Menstrual and psychosocial characteristics associated with high-risk of premenstrual dysphoric disorder among university students: a cross-sectional study

Up to 92 percent of Chinese women of reproductive age have pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS). The severe form of PMS (i.e. pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder [PMDD]) negatively affects women's everyday functioning and reproductive health. This study examined the relationships between menstrual, psychosocial characteristics and the risk of PMDD among young Chinese women. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Chinese university students in Hong Kong. Logistic regression was used to compute adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for the association of high-risk PMDD with menstrual and psychosocial characteristics. A total of 541 Chinese university students were recruited. Approximately 53 percent of female students were at high risk of developing PMDD. The high-risk PMDD group was significantly associated with a heavy volume of menstrual flow (aOR = 2.17, 95 percent CI 1.06-4.45), irregular menstrual cycle (1.72, 1.17-2.52), high dysmenorrhea (2.80, 1.95-4.04) and older ages of menarche (0.67, 0.45-0.98) in the menstrual characteristics. In the psychosocial characteristics, high-risk PMDD was significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety (2.19, 1.48-3.32) and depression (2.22, 1.48-3.32), high loneliness (1.94, 1.34-2.79) and low resilience (2.21, 1.52-3.23) levels. Additionally, resilience had a potential moderating effect on the associations between the high risk of PMDD and anxiety, depression and loneliness. The development and delivery of interventions that can enhance resilience and manage psychological distress would be beneficial for young Chinese women's reproductive health.

Seeking support through solidarity: female leader's experiences of workplace solidarity in male-dominated professions

Introduction

While there is a plethora of research that documents the numerous barriers affecting female leaders in the modern workplace, there is a lack of literature which focuses on strategies or motivating resources that women use to navigate the workplace environment. Despite facing significant barriers in their leadership journeys, there are female leaders who are able to overcome these barriers to achieve leadership positions. These women leaders draw on personal and external motivating factors to assist them in dealing with the challenges associated with being a female leader as a result, research on motivating strategies for women's career progression is a research topic that warrants immediate attention. Female solidarity as a motivating resource has been gaining traction in the field of leadership studies and can be seen as a supportive resource that can be used by current and aspiring female leaders to progress in underrepresented environments. Although female solidarity is but only one of the many strategies that can be implemented to motivate women in leadership positions, the increase of female solidarity in the workplace is expected to alleviate the conditions that reinforce essentialist notions of the "queen bee syndrome" in which women are seen as unsupportive of each other.

Method

A qualitative research approach was used for this study, following an interpretive descriptive design. A total of 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with female leaders in male-dominated professions within South Africa. Data was analysed using thematic content analysis.

Results

Results of the study were analyzed in line with three primary content areas, i.e., barriers to female solidarity in the workplace, benefits of female solidarity in the workplace and workplace interventions to increase solidarity.

Discussion

In the context of the study the predominant barriers to female solidarity within male-dominated workplaces were identified as unfair workplace behaviours, generational beliefs, societal expectations, organisational cultures, stereotypes and stigmas. The benefits of female solidarity within male-dominated workplaces were identified as career shaping mentorship, female recognition, female representation and female support. Lastly, the interventions that can be implemented to increase female solidarity within male-dominated workplaces were conceptualised as networking, transforming the company culture, socialisation and mentorship.

Psychometric Validation of the Persian Version of Short Form Self-Regulation Questionnaire in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Short Form Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ) among Iranian community-dwelling older adults and to determine its optimal cutoff point. In Shiraz, Iran, a cross-sectional study of 500 older adults ≥ 60 years was conducted in two steps. The forward-backward method was used for translation. Psychometric properties, such as the face and content validity, based on the point of view of experts, construct validity based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), convergent validity by assessing the relationship with the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE-10), and reliability based on Cronbach's α were examined. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to confirm the cutoff point. Validity of both the face and the content was confirmed. The first stage of construct validity was performed using the kurtosis test and the EFA, and finally, only 20 items in four subscales were loaded with 76.34% of the total variance. The CFA indicated a good fit to the data (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.059; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.92; and goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.89). Cronbach's α coefficient of the SSRQ-20 increased to 0.87. A significant positive correlation was found between the SSRQ-20 and the GSE-10 (r = 0.44), indicating acceptable convergent validity. The optimal cutoff score for differentiating older adults in terms of self-regulation was 71. This study demonstrates that the Persian version of the SSRQ, which contains 20 items, is a valid and reliable tool for assessing self-regulation in Iranian community-dwelling older adults.