Effect of Menopause on the Mental Health of Climacteric Women

폐경이 갱년기 여성의 정신건강에 미치는 영향

An attemption was made to estimate the effect of menopause on the mental health of climacteric women. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were questioned to 278 premenopausal women and 302 postmenopausal women. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance in each variable of menopause, age, educational level, religion and partnership of husband, and two-way analysis of variance in two variables of menopause and one of other variables. The results were summarized as follows. 1. Menopause increased the scores of validity, psychopathic deviate, hypomania and paranoia scale, but conversely decreased the score of masculinity-femininity scale. 2. The older the climacteric women were, the lower scores of masculinity-femininity scale were observed. 3. The older the premenopausal women were, the higher scores of depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, psychasthenia and schizophrenia scale were observed, on the contrary, all scores of the postmenopausal women were decreased by the increment of their ages. 4. The higher the educational level of climacteric women were, the higher scores of correction and masculinity-femininity scale were observed, but the scores of hypochondriasis, hysteria, schizophrenia and social introversion scale were decreased by the increment of their educational level. 5. The scores of hypomania scale were higher in women of Buddhism than other religions. 6. The scores of validity, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia and social introversion scale were higher in widows than women with husband.