Medical, Psychiatric, and Legal Aspects of Premenstrual Tension

Effect of the menstrual cycle on mood and sexual arousability∗

“…It is commonly accepted that premenstrual depression, anxiety, dependency, and other symptoms are associated with ovulatory menstruation and not with anovulatory cycles (Perr, 1958). Rosenblum, Greenblatt, Bickers, and Woods, as well as Stewart, in their respective studies of ovulatory and anovulatory cycles found premenstrual symptoms to be significantly less frequent in the anovulatory cycle (Perr, 1958).…”

“…It is commonly accepted that premenstrual depression, anxiety, dependency, and other symptoms are associated with ovulatory menstruation and not with anovulatory cycles (Perr, 1958). Rosenblum, Greenblatt, Bickers, and Woods, as well as Stewart, in their respective studies of ovulatory and anovulatory cycles found premenstrual symptoms to be significantly less frequent in the anovulatory cycle (Perr, 1958). Since the inhibitory effects of birth-control pills do not allow ovulation to occur, it was expected that women who used birthcontrol pills would not experience as much premenstrual discomfort as would pill non-users and therefore would obtain low Agg and Sue scores.…”

“…In some women these mood and physical changes are so extreme that gynecologists refer to the condition as premenstrual tension or the premenstrual tension syndrome (Parker, 1960). Apparently it is the psychological more often than the physical symptom that is the presenting complaint (Perr, 1958).…”

Menstrual Cycle Effects on Mental Health Outcomes: An Ethnographic Study

“…Premenstrual tension or premenstrual tension syndrome are terms used by gynaecologists to describe the condition in some women due to the severity of these physical and emotional changes (Parker, 1960b). The presenting complaint is psychological more often than physical symptoms (Perr, 1958) [4].…”

Menstruation and crime: A critical review of the literature from the clinical criminology perspective

“…Somewhat related to the above line of inquiry would be to find out whether such an association, if it could be demonstrated to exist, would be admissible in criminal trials of female offenders. Several authors have debated whether the psychological symptoms associated with menstruation might possibly form a proper basis for an insanity or related defense for some female offenders (Krafft-Ebing, 1905;Oleck, 1953;Perr, 1958;Wallach and Rubin, 1971;Taylor & Dalton, 1983;Abplanalp, 1985). While it is outside the focus of this article to consider the relationship of menstruation and crime vis a vis the insanity defense, it would be important to know if such a presumed association satisfied the evidentian, standards for admissibility.…”