Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-reported climacteric symptoms and self concept of middle-aged women.
Methods : Study subjects were 102 middle-aged women between 40-59 years of age living in P city. The instruments used in this study were the climacteric symptoms scale developed by Neugarten and self concept scale developed by Rosenberg. Data were collected from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, 2000 by a structured questionnaire. The Data were analyzed by the SPSS/PC＋ program using t-test. ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient.
Results : The results of the study were as follows ; 1. Mean score of climacteric symptoms was 0.72. 2. There were statistically significant differences in the score of middle-aged women’s self reported climacteric symptoms according to age(F=3.13. p ≶ 0.05), and times of pregnancy (F=3.24, p ≶ 0.05). 3. Mean score of self concept was 23.57. 4. There were significant differences in the score of middle-aged women’s self concept according to age(F=3.41, p ≶ 0.05), education leve(F=3.97, p ≶ 0.05) and occupation (t=1.84. p ≶ 0.05). 5. There was a significantly negative correlation between self reported climacteric symptoms and self esteem (r= -0.4862, p ≶ 0.001).
Conclusion : This study revealed that self-reported climacteric symptoms are important factor related to self-concept of middle-aged women. It is suggested that a specific nursing intervention it should be provided to relieve climacteric symptoms for more positive self-concept.
|