Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social functioning as a significant factor in women's help-seeking behaviour during the climacteric period

  • Published:
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

In order to identify the psychosocial factors that lead to the demand for medical care related to the menopause, we carried out a case/control study. A case was defined as a woman who sought gynaecological care due to “menopausal complaints” (n=85) and a control referred to a woman drawn at random from the general population. The cases showed greater psychiatric morbidity and social dissatisfaction, a lower level of diffused social support and a higher frequency of severe life events and the controls showed greater social maladjustment in objective conditions. The multivariate analysis (logistic regression) carried out after adjusting all the relevant variables, indicated that the demand for medical care due to menopausal complaints was not only determined by the menopausal status itself but also by a set of social and demographic variables, especially dissatisfaction and a lack of social support.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adam A, Montero I, Gomez Beneyton M (1984) Acontecimientos biográficos y enfermedad somática: revisión crítica de la metodología. Med Esp 83: 1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayuntamiento de Valencia (1986) Censo Municipal

  • Ballinger CB (1977) Psychiatric morbidity and the menopause: survey of a gynaecological out-patient clinic. Br J Psychiatry 131: 83–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballinger CB (1990) Psychiatric aspects of the menopause. Br J Psychiatry 156: 773–787

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballinger SE (1985) Psychosocial stress and symptoms of menopause: a comparative study of menopause clinic patients and non-patients. Maturitas 7: 315–327

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell SE (1987) Changing ideas: the medicalization of menopause. Soc Sci Med 24: 535–542

    Google Scholar 

  • Breslow N, Day N (1980) Statistical methods in cancer research, vol 1. International Agency for Research on Cancer, pp 191–246

  • Brown GH, Harris T (1978) Social origins of depression. Tavistock Publications, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne E (1984) Psychiatric morbidity in a gynaecology clinic: an epidemiological survey. Br J Psychiatry 144: 28–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Clare AW, Cairns VE (1978) Design, development and use of a standardized interview to assess social maladjustment. Psychol Med 8: 589–604

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallström JB, Samuelsson S (1985) Mental health in the climateric. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand [Suppl] 130: 13–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs P, Ballinger DB, Smith AV (1983) Factor analysis and validation of the General Health Questionnnaire in women: a general practice survey. Br J Psychiatry 142: 257–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter M (1990) somatic experience of the menopause: a prospective study. Psychosom Med 52: 357–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews KA (1992) Myths and realities of the menopause. Psychosom Med 54: 1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews KA, Wing RR, Kuller LH, Meilahn EN, Kelsey SF, Costello EJ, Caggiula AW (1990) Influences of natural menopause on psychological characteristics and symptoms of middle-aged healthy women. J Consult Clin Psychol 58: 345–351

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinlay JB (1987) Health status and utilization behaviour assciated with menopause. Am J Epidemiol 125: 110–121

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinlay JB, McKindlay SM, Brambilla D (1987) The relative contributions of endocrine changes and social circumstances to depression in mid-aged women. J Health Soc Behav 28: 345–363

    Google Scholar 

  • Munarriz M (1987) Estudio de fiabilidad interentrevistadores en la Escala de Ajuste Social (EAS). Tesis de licenciatura, Valencia

  • Muñoz PE (1978) Study of the validity of Goldberg's 60 items (GHQ) in the Spanish version. Soc Psychiatry 13: 99–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz I (1990) Morbilidad psicosocial y Ajuste Social en mujeres climatéricas. Un estudio comunitario. Doctoral thesis, Valencia

  • Surtees PG, Sashidharan SP, Dean C (1986) Affective disorder among women in the general population: a longitudinal study. Br J Psychiatry 146: 176–186

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatric Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    I. Montero

  2. Institute of Social and Public Health Studies of Valencia (IVESP), Valencia, Spain

    I. Ruiz & I. Hernández

Authors
  1. I. Montero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. I. Ruiz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. I. Hernández
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Montero, I., Ruiz, I. & Hernández, I. Social functioning as a significant factor in women's help-seeking behaviour during the climacteric period. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 28, 178–183 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00797320

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00797320

Keywords

Search

Navigation