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Socioemotional Correlates of Self-Reported Menstrual Cycle Irregularity in Premenopausal Women

University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Tamara L. Newton, PhD, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Belknap Campus, 317 Life Sciences Building, Louisville, KY 40292. E-mail: tlnewton{at}louisville.edu

OBJECTIVE: Characteristics of menstrual functioning are associated with social rank and corresponding behavioral expression of dominance and subordination in female cynomolgus macaques. Extrapolating from this research, the present study examined socioemotional correlates of menstrual cycle irregularity in premenopausal women by focusing on the dimensions of dominance/submission and hostility/warmth.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants were 153 premenopausal women (70 African-Americans, 83 European-Americans) who reported no current use of hormonal contraceptives. All women completed measures of socioemotional traits and reported whether the onset of their menstrual cycles was generally predictable within 4 days over the course of the past year.

RESULTS: Menstrual cycle irregularity was significantly and positively associated with the socioemotional trait of submission. This association held after adjusting for age and a number of potentially confounding health behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS: Results are consistent with the notion that menstrual functioning is sensitive to socioemotional processes, particularly those pertaining to social hierarchies. Given recent findings linking menstrual cycle irregularity to cardiovascular disease, the results of the present study highlight new biobehavioral pathways to be explored with regard to women’s cardiovascular disease risk.

Key Words: dominance, • submission, • menstrual cycle, • cardiovascular.

Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index;; CI = confidence interval;; CVD = cardiovascular disease;; HC = hormonal contraceptive;; HPA = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal;; IAS-R = Interpersonal Adjective Scale–Revised;; OR = odds ratio.