Perceptions of womanhood, dysmenorrhea, and menstrual symptom severity: A cross-sectional study

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between nursing and midwifery students' perceptions of women and the severity of menstrual symptoms affected by dysmenorrhea. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 341 students at a state university in southeastern Türkiye, using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected via a Personal Information Form, the Perception of Women among University Students Scale, the Dysmenorrhea Severity Scale, and the Menstrual Symptom Scale. Students reporting menstrual-related physical and psychological symptoms had significantly higher dysmenorrhea severity and menstrual symptom scores (p = 0.001). In addition, students from families in which men displayed indifferent attitudes toward women had significantly higher menstrual symptom scores (p = 0.048). No significant relationship was found between perceptions of women and dysmenorrhea severity (r = 0.091, p = 0.095) or menstrual symptom severity (r = 0.059, p = 0.274). However, a moderate positive correlation was observed between dysmenorrhea severity and menstrual symptom severity (r = 0.426, p = 0.001). The findings suggest that dysmenorrhea and menstrual symptoms are closely related, whereas perceptions of women may not directly influence menstrual experiences among nursing and midwifery students.