization in normal menstrual functioning and adaptation in menstrual disorder (i.e., amenorrhea) are discussed within the context of ego psychology.