A Qualitative Study of Women’s Self-Concept During Menopause

Kelly, Leanne (2020) A Qualitative Study of Women’s Self-Concept During Menopause. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Background and Aims: Much like puberty in adolescents, the mid-life transition to menopause by women is characterized by many physical, social and psychological changes. Previous research has investigated various aspects of women’s experience of and attitudes towards menopause, but little qualitative research has examined women’s self-concept during this phase. There is also limited research surrounding menopause in general within an Irish context. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore Irish women’s experience of the menopausal transition and to understand if and how their experience has impacted their self-concept.
Method: Participants who had experienced symptoms associated with the natural menopause transition in the previous two years were recruited via convenience sampling (N = 10). All participants were Irish, and their ages ranged from 43-54 years (M = 49.70, SD = 3.65). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant which included questions relating to various dimensions of women’s self-concept (e.g. self-esteem and body-image). The data were analysed with adherence to Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six phases of thematic analysis.
Results: Four key themes were identified: (i) Loss of identity, womanhood and control, (ii) Negative self-appraisal, (iii) Impact of menopause and self-concept on quality of life, (iv) Positive changes in self-concept; a time for self-compassion and self-acceptance. Conclusions: The experience of menopause is unique to every woman. The negative impact that the experience can have on one’s self-concept should be considered by health care practitioners to maximize support for women during this significant developmental period.
Keywords: Menopause; self-concept; identity; self-image; body-image; thematic analysis

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine > Personal Health and Hygiene
Divisions:	School of Business > BA (Honours) in Psychology
Depositing User:	Mr Kevin Loughran
Date Deposited:	26 May 2021 15:00
Last Modified:	26 May 2021 15:00
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/4857

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