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Although premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder interfere with work/school and interpersonal relationships, virtually no research has focused on their effects on mothering. In this mixed-methods study, we examined premenstrual symptoms, parenting distress, and life stress in 55 mothers of young children; 46 completed qualitative interviews. Parenting scales and Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents life stress scores were high, but below clinical cutoffs. In a regression, psychological PMS symptoms were significantly associated with high parental distress. In interviews, women identified irritability as the most concerning PMS symptom. Most mothers developed strategies to mitigate parental stress. Implications include educating women and professionals about possible impacts of premenstrual symptoms on mothering.
The goal of the present study was to create professional awareness about the degree of consensus and consistency in the interview techniques that ultimately influence child victims' experiences and progression through the legal system in Canada. We surveyed 200 professionals who interview children in Canada about the guidelines and techniques they use, their perceptions of their training and interviewing arrangements, and the needs and challenges they face in daily practice. Results revealed a wide variety of practices in use across the country, and differences in length of training and who provided it. Police and child protection workers tended to differ on their satisfaction with interviewing arrangements. Commonalities were observed across organizations and locales in that most interviewers could readily identify challenges in talking to vulnerable witnesses and desires for additional training (e.g., greater topic breadth and regular follow-ups). Responses revealed awareness of contemporary research, as well as pockets of more traditional thinking, about child witness capabilities and interviewing techniques. Although variety in interviewing guidelines and training providers is not necessarily problematic, the development of a single nationwide policy on the core components of vulnerable witness interviewing, to which training programs must adhere, could have particular value.
PMS and PMDD symptoms interfere in some women’s daily coping abilities, including their mothering. Social workers assess mothering ability but may not understand the negative effects of PMS/PMDD. This study examines social workers’ knowledge about PMS/PMDD and whether this influences their assessments with mothers, surveying 521 Canadian social workers. The Premenstrual Experience Knowledge Questionnaire (PEKQ) assesses the biopsychosocial aspects of premenstrual knowledge. Social workers scored an average of 60.5%. They were least knowledgeable about SSRI treatments, suicide rates, and symptoms. Higher scores were associated with having one’s own premenstrual symptoms and PMS symptoms that interfered more in one’s life. Only 5.1% of social workers addressed PMS/PMDD in their mothering assessments, with significant relationships between PMS/PMDD inquiry and worker age, knowledge scores, training, and personal premenstrual symptoms. These results can educate social workers, raising awareness of the possible negative impacts of PMS/PMDD on mothering, which could lead to changing their assessment practices and identifying these treatable conditions. This awareness-raising is especially critical when PMDD/PMS affects mothering to the degree that children’s safety might be compromised.
Some women experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and its more severe \npresentation as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which seriously limits their \ncoping ability in daily life, including their parenting ability. Social workers routinely \nassess parenting ability, giving rise to the question, “How does the premenstrual \nknowledge of social workers influence whether and what they ask in their assessment \npractices with mothers?” \nThe heavily debated premenstrual literature rests on four approaches. After these \nperspectives, an enhanced biopsychosocial framework (BPS-E) is used to examine the \npremenstrual knowledge of social workers and their conversations about PMS/PMDD as \nthey assess women’s parenting. This exploratory study used a triangulated convergence \ndesign, generating data from both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. In the first \nphase, 521 social workers completed a Premenstrual Experience Knowledge \nQuestionnaire (PEKQ) created for this research. In the qualitative phase, inspired by an \ninterpretative phenomenological approach, 16 social workers described in interviews \ntheir premenstrual knowledge and its impact, if any, on their assessment practices with \nmothers. \nMost social workers had limited knowledge of PMS/PMDD, most crucially a) the \nPMDD DSM-V classification, b) increased suicide attempts during the premenstruum, \nand c) the effectiveness of SSRI anti-depressants in moderating the symptoms of PMDD. \nAlso, the greater the interference of social workers’ own premenstrual symptoms on their \ndaily living and the more premenstrual training they had received, the higher their \npremenstrual knowledge scores. Very few social workers in this study (5.1%) addressed premenstrual symptoms with their female clients. However, a statistically significant \nrelationship existed in this sample between asking female clients about PMS/PMDD and \nsocial workers’ (a) age, (b) premenstrual knowledge scores, (c) premenstrual training, \nand (d) the degree to which the premenstrual symptoms of female social workers \ninterfered in their own daily living. \nThese results can direct social work education and practice. Not asking about \nPMS/PMDD symptoms could have negative outcomes, particularly in child protection, \nwhere the safety needs of children could remain unaddressed. Conversely, women who \ntell uninformed or disapproving social workers about their premenstrual symptoms might \nbe further subjected to mother-blame, stigmatization, or punitive interventions.
