Psychological resilience during the perimenopause

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe menopausal transition is a critical phase for psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety, with prevalence rates of depression ranging up to 20% during the menopause. Nevertheless, the majority of women cope adequately with this reproductive transition phase and thus appear to be resilient. We assert that a variety of psychological factors influence the menopausal transition and result in an individual state on a continuum from successful adjustment to maladjustment. The purpose of this review is to offer a conceptual framework of resilience factors during the menopausal transition and to reveal which dimensions of resilience have already been verified for a healthy menopausal transition.We searched the databases PubMed and PsycINFO for studies investigating resilience factors during the menopausal transition which influence psychological and physical adjustment or maladjustment. A total of 23 articles were included.Altogether, we identified 15 different resilience factors, assessed with 23 different questionnaires. These factors can be grouped into six categories: core resilience, spirituality, control, optimism, emotion and selfrelated resilience. They are associated with a better adjustment to menopausal symptoms, milder physical symptoms, a better quality of and satisfaction with life, better well-being, less perceived stress and fewer depressive symptoms compared with women with lower levels of the respective resilience factors.Our conceptual framework includes resilience factors which have already been verified by empirical data. Further research is needed to determine whether these resilience factors can be assigned to a common factor and to incorporate biological resilience markers. already accompanied by various family, social and professional changes

Association between resting-state EEG oscillation and psychometric properties in perimenopausal women

“…Therefore, quantitative EEG (qEEG) signals can be interpreted and clinically applied to evaluate brain function. Furthermore, a network of brain regions known as the ‘default mode network’ shows increased brain activity even in the resting state, reflecting spontaneous cognitive processes [ 26 ]. Hence, spontaneous activities and their various rhythms correlate with psychometric properties relevant to psychological factors in physical health and illness that are known to influence neuropsychiatric diseases [ 27 , 28 ].…”

The Swiss Perimenopause Study – study protocol of a longitudinal prospective study in perimenopausal women

“…The aim of this large longitudinal study is to address the limited scientific understanding of the factors determining whether a woman undergoing the menopausal transition develops clinically relevant symptoms, such as those of a depressive disorder, or whether she manages to successfully adapt to the predominant biopsychosocial changes. Successful adaptation can be defined on a continuum of, for example, higher life satisfaction, lower psychological distress, better general psychological health, and milder menopausal complaints [14]. Thus, the study focuses on the perimenopause as the phase of strong hormonal fluctuations and the prevalence peak of burdensome symptoms.…”

“…However, in spite of the major biopsychosocial changes and challenges, most women adjust well to the perimenopause, reporting a good quality of life and an overall positive well-being [13]. It is assumed that resilience might be a key factor in determining whether or not a woman will be negatively affected by menopausal symptoms [14]. Women with high levels of resilience are believed to more effectively and successfully adapt to the substantial changes in the perimenopause [15,16] compared to less resilient women.…”

Evidence on Resilient Initial Response to COVID-19 Pandemic Among Youth: Findings From the Prospective Study of Mental Health in Two European Countries

“…Moreover, it is possible that at the beginning of the lockdown, emerging adults, who are usually exposed to relatively high levels of life stressors (Scho ¨nfeld et al, 2018;Truskauskaite-Kuneviciene et al, 2020), may experience reduced demands of academic and social responsibilities in response to the social distancing measures resulting in lower levels of stress. Moreover, the resilient response to COVID-19 is positively associated with spending time outside, more exercise as well as higher social support (Killgore et al, 2020;Su ¨ss & Ehlert, 2020), which is characteristic of youth in different cultural contexts (Lin et al, 2018). These characteristics may contribute to emerging adults' overall resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”