A Study on Attitude of Menstruation, Menstrual Discomfort and Coping Method in Female College Students

To provide positive experience of menstruation, which has a great effect on women's life, and provide basic data in menstrual management education.

Subject includes women in their 20s that were selected through convenience sampling. Major variables include Korean Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire, Menstrual Distress Questionnaire and coping style questionnaire. Collected data was processed on SPSS 22.0 for frequency analysis, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient, and personal coping method in case of menstrual discomfort and motive for considering an alternative type were verified and analyzed through open-ended questions.

Average age of first menstruation in subjects was 12.64, and 70.3% experienced regular menstrual cycle. 45.6% had a menstrual cycle of 26–30 days, 78.1% had a menstrual period of 4–6 days, and 68.7% had normal blood loss. 69.2% used painkiller during menstruation, and 54.2% experienced discomfort in daily life due to menstruation. The average score of subject's menstruation attitude was 4.09±.49, which is slightly higher than the midpoint. Degree of discomfort before, during and after menstruation was 1.42±1.03, 2.03±1.04, and.92±.97 respectively, the highest during menstruation period, followed by before and after menstruation. In terms of subject's coping method, aggressive coping method was.99±.55, and passive coping method was 1.12±.76. Discomfort during menstruation and coping method, although weak, show significant positive correlation, and subject's coping method was higher as the premenstrual discomfort was higher (r=.224, p<.001), menstrual discomfort was higher (r=.227, p<.001), and intermenstrual discomfort was higher (r=.186, p<.05). 16.5% of subject tried tampons or menstrual cups as an alternative to sanitary napkins due to the discomfort caused by them.

Nurses need to provide customized education on different alternatives in consideration of women's individual characteristics, so they can practice preventive coping method and self-manage menstrual discomfort.