Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Psychological Intervention Program on the Premenstrual Dysphoric Symptoms and Quality of Life among Late Adolescents in India

Abstract

Recently Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is considered a severe form of premenstrual syndrome that usually becomes problematic during late adolescence and can affect their Quality of life. The non-pharmacological approach is recommended to reduce the severity of the symptoms early without causing side effects. From this perceptive, the current study scrutinized the efficacy of the Mindfulness-based psychological intervention (MPI)program based on Mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral theory and The Leventhal self-regulation model in reducing PMDD symptoms and improving the Quality of life of college students. The study was executed in three phases, based on the main three elements of Conklin’s (1997) program development model, namely (1) planning, (2) design and implementation, and (3) evaluation. As mixed-method research, a sequential exploratory design was used in the program development phase. Its efficacy is tested in the evaluation phase using a “randomized controlled trial” of two groups comprising 36 college students. Eighteen participants each were assigned to experimental and control groups. Participants’ demographic details, Premenstrual Symptom Screening Tool (PSST) by Steiner 2003 and WHO Quality of Life-Bref (WHOQOL), and Interview-FGD Protocol were used as assessment tools. The experts’ evaluation of the MPI program revealed excellent inter-rater reliability (.845). MANOVA and Paired t-tests were used for data analyses to measure the extent of the effect of the program. The results of MANOVA revealed MPI program had a statistically significant impact on PMDD symptoms and Quality of life (F [5,30] = 189.44, p<0.05) among the participants, and Paired t-test was significant at a 0.05 level. Indicates that MPI can be recommended as a psychological intervention in alleviating PMDD symptoms and improving Quality of life. Future research should examine the impact of the intervention on other levels of education and working young female populations.