Brief Report

Exploring a sample of university students’ perceptions of menstruation

Published in: Journal of Psychology in Africa
Volume 26 , issue 4 , 2016 , pages: 394–396

DOI: 10.1080/14330237.2016.1208962

Author(s): Kulthum Ismail Department of Psychology, South Africa , Athena Pedro Department of Psychology, South Africa , Michelle Andipatin Department of Psychology, South Africa

Keywords: menstruation , social construction , discourse analysis , social control , exploratory study , qualitative research , South Africa

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Abstract

This study aimed to explore how a sample of young South African women constructed their perceptions of menstruation. The sample comprised 16 racially/ethnically diverse female university students (blacks = 4, whites = 2, coloured = 8; Christians = 11; Muslims = 5; aged 18 to 23 years). They participated in one of three focus group discussions on their constructions of menstruation. Findings from the discourse analysis indicated that the women perceive social control experiences of their menstruation—even in the context of medical understandings.

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