Effect of gender role orientation on attitudes toward menstruation in a sample of female University students.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of gender role orientation on attitudes toward menstruation in a sample of Iranian female students of medical sciences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three hundred female university students (94%; N = 282 response rate) via stratified random sampling were enrolled to the study. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire, Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire, and short version of the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Data were analyzed with SPSS v.18. Analyses were done using Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS: The mean scores of the MAQ subscales ranged from 3.7 ± 1.35 to 5.6 ± 1.3, indicating that most of the respondents had natural to moderate attitudes toward menstruation. When participants were classified into one of four gender-role categories of BSRI, results show that the undifferentiated group with 33.7% was higher than other gender role groups. The undifferentiated group was significantly less likely than the other groups to perceive "menstruation as a natural event".

CONCLUSION: The study shows an association between gender role orientation and attitudes toward menstruation in female university students. However, further research is still necessary in this issue.