Will premenstrual syndrome produce a Ms. Hyde?: evidence from daily administrations of the Emotions Profile Index.

ABSTRACT

22 women participated in a study that required daily completion of the Emotions Profile Index and a short diary form for 49 consecutive days. The Emotions Profile Index for 868 subject-days was factor-analyzed. Differences in Factor 1 (friendly extraversion) were related to menstrual cycle position while differences in Factor 2 (timidity) were not. Evidence for a premenstrual move in the direction of aggressive, depressed distrust (irritable introversion) is discussed. It is noted that premenstrual differences in emotion are much weaker than the other significant effects discovered in the experiment (individual differences, unusual events, stress) the potentially cumulative effects of these variables are discussed.