DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED GENDER ROLES AND MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN

Purpose: The research was conducted to determine the relationship between perceived gender roles and menopausal symptoms in women. Methods: The research was designed in descriptive type and was carried out in family centers in Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 465 women. Data were collected using Personal Information Form, Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and BEM Gender Roles Inventory (BSRI). Research data were evaluated with SPSS 27 and descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney U test were used. Results: Women's MRS total mean score was 17.45 +/- 8.37, somatic complaints mean score was 6.39 +/- 3.50, psychological complaints mean score was 7.31 +/- 3.75, urogenital complaints mean score was 3,74 +/- 2,77. It was determined that 48.2% of the women participating adopted the androgynous role. A statistically significant difference was found between the MRS urogenital complaints sub-dimension mean scores according to the gender roles adopted by the women participating(p=0.024<0.05). The mean urogenital complaints sub-dimension score of women who perceive themselves as masculine was found to be statistically significantly lower than the other gender role groups. Conclusion: It has been determined that women who describe themselves as masculine experience less urogenital complaints from menopausal symptoms than women who describe themselves as feminine, androgynous and ambiguous.