ABSTRACT
Popularly referred to as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), various symptoms associated with the perimenstruum have a major impact on women’s health regardless of the lack of agreement as to its cause, definition, significance, and management. This chapter distinguishes this symptom cluster from a defined syndrome using the label perimenstrual negative affect (PNA) in the explanatory model. The hybrid design involved cross-sectional, prospective, and retrospective elements. Good health practices have been shown to have a cumulative effect on health independent of age, sex, and economic status. Socioeconomic status (SES) is traditionally conceptualized by multiple dimensions of income, occupation, education, and parents’ occupation(s) and income. The measurement model specifies how the hypothetical constructs are measured in terms of observed indicator variables. Women with PNA differ from others not only in their symptom patterns, but also in their socialization patterns and general level of distress. Women with PNA symptoms are generally distressed and live difficult lives, but are well educated.
