Associations Between Rumination, Pain Resilience, Physical Activity, and Menstrual Symptoms in Young Women

Menstrual symptoms are prevalent in young women and can adversely affect daily life. Psychosocial factors may influence symptom perception and management, but their roles remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between rumination, pain resilience, and physical activity and menstruation symptoms in young women.

One hundred thirty females (21.31 ± 1.87 years) who menstruated regularly and did not use analgesics or oral contraceptives were included. Participants completed the Menstruation Symptom Scale (MSS), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), Pain Resilience Scale (PRS), and International Physical Activity Scale (IPAQ) on the 1st and 5th days of their period. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlation and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Among participants, 69.9% were single, and 46.9% were sedentary. Mean menarche age and menstrual period were 13.19 ± 1.35 years and 5.89 ± 1.36 days, respectively. MSS total and subscale scores had small to moderate correlations with RRS total, RRS-brooding, RRS-reflection, and IPAQ-vigorous activity (rho = -0.175 to 0.374). MSS total (rho = -0.201) and MSS-coping methods (rho = -0.213) had a small correlation with PRS-cognitive/affective positivity. MSS-menstrual pain symptoms correlated with IPAQ-moderate activity (rho = -0.182), and MSS-coping methods correlated with PRS total (rho = -0.198) and IPAQ total (rho = -0.215). MSS total score was similar in inactive, minimally active, and active groups (p = 0.089).

Rumination is correlated with increased menstrual symptoms, indicating an association between ruminative thinking during menstruation and somatic complaints in young women.