Menopausal Attitude and Symptoms in Peri and Post-Menopausal Working Women

The present study was aimed to examine working women’s attitude towards menopause and menopausal symptoms. It was hypothesized that: a) Post-menopausal women are likely to show more positive attitude towards menopause as compared to peri-menopausal women; b) there is likely to be a negative relationship between attitude towards menopause and menopausal symptoms. Eighty women with equal number of nurses and teachers were recruited from public sector colleges and hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. The sample ranged in ages between 45 - 60 years (Teachers M = 50.92, SD = 3.87; Nurses M = 49.55, SD = 3.93). Attitudes toward Menopause Scale (Shahwar & Khalid, 2003) and Greene Climacteric Survey (Greene, 1998) were used for assessment. Results revealed that nurses and post-menopausal women showed positive attitude towards menopause as compared to teachers and peri-menopausal women, respectively. Peri-menopausal women showed more severity of menopausal symptoms as compared to post-menopausal women. Positive attitude towards menopause negatively predicted menopausal symptoms. Findings highlighted the importance of psychological help for working women and that attention should be paid to change working women’s attitude towards menopause, particularly, teachers in order to reduce symptoms in them