Social support in women reporting dysmenorrhea

Twenty-five women who reported dysmenorrhea were compared with a control group reporting no dysmenorrheic symptoms. An assessment of the structural and functional aspects of their social support system and ratings of somatic awareness and depression were made. Dysmenorrheic women reported less adequate social support than the control group. Although the two groups indicated similar numbers of individuals within their networks the dysmenorrheics reported a higher frequency of inadequate and geographically distant relationships. Somatic awareness but not depression scores were also elevated in the dysmenorrheic group.