Anxiety, depression and perseverative cognition in women cycling naturally or taking oral contraceptives – a diary study

StatusPost-Print
Simple item page
cris.lastimport.scopus2025-12-17T04:11:08Z
dc.abstract.enBackground While the literature is inconsistent about the link between anxiety and oral contraceptives (OC), the link between depression and OC is recognized in women who started OC during adolescence. Perseverative cognition is a stress-coping mechanism present both in anxiety and depression. Our study aimed to understand the differences between women taking OC and naturally cycling (NC) women regarding their daily levels of anxiety, depression, related negative factors (perseverative cognition and stress), and protective factors (self-esteem and life satisfaction). Methods The study was conducted on 89 adult women (M age = 26.60, SD = 4.65) (48 – OC; 41 – NC) who participated in a 15-day online diary study divided into 3 phases throughout one menstrual cycle. The women using OC were further classified according to the androgenicity of their OC (androgenic and anti-androgenic). The participants were sent an email in the evening with questionnaires they had to complete on the same day. The daily measures were taken from existing trait-level scales and adapted for daily administration. The analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modeling, with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results There were no differences between groups in daily levels of anxiety, perseverative cognition, and stress. However, anti-androgenic OC users had higher levels of daily depression than NC women in the three menstrual cycle phases tested for, while androgenic OC users had higher levels of daily depression than NC women in two phases. Both groups of women taking OC had lower levels of daily self-esteem than NC women in all three phases. Androgenic OC users had higher daily satisfaction with life than anti-androgenic OC users in one testing phase. Conclusions OC users had higher daily levels of depression and lower daily levels of self-esteem than NC women. Future studies could explore the link between depression and the different types of OC in adult women, especially with longitudinal methods.
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii w Warszawie
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorKowalczyk, Melanie
dc.contributor.authorKornacka, Monika
dc.contributor.authorKrejtz, Izabela
dc.date.access2025-10-21
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-21T11:56:46Z
dc.date.available2025-10-21T11:56:46Z
dc.date.created2025-09-08
dc.date.issued2025-10-14
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.grantnumber2020/37/N/HS6/02571
dc.description.granttitleThe relationship between the menstrual cycle, anxiety and cognitive functioning – moderating role of oral contraceptives
dc.description.issue1
dc.description.physical1-13
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.description.volume13
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s40359-025-03437-x
dc.identifier.issn2050-7283
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/1886
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-025-03437-x
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_REPOSITORY
dc.subject.enAnxiety
dc.subject.enDepression
dc.subject.enMenstrual cycle
dc.subject.enOral contraceptives
dc.subject.enDaily diary
dc.subject.enPerseverative cognition
dc.subject.enSelf-esteem
dc.subject.enSatisfaction with life
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleAnxiety, depression and perseverative cognition in women cycling naturally or taking oral contraceptives – a diary study
dc.title.journalBMC Psychology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle