Young Women's Attitudes Toward Continuous Use of Oral Contraceptives: The Effect of Priming Positive Attitudes Toward Menstruation on Women's Willingness to Suppress Menstruation

Abstract

The present study investigated American women's attitudes toward menstrual suppression and the effect of priming attitudes toward menstruation on women's willingness to suppress menstruation. One hundred college women randomly were assigned to either a positive priming group or a negative priming group. The positive priming group first completed the menstrual joy questionnaire (MJQ) followed by a willingness to suppress menstruation (WSM) questionnaire, the beliefs and attitudes toward menstruation (BATM) questionnaire, the menstrual distress questionnaire (MDQ), and a demographic questionnaire. The negative priming group completed, in the following order: the MDQ, WSM, BATM, MJQ, and demographics. Priming affected women's reports of positive cycle-related changes on the MDQ, but not women's willingness to suppress menstruation. Higher scores on the MJQ, positive attitudes toward menstrual suppression, and previous oral contraceptive (OC) use were predictors of women's willingness to suppress menstruation. Women's primary source of information about menstrual suppression was "media," and their primary concern was "safety." Thus, researchers should continue to investigate the long-term effects of continuous OC use and to analyze information about menstrual suppression in the popular press.

Relationships Between Menstrual and Menopausal Attitudes and Associated Demographic and Health Characteristics: The Hilo Women's Health Study

“…Menstruation and menopause are not celebrated in western cultures, where they are depicted by the mass media and the health-care profession as something to be managed or remedied, and as something less than feminine (Del Saz-Rubio and Pennock-Speck 2009; Hutson et al 2009; Johnston-Robledo 2006; Linton 2007; Luke 1997; Nelson and Signorielli 2007; Raftos et al 1998; Rose et al 2008). Conversely, menstruation has been viewed historically and cross-culturally as a natural phenomenon (Roberts 2004).…”

“…In fact, a recent study found that the majority of women regarded menstruation as natural; only a small minority thought of it as a nuisance or a curse (Morrison et al 2010). Prompting much of the current research about women’s attitudes toward cyclical bleeding is the recent introduction of birth control that suppresses menstruation (Edelman et al 2007, Fruzzetti et al 2008, Glasier et al 2003, Rose et al 2008; Sánchez-Borrego and García-Calvo 2008). …”

The Moral Panics of Sexuality

“…Results demonstrate that providers need to discuss this option with their patients. (Andrist et al 2004, 359) Even more disturbingly, a 2008 study regarding young women's attitudes towards continuous OCPs indicates that women's primary source of information about OCPs is the media, not their doctors, and that articles and advertisements may be the only information women receive about continuous contraception (Rose, Chrisler and Couture 2008). Menstrual suppression is an important contemporary women's health issue, especially as findings point toward protective benefits or relief from numerous health conditions.…”

Ovulation, In Vivo Emotion Regulation Problems, and Sexual Risk Recognition Deficits

“…However, women who were excluded from these analyses did not differ on any of the mediators or outcomes examined here. Further, oral contraceptive use was not assessed, which is a limitation given that a substantial proportion of college women report oral contraceptive use 35 , and many previous studies have found protective effects for ovulation only among naturally cycling women 9 . However, the inclusion of women taking oral contraceptives would be expected to mask the ability to detect effects for ovulation.…”