Attitudes Toward and Experience with Menstruation in the US and India

Sixty-seven women students who were attending a university in southern India and 61 women students who were attending a liberal arts college in New England volunteered to participate in this study. The women supplied demographic information, information about their knowledge and levels of preparedness prior to menarche, and sources of their information about the menstrual cycle. They also completed the Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (Indian version), the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, and a test of knowledge about the menstrual cycle. American women scored significantly higher than Indian women on the knowledge test, and they also reported that they had better preparation for menarche than Indian women did. Indian women scored significantly higher than American women on the attitude subscales: Menstruation as a Natural Event and Denial of the Effects of Menstruation. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of cultural messages women receive.