Menstruation after menarche is a multidimensional experience affecting adolescents' quality of life, school attendance, and psychological adjustment. Educational and awareness-based interventions improve menstrual knowledge, attitudes, and coping behaviors; however, randomized controlled trials evaluating hybrid body awareness-based interventions are limited. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a hybrid body awareness-based intervention on menstrual symptoms, menstrual attitudes, and self-regulation levels in post-menarche adolescent girls.
Menstrual experience in adolescence includes physiological, cognitive, and emotional components. Negative menstrual attitudes have been associated with increased symptom perception and poorer coping strategies. Educational interventions have been shown to improve menstrual health awareness and behaviors. Body awareness and self-regulation are psychological constructs that may influence menstrual experience and symptom management. However, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials examining hybrid (face-to-face and online) body awareness-based interventions targeting menstrual outcomes. This randomized controlled study will evaluate the effectiveness of a 4-week hybrid body awareness-based intervention program on menstrual symptoms, menstrual attitudes, and self-regulation levels in adolescent girls within 1-2 years after menarche.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
180
The intervention includes menstrual education, body awareness exercises, emotional awareness, and self-regulation strategies delivered through a structured 4-session program.
Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Health Practice and Research Hospital
Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye)
Menstrual Symptoms
Measure: Menstrual Symptom Subscale;All items in the Symptom section are reverse-coded, and each subscale is scored separately; no total score is calculated. Higher subscale scores indicate a more favorable condition, reflecting reduced symptom severity. The possible score ranges are 5-25 for physical symptoms, 4-20 for emotional symptoms, and 2-10 for eating behavior. The scale is rated on a five-point Likert type (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree). In the original reliability study, Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the subscales were 0.76, 0.76, and 0.76, and McDonald's omega was 0.87. In the present study, Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated as 0.85, 0.84, and 0.86, respectively.
Time frame: Time Frame: Baseline and 4 weeks
Menstrual Attitudes
Measure: Menstrual Attitude Subscale; The Attitude section consists of 19 items and four subscales: perception of menstruation, discomfort and concealment, emotions, and perceiving menstruation as an indicator of health. Items 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 are reverse-coded in this section. Higher subscale scores indicate more positive attitudes. The possible score ranges are 8-40 for perception of menstruation, 5-25 for discomfort and concealment, 3-15 for emotions, and 3-15 for perceiving menstruation as an indicator of health. The sections of the scale can be used separately or together, and each subscale is evaluated independently to determine the level of menstrual symptoms and attitudes. In the original reliability study, Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the subscales were 0.76, 0.69, 0.65, and 0.70, and McDonald's omega was 0.83. In the present study, Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated as 0.90, 0.84, 0.89, and 0.95, respectively.
Time frame: Time Frame: Baseline and 4 weeks
Self-Regulation Level
Measure: Adolescent Self-Regulation Scale; The Self-Regulation Skills Scale (minimum-maximum score: 11-55; higher scores indicate better self-regulation) was developed to assess adolescents' self-regulation skills. The scale consists of 11 items and has a unidimensional structure. Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). In the original reliability study, Cronbach's alpha was 0.90, McDonald's omega was 0.89, and the Composite Reliability (CR) was 0.89. The test-retest correlation was 0.78, indicating temporal stability. In the present study, Cronbach's alpha was calculated as 0.92.
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Time frame: Time Frame: Baseline and 4 weeks