| dc.description.abstract | The present study examined whether duration of oral contraceptive (OC)
use could account for the inconsistent findings of previous studies on the
relationship between affect and OC use. This study was the first to examine
positive affect variability and to directly compare early, late, and never users of
OCs, The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Menstrual
Distress Questionnaire (MDQ) were filled out daily for 35 days by 9 6 female
university students (17 first-time OC users, 34 long-time users, and 45 neverusers).
Despite predictions to the contrary, no group differences were found
for negative affect, positive affect, or affect variability. However, exploratory
analyses suggested that OC type (monophasic vs. triphasic) has a differential
effect on positive affect variability across the menstrual cycle for first-time and
long-time OC users. Neither somatic symptoms or somatic symptom variability
could entirely account for these differences. The overall findings suggest that
while no common change in affect or affect variability occurs in all women
taking OCs, OC type (a pharmacological factor), duration of use, and individual
difference variables may warrant further exploration as mediating variables in
OC-related affect changes. Finally, while the main results found no support for
the role of the “survivor effect" as an artifactual confound, the results of an
exploratory comparison suggest that for specific groups of women, it may be
a confound. | |
