Theoretical approaches to the explanation of the etiology of the premenstrual syndrome

Abstract

The premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is still a controversial phenomenon which affects 20-50% of women (DSM, 1996). Nowadays 150 different symptoms (Choi, 1994) are connected with this syndrome which is distinguished from the premenstrual dysphoriac disorder (PMDD) according to its pattern of symptoms, their seriousness and the resulting damages (DMS-IV, 1996). The article gives a short overview of the different theoretical approaches which explain the etiology of PMS. It seems that the more complex and multivariant models whose point of departure are the biological processes and the psychological and psychosocial factors in interaction would give the best explanation of the etiology of this syndrome.