‘Its all part of the big CHANGE’: a grounded theory study of women’s identity during menopause

Sergeant, Judith; Rizq, Rosemary

doi:10.1080/0167482x.2016.1270937

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…How stress affects the menopausal transition is vital to understand, as, for many women, midlife is accompanied by many negative events such as the death of parents, children leaving home, and relationship problems [78]. The menopausal transition is also accompanied by a shift in their societal role: as fertility wanes and children move away, women experience a sense of loss of identity, which can also be highly stressful for women [79][80][81][82]. As we have shown, there is a dose-effect in regards to stress and menopause symptoms, and therefore the accumulation of emotionally stressful events can be expected to worsen the menopausal transition.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between social support, stressful events, and menopause symptoms

2021

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Many women going through the menopausal transition experience vasomotor symptoms (VMS), and research has shown that there is a large amount of variation in their frequency and severity. Many lifestyle factors have been found to co-vary with VMS, including the level of social support received by the woman, and how stressed she is. Stress is well documented to worsen menopause symptoms, and there is some evidence that support eases them; however, there is little research into whether support is an effective buffer against the negative effects of stress on VMS. Using nine years of data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (n = 2718), we use multilevel Poisson regression with random effects to test: 1) if more social support is associated with decreased VMS frequency, 2) if increased life stress worsens VMS, and 3) if support acts as a buffer against stress. After adjusting for age, marital status, smoking, self-perceived overall health, ethnicity, and menopausal status, we find that stress increases the frequency of VMS. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find strong evidence that emotional support led to lower VMS frequency, or that support buffers against the effects of stress. Experience of a stressful event, but not amount of social support, was included in the best fitting model; with the degree to which the woman was upset by the life stressor having the largest effect on menopause symptoms. Here, women who said they were currently upset by a stressful event experienced 21% more VMS than women who had experienced no life stressor. This research highlights that social factors may impact the menopausal transition.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between social support, stressful events, and menopause symptoms

2021

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“…Women tend to report that these symptoms are more difficult to manage in the work place, due to embarrassment and concern about the reactions of others [7–9]. Menopausal status and HFNS are often kept hidden [10] and not disclosed to managers at work [11]; consequently menopause taboos are not challenged and women may not obtain practical support that could be helpful. This has led to various guidance and recommendations that menopause at work warrants attention and support for women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work outcomes in midlife women: the impact of menopause, work stress and working environment

Hardy

Thorne

Griffiths

et al. 2018

womens midlife health

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BackgroundThere is growing research interest in the question of whether menopause impacts upon mid-aged women’s work outcomes, but the evidence to date is inconclusive. This paper examines whether: (i) menopausal status, and experience of hot flushes and night sweats (HFNS), and whether (ii) work stress and work environment, are associated with work outcomes (absenteeism, job performance, turnover intention, and intention to leave the labor force).MethodsAn online survey (sociodemographic, menopause, health, well-being and aspects of work) was completed by 216 (pre-, peri- and postmenopausal) women aged 45–60 years.ResultsWork outcomes were not associated with menopausal status but were significantly associated with job stress and aspects of the work environment, such as demand, control and support. HFNS presence, frequency and problem-rating were not significantly associated with work outcomes. HF problem rating at work was significantly associated with intention to leave the labor force, after controlling for age (F(2,101), 6.742, p = .002).ConclusionsThe main predictors of work outcomes in this sample of mid-aged women were aspects of the working environment (particularly role clarity and work stress). Menopausal status was not associated with work outcomes but having problematic hot flushes at work was associated with intention to stop working. These results challenge assumptions about the menopause transition by providing evidence that the menopause does not impact on women’s self-reported work performance and absence. However, support for women with problematic HFNS at work may be beneficial, as might addressing working environment issues for mid-aged women.

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“…Self-esteem describes the appraisal of one's own value (cognitive self-evaluative component) and the way one feels about oneself (affective component) ( 23 ). Although for most women, self-esteem seems to be unaffected by menopause [i.e., ( 23 , 24 )], the transition to the post-reproductive stage might still pose a threat to self-esteem in some women ( 25 ). This might include women who have a more negative attitude toward menopause and toward being a woman who is no longer capable of bearing children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Intrasexual Competition and Its Link to Menopausal Stage, Sex Hormone Levels, and Personality Characteristics

Fiacco

Arpagaus

Mernone

et al. 2021

Front. Glob. Womens Health

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Background: Female intrasexual competition (ISC) represents a unique form of social interaction. It describes behaviors primarily applied to enhance a woman's ability to outcompete other women. Previous research suggests that female ISC is influenced by personality characteristics and sex hormones. Although these factors most likely interact to predict female ISC, no previous study has investigated those factors in parallel in order to link theories from social psychology and biology. Women at the end of the reproductive lifespan represent the ideal study population, as they allow for a controlled hormonal environment.Materials and Methods: Healthy pre- (N = 53) and postmenopausal (N = 56) women were classified according to the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop (STRAW+10) criteria. In the follicular phase (for premenopausal women) or on a random day (for postmenopausal women), questionnaires were administered to assess the general tendency to compete intrasexually and the tendency to compete on appearance, attention/interpersonal success, and competence. Additionally, personality characteristics (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and self-esteem) were assessed. On the same day, each subject provided an 8 a.m. saliva sample for estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. T-tests tested for between-group differences and separate multiple linear regression models tested for an effect of continuous hormone levels and personality characteristics on ISC. Further models were run, testing for an interaction with menopausal stage.Results: No group differences in ISC were evident (all p > 0.05). In premenopausal women, estradiol levels positively predicted the competition for attention (β = 2.103, p = 0.022). In postmenopausal women, self-esteem predicted the tendency to compete overall (β = −0.208, p < 0.001), on appearance (β = −0.061, p = 0.01), on competence (β = −0.087, p < 0.001), and on attention/interpersonal success (β = −0.060, p = 0.01).Discussion: These results, though cross-sectional, suggest that women continue to compete intrasexually in postmenopause, giving rise to new questions about the function of female ISC. If confirmed, the findings will indicate that hormones guide competitiveness in fertile women, whereas self-esteem accounts for individual differences in competitiveness post-reproduction. Particularly the function of postmenopausal ISC warrants further investigation.

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‘Its all part of the big CHANGE’: a grounded theory study of women’s identity during menopause

Cited by 20 publications

References 51 publications

The relationship between social support, stressful events, and menopause symptoms

The relationship between social support, stressful events, and menopause symptoms

Work outcomes in midlife women: the impact of menopause, work stress and working environment

Female Intrasexual Competition and Its Link to Menopausal Stage, Sex Hormone Levels, and Personality Characteristics

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