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Modena R, Bisagno E, Schena F, Carazzato S, Vitali F. How Do Elite Female Athletes Cope with Symptoms of Their Premenstrual Period? A Study on Rugby Union and Football Players' Perceived Physical Ability and Well-Being. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:11168. [PMID: 36141440 PMCID: PMC9517454 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191811168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Women's participation in sports has recently grown worldwide, including in sports typically associated with men (e.g., rugby and football). Similarly, literature on female athletes has increased, but how they cope with premenstrual (PM) physical and affective symptoms remains a poorly studied topic. Our study aimed to explain which coping strategies elite female rugby and football players use during their PM period to maintain perceived physical ability (PPA) and well-being. A mediation model analysis considering coping strategies (i.e., avoiding harm, awareness and acceptance, adjusting energy, self-care, and communicating) as independent variables, PPA and well-being as dependent variables, and PM physical and affective symptoms and PM cognitive resources as mediators was run on the data collected via an anonymous online survey. A dysfunctional impact of avoiding harm (indirect) and adjusting energy (both direct and indirect) and a functional indirect influence of awareness and acceptance, self-care, and communicating as coping strategies were found on PPA and well-being during the PM period. As predicted, PM physical and affective symptoms as mediators reduced PPA and well-being, while PM cognitive resources enhanced them. These results may inform practitioners on how to support elite female athletes' PPA and well-being by knowing and reinforcing the most functional PM coping strategies for them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Modena
- CeRiSM Research Center Sport Mountain and Health, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Care, Molde University College, 6410 Molde, Norway
| | - Elisa Bisagno
- Department of Law, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42121 Modena, Italy
| | - Federico Schena
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37131 Verona, Italy
| | - Simone Carazzato
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37131 Verona, Italy
| | - Francesca Vitali
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37131 Verona, Italy
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Sexual Communication Among Sexual and Gender/Sex Diverse Folks: An Overview of What We Know and Suggestions for Where to Go. CURRENT SEXUAL HEALTH REPORTS 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11930-022-00328-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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3
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Kancheva Landolt N, Ivanov K. Short report: cognitive behavioral therapy - a primary mode for premenstrual syndrome management: systematic literature review. PSYCHOL HEALTH MED 2020; 26:1282-1293. [PMID: 32845159 DOI: 10.1080/13548506.2020.1810718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Most women in reproductive age experience at least one premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptom every month over many years, and about 5% experience significant impairment, requiring professional intervention. Offering effective and sustainable treatment, is essential. While research acknowledges the effectiveness of nonpharmacological methods, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and lifestyle modifications, as a treatment alternative, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or hormonal ovulation suppression continue to be recommended as a first-line treatment. We hypothesize that nonpharmacological methods will be sufficient for effective and sustainable PMS management. A systematic literature review was conducted for peer-reviewed original studies with the search terms: CBT, psychoeducation, PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. All 32 identified studies found a significant reduction in PMS to complete remission with nonpharmacological interventions. No side effects were reported, and positive effect was sustained over time. Psychoeducational self-help packages, delivered with the affordance of modern technology, appeared to be enough for most women to manage successfully their PMS distress. Most severe PMS forms required one-to-one CBT. Nonpharmacological methods can be recommended as the primary mode for PMS management. More high-quality research is required, for developing personalized self-help packages, as well as the full use of modern technology for delivering the service.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Krasimir Ivanov
- Department of Psychology, Varna Free University, Varna, Bulgaria
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Ussher JM, Perz J. “I feel fat and ugly and hate myself”: Self-objectification through negative constructions of premenstrual embodiment. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353519900196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The body is central to women’s construction of premenstrual change as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and to experiences of premenstrual distress. Embodied change, such as bloating or breast tenderness, can act as a marker of PMS. Within biomedical models, PMS is located within the body. Women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies is also reported to be higher in the premenstrual phase of the cycle. What is absent from this analysis is the meaning and experience of embodied change, in the context of broader constructions of femininity and embodiment. In this paper, we adopt a feminist material-discursive theoretical framework to examine the role of premenstrual embodiment in women’s premenstrual distress, drawing on open-ended survey responses and interviews with 83 women who self-diagnose as “PMS sufferers”. We theorize premenstrual body hatred as subjectification, wherein women take up cultural discourse associated with idealized femininity and the stigmatization of the fat body, resulting in self-objectification, distress and dehumanization. However, women can resist negative cultural constructions of premenstrual embodiment. We describe the impact of psychological therapy which increases awareness of emotional and embodied change, resulting in greater acceptance of the premenstrual body and self-care, serving to reduce premenstrual distress and self-objectification.
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Mondragon NI, Txertudi MB. Understanding menstruation: Influence of gender and ideological factors. A study of young people's social representations. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353519836445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This research investigates social representations of menstruation. It analyses firstly how young Spanish people understand menstruation in their everyday lives. And secondly, it explores how gender and ideological factors (liberal vs. conservative; feminist vs. non-feminist) impact on the meaning of menstruation and its implications for acceptance of this process. A free association exercise elicited by the word “menstruation” was answered by 250 people and the content was examined by lexical analysis. The results divided social representations of menstruation into two levels: firstly, a traditionalist level that is clearly linked to a negative stigmatized discourse about menstruation; and, secondly, a progressive level where two different discourses emerge, one representing liberal men and the other representing feminist women. The results show that only the feminist conception of menstruation provides an empowered and emotionally positive representation. The concept of menstruation is concluded to emerge from various sources of information, values and social conventions that are somewhat removed from its scientific meaning. The representation of menstruation is therefore understood to be situated within a social, ideological and emotional context. Accordingly, health education campaigns should frame their discourse about menstruation within a feminist perspective as their point of departure, thereby increasing their effectiveness.
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6
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Gauvin S, Pukall CF. Sexual problems and sexual scripts: overview and future directions for bisexual-identified individuals. SEXUAL AND RELATIONSHIP THERAPY 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/14681994.2018.1426851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- S. Gauvin
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - C. F. Pukall
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
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7
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Ussher JM, Perz J. Evaluation of the relative efficacy of a couple cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) for Premenstrual Disorders (PMDs), in comparison to one-to-one CBT and a wait list control: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0175068. [PMID: 28419170 PMCID: PMC5395168 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2016] [Accepted: 03/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
DESIGN A randomised control trial (RCT) was conducted to examine the efficacy of couple-based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for Premenstrual Disorders (PMDs), in comparison to one-to-one CBT and a wait-list control. METHODS Triangulation of quantitative and qualitative outcome measures evaluated changes pre-post intervention. Eighty three women were randomly allocated across three conditions, with 63 completing post-intervention measures, a retention rate of 76%. RESULTS Repeated measures analysis of variance found a significant time by group interaction identifying that women in the two CBT conditions reported lower total premenstrual symptoms, emotional reactivity/mood, and premenstrual distress, in comparison to the wait list control. Significantly higher active behavioural coping post-intervention was found in the couple condition than in the one-to-one and wait list control groups. Qualitative analysis provided insight into the subjective experience of PMDs and participation in the intervention study. Across groups, women reported increased awareness and understanding of premenstrual change post-intervention. A larger proportion of women in the CBT conditions reported reduction in intensity and frequency of negative premenstrual emotional reactivity, increased communication and help-seeking, increased understanding and acceptance of embodied change, and the development of coping skills, post-intervention. Increased partner understanding and improved relationship post-intervention was reported by a greater proportion of participants in the CBT conditions, most markedly in the couple condition. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that one-to-one and couple CBT interventions can significantly reduce women's premenstrual symptomatology and distress, and improve premenstrual coping. Couple based CBT interventions may have a greater positive impact upon behavioural coping and perceptions of relationship context and support. This suggests that CBT should be available for women reporting moderate-severe PMDs, with couple-based CBT offering additional benefits to a one-to-one modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane M. Ussher
- Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Janette Perz
- Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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8
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Stone M, Kokanovic R. “Halfway towards recovery”: Rehabilitating the relational self in narratives of postnatal depression. Soc Sci Med 2016; 163:98-106. [DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Revised: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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9
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Chrisler JC, Gorman JA, Streckfuss L. Self-Silencing, Perfectionism, Dualistic Discourse, Loss of Control, and the Experience of Premenstrual Syndrome. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/23293691.2014.966597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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10
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Blair KL, Pukall CF, Smith KB, Cappell J. Differential Associations of Communication and Love in Heterosexual, Lesbian, and Bisexual Women's Perceptions and Experiences of Chronic Vulvar and Pelvic Pain. JOURNAL OF SEX & MARITAL THERAPY 2014; 41:498-524. [PMID: 24918840 DOI: 10.1080/0092623x.2014.931315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The literature on genital and pelvic pain has largely focused on heterosexual women. An online study examined characteristics of vulvar pain in 839 lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women 18-45 years of age and investigated associations between relationship qualities such as love and communication with participants' perceptions of pain's influence on relationships. Characteristics of vulvar pain were similar across groups. Groups differed in how they perceived pain to impact their relationships, such that better communication for same-sex couples and more love for mixed-sex couples was associated with the perception of their pain as having less of an effect on their relationship functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Blair
- a Psychology, University of Utah , Salt Lake City , Utah , USA
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11
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Ussher JM, Perz J, May E. Pathology or source of power? The construction and experience of premenstrual syndrome within two contrasting cases. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353514539650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This research examines the construction and experience of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in the context of intimate couple relationships, through examination of two contrasting cases analysed using thematic decomposition of narrative interviews. Judith and her male partner pathologised premenstrual change, constructing the premenstrual self as out of control, and the epitome of the ‘monstrous feminine’. Judith reported feeling over-burdened and uncontrollably angry premenstrually, associated with relationship issues and absence of partner recognition or support. In contrast, Sophia normalised premenstrual change, challenging the association between PMS and the construction of woman as deviant or dysfunctional. Sophia reported heightened energy and creativity premenstrually, and engaged in self-care supported by her woman partner. These cases demonstrate that premenstrual distress is an intersubjective experience, with constructions and material practices within relationships providing the context for premenstrual women being positioned as pathological and needing to be contained, or conversely, as sensitive and needing support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane M Ussher
- Centre for Health Research, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Australia
| | - Janette Perz
- Centre for Health Research, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Australia
| | - Emily May
- Centre for Health Research, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Australia
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12
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Read JR, Perz J, Ussher JM. Ways of coping with premenstrual change: development and validation of a premenstrual coping measure. BMC WOMENS HEALTH 2014; 14:1. [PMID: 24383580 PMCID: PMC3880968 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6874-14-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2013] [Accepted: 12/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative premenstrual change can result in distress for a significant proportion of women. Previous research has suggested that women employ a range of coping strategies and behaviours in order to manage and reduce premenstrual distress. However, as yet there has been no specific scale available to measure premenstrual coping. This research aimed to develop and validate a measure of premenstrual coping which can be used in future investigations of negative premenstrual experience. METHODS A sample of 250 women living in Australia, reporting mild to severe premenstrual distress, completed an online survey containing 64 items related to premenstrual coping. The items were generated by reviewing past literature related to premenstrual experience, in particular recent qualitative research on premenstrual coping. A principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was conducted to determine item clusters that would form a measure. Reliability and validity were tested using calculations of Cronbach alphas, correlational analysis with psychological coping scales and a content analysis of participant reports of coping strategies. RESULTS The factor analysis, which involved two principal component analyses, resulted in five factors containing 32 premenstrual coping behaviours. Interpretation of the factor solution drew on empirical and theoretical accounts of premenstrual coping and the emergent factors were labelled Avoiding Harm, Awareness and Acceptance of Premenstrual Change, Adjusting Energy, Self-Care, and Communicating. These factors form the subscales of the Premenstrual Coping Measure (PMCM). The subscales demonstrated acceptable to very good reliability and tests of construct, concurrent and content validity were supportive of sound validity. CONCLUSIONS The PMCM provides a valid and reliable scale for quantifying ways of coping specific to negative premenstrual change. Conceptual similarity was found between some coping behaviours and behaviours positioned as symptoms of premenstrual change. Explanations for this overlap may be found in cultural discourses associated with idealised femininity and PMS (premenstrual syndrome). Further psychometric investigation of the PMCM will enhance knowledge of the role of coping with negative premenstrual experience.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Janette Perz
- Centre for Health Research, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
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13
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Ussher JM, Perz J. PMS as a process of negotiation: Women’s experience and management of premenstrual distress. Psychol Health 2013; 28:909-27. [DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2013.765004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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14
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Jackson TE, Falmagne RJ. Women wearing white: Discourses of menstruation and the experience of menarche. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353512473812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This study examines how dominant societal discourses of menstruation are appropriated, rejected, or interpreted as adolescent girls make meaning of their menarche. Thirteen women ages 18–21 participated in flexible in-depth interviews to retrospectively recount their menarcheal experience. A variation of the Reading Guide was used for primary data analysis, which identified four themes highlighting girls’ ambivalence regarding menarche. Participants were conflicted at menarche about their putative status as ‘women’; used imprecise, distancing language when discussing menstruation; engaged in material and discursive practices of concealing menstruation; and referenced a community of menstrual suffering. Further, discourse analysis of participants’ talk suggests their continued discomfort. We argue that girls experience menarche ambivalently in relation to menstrual taboos, body shame and emergent womanhood. Negative discourses of menstruation and women’s bodies converge to set girls on a problematic gendered trajectory at menarche that can be expected to inform meaning making and experiences across the lifespan.
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15
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King M, Ussher JM. It’s not all bad: Women’s construction and lived experience of positive premenstrual change. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353512440351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Although premenstrual change is invariably pathologized and described as PMS or PMDD, there is evidence that many women experience premenstrual changes positively. This suggests that premenstrual change is both a lived experience and social construction, which is not inevitably positioned as debilitating or distressing. However, previous research has provided little insight into how and why women construct premenstrual change as positive. Accordingly, the present study used a critical realist epistemology and a material-discursive-intrapsychic model to explore women’s construction and lived experience of positive premenstrual change. Drawing on focus groups with 47 women, explanations for positive premenstrual experiences included: ‘positive emotional outcomes’, ‘releasing tension’, ‘increased attractiveness’, ‘legitimacy of self-care’ and ‘indication of menstruation’. Findings not only reinforce reports from previous research that many women experience positive premenstrual changes, but also challenge bio-medical conceptualizations of premenstrual change as inherently negative, with accounts of relational negotiation emphasizing the context-dependent nature of premenstrual change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlee King
- Centre for Health Research, University of Western Sydney, Australia
| | - Jane M Ussher
- Centre for Health Research, University of Western Sydney, Australia
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16
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PMS as a Gendered Illness Linked to the Construction and Relational Experience of Hetero-Femininity. SEX ROLES 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-011-9977-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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17
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Fahs B. Sex during menstruation: Race, sexual identity, and women’s accounts of pleasure and disgust. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353510396674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
While much research has addressed negativity surrounding women’s menstruation, surprisingly little research has interrogated the relationship between menstruation and sexuality. This study used inductive thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with 40 women across a range of age, race and sexual orientation backgrounds to examine women’s experiences with sex during menstruation. Results showed that, while 25 women described negative reactions — and two described neutral reactions — 13 women described positive reactions to menstrual sex. Negative responses cohered around four themes: women’s discomfort and physical labor to clean ‘messes’, overt partner discomfort, negative self-perception and emotional labor to manage partner’s disgust. Positive responses cohered around two themes: physical and emotional pleasure from sex while menstruating, and rebellion against anti-menstrual attitudes. Notable race and sexual identity differences appeared, as white women and bisexual or lesbian-identified women described positive feelings about menstrual sex more than women of color or heterosexual women. Bisexual women with male partners described more positive reactions to menstrual sex than did heterosexual women with male partners, implying that heterosexual identity related to negative menstrual sex attitudes more than heterosexual behavior. Those with positive menstrual sex attitudes also enjoyed masturbation more than others. Implications for sexual identity and racial identity informing body practices, partner choice affecting women’s body affirmation, and women’s resistance against common cultural ideas about women’s bodies as ‘disgusting’ were addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breanne Fahs
- Women and Gender Studies Program, Arizona State University, USA,
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18
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Ussher JM, Tim Wong W, Perz J. A qualitative analysis of changes in relationship dynamics and roles between people with cancer and their primary informal carer. Health (London) 2010; 15:650-67. [DOI: 10.1177/1363459310367440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
It is widely accepted that cancer is an intersubjective experience that impacts upon the psychological well-being of people with cancer and informal carers, as well as on couple relationships. This qualitative study examined the nature and consequences of cancer on the relationship between informal carers and the person with cancer, from the perspective of Australian cancer carers. Sixty-two carers (42 women and 20 men), across a range of cancer types, stages and relationship dyads took part in semi-structured interviews. Participants reported that cancer had precipitated a change in roles and in the dynamics of the relationship, including having to take on quasi-medical tasks and decisions, neglecting self and other relationships, changes to the emotions or personality of the person with cancer, changed patterns of communication, and changes to sexuality and intimacy. The impact of the changed relationship included sadness, anger and frustration, as well as feelings of love and being closer together, resulting in relationship enhancement. Women were more likely to report changes in the person with cancer and to mourn the previous relationship, while more men reported relationship enhancement.
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19
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Downing JB, Goldberg AE. Lesbian mothers’ constructions of the division of paid and unpaid labor. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353510375869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Do lesbian couples resist the (re)gendering of divisions of paid and unpaid labor within the context of biological and nonbiological parenting? In this study we explore how primarily Caucasian, North American lesbian mothers of three-and-a-half-year-old children construct divisions of paid and unpaid labor. We analyze 30 lesbian couples’ narrative constructions of their labor arrangements, examining the ways in which they both transgress and accept traditionally masculine and feminine gendering. At the same time that biological mothers and nonbiological mothers often described differences in their contributions to paid and unpaid labor, they rarely invoked biology as a salient factor in explaining their work/family roles. Our analysis suggests that the ‘egalitarian ethic’ of lesbian women is an over-simplification of the multiple ways that women develop their divisions of labor.
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Ussher JM. Are We Medicalizing Women’s Misery? A Critical Review of Women’s Higher Rates of Reported Depression. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353509350213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Epidemiological research consistently reports that women experience higher rates of depression than men. Competing biomedical, psychological and sociocultural models adopt a realist epistemology and a discourse of medical naturalism to position depression as a naturally occurring pathology within the woman, caused by biology, cognitions or life stress. Feminist critics argue that this medicalizes women’s misery, legitimizes expert intervention, and negates the political, economic and discursive aspects of experience. However, the alternative model of social constructionism may appear to dismiss the ‘real’ of women’s distress, and deny its material and intrapsychic concomitants, as well as negate relevant research findings. A critical review of sociocultural and psychological research on women’s depression is conducted. It is argued that a critical-realist epistemology allows us to acknowledge the material-discursive-intrapsychic concomitants of experiences constructed as depression, without privileging one level of analysis above the other, in order to understand women’s higher rates of reported depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane M. Ussher
- School of Psychology, University of Western Sydney,
Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia,
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Ussher JM. Heterocentric Practices in Health Research and Health Care: Implications for Mental Health and Subjectivity of LGBTQ Individuals. FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1177/0959353509342933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jane M. Ussher
- School of Psychology, University of Western Sydney,
Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia,
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22
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Gilbert E, Ussher JM, Hawkins Y. Accounts of disruptions to sexuality following cancer: the perspective of informal carers who are partners of a person with cancer. Health (London) 2009; 13:523-41. [PMID: 19696134 DOI: 10.1177/1363459308336795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
There is a growing body of research showing that cancer impacts upon the sexuality of informal carers in a couple relationship with a person with cancer. However, this research is primarily focused on partners of a person with gynaecological or breast cancer, within a framework where the physiological effects of cancer on sexual performance are the focus. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 informal carers in a couple relationship with a person with cancer, across a range of cancer types. The aim was to explore accounts of changes to sexuality and intimacy post-cancer, in the context of discursive constructions of sexuality and the caring role. Our findings show that partners' sexual experiences were shaped by absence of desire in the person with cancer; the stress and exhaustion associated with caring tasks; the repositioning of the person with cancer as childlike or as an asexual 'sick patient'; and the belief that there were expectations about 'acceptable' sexual conduct in the context of cancer caring. Carers accepted the diminishment of their sexual relationship, but expressed feelings of disappointment, anger and sadness about this loss. It is concluded that it is vital that support services are developed, so that couples may develop new sexual strategies, and cope more effectively with potential disruptions to their sexual and intimate relationship.
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Ussher JM. Reclaiming Embodiment within Critical Psychology: A Material-Discursive Analysis of the Menopausal Body. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00151.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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