Theory and methodology in premenstrual syndrome research

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a controversial and ill-defined phenomenon, the aetiology of which remains an enigma, despite considerable research effort. In this paper, four meta-theoretical approaches to PMS are described and evaluated. Approaches to PMS can be criticised on three inter-related grounds. They have failed to describe women's experiences in detail before explaining them; they have not placed experience within its socio-cultural context; and they have assumed a linear relationship between biology or culture and behaviour. Future research can address these issues in two ways. Biopsychosocial models of PMS may integrate a variety of approaches and improve our understanding of individual experiences but are unlikely to offer new insights into the phenomenon of PMS. These are more likely to emerge from anthropological and sociological studies which question the cultural and individual meaning of PMS.