THE EFFECTS OF THE MENSTRUATION PERIOD ON THE PERCEPTION OF AGING VIA IMITATION OF MENOPAUSE

It was aimed to determine the effects of menopause and menstruation on women's aging perception in this study. This study was conducted in August 2019 with 66 female participants (living in the province of Adana in Turkey; selected from 79 females). In this study, it was found that the perception of aging emerged as a result of the participants' comparison and internalization of the information obtained from the elderly people and themselves who exposed to the symptoms of aging. The relationship between menstruation and the perception of aging was weak, while menopause was associated with the perception of aging. According to the participants who think that menopause and menstruation are related to aging, aging is a decline process. Women imitate the people around them regarding menopause and aging perception. The ability of menopause to imitate the effect of menstruation on aging perception was determined. It was revealed that menopause had the ability to imitate the perception of aging in women through cognitive learning. The ability to imitate was determined by the effect of menstruation symptoms on the perception of aging. The limitation of the sample to the province of Adana limited the generalizability of the study. This is the first study that reveals the effects of the menstruation period on the perception of aging and imitation of menopause. Theoretical background, discussion, managerial implications, limitations and recommendations for future studies are discussed.

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