The interplay of culture and symptoms: menstrual symptoms among Samoans

Menstrual symptomatology has received much attention in recent years but little attention has been given to the interplay of culture with these symptoms. Interview data from male and female Samoans in rural Western Samoa, rapidly modernizing American Samoa, and modern Hawaii are used to explore the role of culture and culture change in explaining variations in reports of menstrual symptomatology and menstrual distress. I suggest that culture plays a significant role in the recognition, evaluation, and expression of menstrual symptoms, and thus culture must be considered along with biological and psychosocial variables in the evaluation of symptomatological differences, including differences in number and kind.