Attitudes toward menarche among Mexican preadolescents

This is an exploratory, descriptive study of how premenarcheal Mexican girls perceive the information about menstruation given by mothers, their feelings and attitudes toward menarche, and their attitudes toward males being aware of a girl's menarcheal status. One hundred twenty-six premenarcheal urban girls completed an incomplete story about an imaginary girl around the time of her menarche. Most participants reported negative feelings when the imaginary girl learns about menstruation. Her onset of menstruation also elicited quite negative feelings, and many participants showed ambivalence. Most of the participants who reported negative feelings when the imaginary girl learned about menstruation, also reported a hypothetical negative reaction toward her menarche. Regarding males' involvement, participants showed responses that implied men should not know about a girl's menarche. These findings are discussed in light of the education related to menstruation.