In contrast to the large body of literature on psychological symptoms during the menopause transition, relatively little is known about positive well-being including happiness, satisfaction with life and self-actualization at this time. Our recent review article ‘Positive well-being during the menopausal transition’ [1] responded to this issue though synthesizing quantitative work on positive functioning across the menopause transition. Nineteen relevant studies were identified, and the vast majority found that both menopausal stage and the presence/frequency of vasomotor symptoms were independent of positive well-being. Four studies using aggregate scales of menopausal symptoms such as the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS), however, demonstrated that symptoms were strong predictors of diminished well-being. These findings demonstrate the importance of delineating menopausal factors in order to clearly determine which aspects of menopause are most likely to have an impact on positive well-being.
Author(s)
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Lydia Brown
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
Citations
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Brown L, Bryant C, Judd F. Positive well-being during the menopause transition: a systematic review. Climacteric 2015;18:456-69
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25417543 -
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24365649 -
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11392865 -
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18954193 -
Brown L, Bryant C, Brown V, Bei B, Judd F. Investigating how menopausal factors and self-compassion shape well-being: An exploratory path analysis. Maturitas 2015;81:293-9
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25818770
