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Cycles of shame: menstrual shame, body shame, and sexual decision-making

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2005 by Deborah Schooler, L. Monique Ward, Ann Merriweather, Allison S. Caruthers

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Menstrual Attitudes and Sexual Decision-Making

Our first research question examined whether menstrual attitudes related directly to sexual decision-making. We conducted partial correlational analyses between the three menstrual attitude subscales and the four sexual decision-making outcomes, controlling for relevant demographic correlates (maternal education, being Asian, and religiosity). As expected, women who endorsed more negative attitudes toward menstruation reported significantly less sexual assertiveness, r (165) = -.40, p < .001, and condom use self-efficacy, r (175) = -.30, p < .001. Women who endorsed more openness about menstruation reported significantly more sexual assertiveness, r (165) = .26, p < .001, more sexual experience, r (142) = .17, p < .05, and greater condom use self-efficacy, r (175) = .17, p < .05. Expressing positive feelings about menstruation was unrelated to any of the sexual outcome measures. As expected, women's attitudes toward menstruation were significantly related to sexual assertiveness, sexual experience, and sexual risk. Because no direct associations were found between positive feelings about menstruation and the sexual outcome variables, this subscale was excluded from future analyses examining the possible mediation of direct relationships.

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Menstrual Attitudes and Body Shame

Our second research question examined the first path of the mediational model. To examine whether attitudes toward menstruation predicted body shame, we conducted partial correlational analyses between the two menstrual attitude subscales and the two body shame measures, controlling for relevant demographic correlates (maternal education, being Asian, and religiosity). As expected, women who endorsed more negative attitudes toward menstruation reported experiencing more body image self-consciousness, r (174) = .34, p [less than or equal to] .001, and less body comfort, r (180) = -.41, p [less than or equal to] .001. At the same time, women who endorsed more open attitudes toward menstruation reported experiencing less body image self-consciousness, r (174) = -.16, p [less than or equal to] .05, and more body comfort, r (180) = .24, p [less than or equal to] .001. Thus, as expected, women's attitudes toward menstruation were significantly connected with their general levels of comfort with their bodies.

Shame and Sexual Behavior

Our next research question examined the second path of the mediated model, investigating whether body shame related to sexual decision-making. Accordingly, we ran partial correlations between the two body shame measures and the four sexual outcomes (Sexual Assertiveness, Sexual Experience, Sexual Risk, and Condom Self-Efficacy), controlling for relevant demographics (maternal education, being Asian, and religiosity). As expected, greater body comfort predicted higher levels of sexual assertiveness, r (165) = .55, p < .001, higher levels of sexual experience, r (142) = .20, p < .05, lower levels of risky sexual behavior r (108) = -.19, p < .05, and greater condom use self-efficacy, r (176) = .51, p < .001. Conversely, greater body image self-consciousness predicted lower levels of sexual assertiveness, r (164) = -.55, p < .001, lower levels of sexual experience, r (137) = -.18, p < .05, and lower condom use self-efficacy, r (170) = -,48, p < .001. Therefore, as predicted, body shame was significantly connected with women's sexual attitudes and behaviors.

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Cycles of shame: menstrual shame, body shame, and sexual decision-making

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2005 by Deborah Schooler, L. Monique Ward, Ann Merriweather, Allison S. Caruthers

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