Premenstrual Symptoms: Prevalence and Severity in an Adolescent Sample

The purpose of this study was to survey & compare the prevalence & severity of premenstrual symptoms of younger (13-15 years) & older (16-18 years) adolescents, based on both chronological & gynecological age. A subset of adolescents reported symptoms of aberrant behavior, such as missing time at school or becoming violent with people or things, & passive suicidal ideations, such as “thinking of what it would be like to do something to self” (such as crash the car), wishing to go to sleep & not wake up, or having thoughts of death or suicide. (12 refs)