Predictors of Religious Orientation Attitudes in Menopausal Women

Overview

This descriptive, cross-sectional study examines whether the severity of menopausal symptoms and attitudes toward sexual myths predict intrinsic religious orientation in menopausal women. Menopause is a multidimensional transition with biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects, and in societies with a strong cultural and religious fabric women may draw on religious orientation as a coping and meaning-making resource. Participants are healthy women aged 49 to 59 with a diagnosis of menopause and no chronic disease, recruited in Konya, Turkey. Data are collected face to face using a personal information form, the Menopause Rating Scale, the Intrinsic Religious Orientation Scale and the Sexual Myths Scale, and analysed with multiple regression.

Background: Menopause is a multidimensional transition in a woman's life with biological, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions. With increasing life expectancy, women spend roughly a third of their lives in the menopausal period. The decline in oestrogen is associated with hot flushes, sleep disturbance, mood fluctuations and sexual dysfunction, which can adversely affect quality of life. The literature emphasises that the menopause experience is shaped not only biologically but also by sociocultural factors and religious beliefs, and that religious and spiritual orientation can increase psychological resilience and reduce anxiety and stress. Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in this period, and sexuality is closely linked to lifestyle, cultural roles, religious beliefs and societal myths; low sexual awareness and adoption of sexual myths may intensify the perceived severity of menopausal symptoms. Aim: To determine the predictive effect of the physical and psychological symptoms of menopause and of attitudes toward sexual myths on the intrinsic religious orientation of menopausal women. Design and setting: Descriptive, cross-sectional design. The study population comprises healthy women aged 49 to 59 with a diagnosis of menopause and no chronic health problem, presenting to a health facility in Konya, Turkey. The sample consists of women who meet the inclusion criteria and volunteer to participate. Sample size: Calculated with G\*Power 3. For a linear multiple regression model with a medium effect size of 0.15, power of 0.95 and a Type I error of 0.05, a minimum of 89 participants is required. Allowing for a possible 10 percent data loss, 97 participants are planned. Measures: A personal information form (15 items covering sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), the Intrinsic Religious Orientation Scale and the Sexual Myths Scale. Written informed consent is obtained; author permissions for the scales are obtained by email. Data are collected face to face. Statistical analysis: Analyses are performed with IBM SPSS Statistics v29.0. Normality is assessed with visual and analytical methods (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test). Descriptive statistics are reported as mean and standard deviation or median (minimum to maximum) as appropriate. Multiple regression models are built to estimate regression coefficients and 95 percent confidence intervals for the relationships between religious orientation and age, number of pregnancies, menopause duration, menopause symptom severity and sexual myths. Group comparisons use the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests where appropriate. Significance is set at p less than 0.05. Ethics: Institutional permission and ethics approval will be obtained from the Non-Drug and Non-Medical Device Research Ethics Board of KTO Karatay University before the study begins. Written informed consent is obtained from all participants.