Women Religious and Married Women's Attitudes toward Menopause and Menopausal Symptoms

Purpose: This study was done to extend the understanding and knowledge of menopause by comparing attitudes toward menopause and menopausal symptoms of women religious and married women. Methods: The data were collected by self-report questionnaires from 126 women religious and 131 married women, between 40 and 59 years of age who lived in P city, D city and K province. A structured questionnaire was used which included demographic and health-related information, attitudes toward menopause, and menopausal symptoms. Data were analyzed by using $x^2$ test, t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficients with the SPSS/WIN 14.0 program. Results: The mean score for attitudes toward menopause of women religious and married women was $69.46{\pm}6.15$ and $66.98{\pm}6.12$ respectfully, and the difference was significant (p=.001). The mean score for menopausal symptoms of women religious and married women was $41.33{\pm}23.55$ and $55.99{\pm}30.81$ respectively, and the difference was also significant (p<.001). Attitudes toward menopause were negatively correlated with menopausal symptoms (r=-.27, p<.001).

여성수도자와 기혼여성의 폐경에 대한 태도와 갱년기 증상