van Tilburg M A L, Becht M C, Vingerhoets A J
Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2003 Dec;24(4):247-55. doi: 10.3109/01674820309074689.
Crying is generally associated with distress and discomfort, and is also part of the premenstrual syndrome in women. The present studies focussed on crying fluctuations during the menstrual cycle. First, a retrospective cross-cultural study of women from 33 different countries (n = 2447) was conducted. Crying proneness reportedly increased before menstruation, with remarkable cross-cultural differences. Women who were using oral contraceptives (OC) reported largely the same pattern of results as women who were not using OC. In a second study, 82 Dutch students kept a crying and mood diary for two consecutive menstrual cycles. During no phase of the menstrual cycle did actual crying episodes or crying proneness increase, although significant changes in mood were reported. Given the large cross-cultural differences on the one hand, and the remarkable correspondence between the self-reports of those using OC and those who did not use them on the other, it is concluded that the role of female sex hormone fluctuations in crying has to be questioned. Rather, it seems more likely that fluctuations in self-reported crying are based on implicit theories about the relationship between the menstrual cycle, mood and crying.
哭泣通常与痛苦和不适相关，也是女性经前综合征的一部分。目前的研究聚焦于月经周期中的哭泣波动情况。首先，对来自33个不同国家的女性（n = 2447）进行了一项回顾性跨文化研究。据报道，哭泣倾向在月经前会增加，且存在显著的跨文化差异。使用口服避孕药（OC）的女性报告的结果模式与未使用OC的女性基本相同。在第二项研究中，82名荷兰学生连续两个月经周期记录哭泣和情绪日记。尽管报告称情绪有显著变化，但在月经周期的任何阶段，实际哭泣次数或哭泣倾向均未增加。鉴于一方面存在较大的跨文化差异，另一方面使用OC者与未使用者的自我报告之间存在显著对应关系，得出的结论是，女性性激素波动在哭泣中所起的作用值得质疑。相反，自我报告的哭泣波动似乎更有可能基于关于月经周期、情绪和哭泣之间关系的隐性理论。
