Michelle M Gagnon

Many adolescents experience severe pain during menstruation, yet their attempts to receive medical attention to alleviate or manage this pain are often met with dismissal or disbelief. In light of these barriers to care, many adolescents turn to social media to share their experiences with menstruation and pain, as well as hear from other members of their community. In this study, we investigated how adolescents present their experiences with menstruation in vlogs (or “video blogs”). Using critical qualitative methods and a four-column analysis structure, we transcribed and thematically analyzed the audio and video content of 17 YouTube vlogs wherein adolescents described their experiences with menstrual pain. We found that stylistically, the vloggers modulated between a polished documentary style and an intimate storytime style of video production. We additionally found that vloggers spoke about their menstrual pain experiences from three perspectives: as a Patient managing and diagnosing physical symptoms, as a Self considering how the pain affects their life and ambitions, and as a Teacher educating their audience. Considering both the visual and audio data, we discuss how healthcare providers can use these findings to inform their approach to discussing menstrual pain with adolescents. We further discuss possible future directions for research into health story sharing on social media.

Although rarely examined together, ADHD, emotional regulation (ER), and dysmenorrhea may be associated, which could create additive burdens on psychological well-being (PWB). Clinicians working with ADHD populations may need to take these challenges into consideration to maximize treatment outcomes. This study investigated the relationships among ADHD, dysmenorrhea, ER, and PWB within a sample of 266 adult females with a self-reported ADHD diagnosis. ADHD symptom severity was positively correlated with dysmenorrhea severity, but ER skills were not a significant moderator of this relationship. ADHD symptom severity was negatively correlated with PWB; however, this relationship was not moderated by dysmenorrhea severity nor ER ability. Overall, a positive association between ADHD symptom severity and dysmenorrhea severity was found in our sample. Further research is needed to understand the nature of this association, as well as factors that may contribute to PWB among individuals with these comorbid conditions.