Comparative Analysis of Depression, Anxiety and Stress across Menstrual Cycle Phases among Young Adult Females

Abstract

 The present study investigated differences in depression, anxiety, and stress across the premenstrual, menstrual, and postmenstrual phases of the menstrual cycle among young adult females in Pakistan. A purposive sample of 25 young adult females (N = 25) aged 18 to 30 years was recruited from a university setting. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) was administered at three time points corresponding to the premenstrual (days 21–28), menstrual (days 1–5), and postmenstrual (days 6–13) phases. Three one-way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted. Results revealed that psychological symptom severity was consistently highest during the menstrual phase and lowest during the postmenstrual phase across all three constructs. Statistically significant phase differences were confirmed for depression, F (2, 48) = 12.91, p < .001; anxiety, F (2, 48) = 9.61, p = .0003; and stress, F (2, 48) = 15.26, p < .001. Findings are interpreted within a neurobiological framework emphasizing estrogen and progesterone modulation of serotonergic, GABAergic, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning. The study contributes original empirical evidence to Pakistani women's mental health research with implications for clinical assessment, university counselling, and public health policy.