Prof. Jeff Kiesner will be delivering a Research Seminar entitled 'Complexity, Individual Differences, and the Menstrual Cycle: Understanding Reproductive Steroid Effects on Psychology' on Wednesday 22 November at 12:15 in Room 414, Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences.
Entrance is free but a place needs to be reserved by sending an email to info.maks@um.edu.mt. Students and academics are cordially invited to attend.
Abstract
Decades of research and theory have failed to provide a coherent understanding of how menstrual cycle-related changes in reproductive-steroids influence women’s mental and physical wellness. It will be argued that this failure is the result of inadequate analytic approaches and poorly specified theories which have not considered the complexity of the relevant molecular pathways. For example, theoretical models often fail to provide any discussion regarding specific biological pathways for the hypothesized effects (e.g., tissue-specific receptors or proteins), and most studies have relied on main-effects statistical models, assuming homogeneous effects across women.
Given the extreme levels of complexity involved, these shortcomings are not surprising. Nonetheless, it is essential that we move beyond the current situation with better theories and methods. Recent theoretical and empirical work will be presented that focus on within-person modelling of multiple symptoms, involving both physical and psychological changes of the menstrual cycle.
This work provides insights regarding individual differences in response to the menstrual cycle, and provides the basis for more complex theoretical models involving multi-level causal pathways of biological, physical, psychological, behavioural, and social changes of the menstrual cycle. It will be argued that these approaches will provide additional instruments for developing a more coherent understanding of how the menstrual cycle influences both psychological and physical wellness of women.
Given the extreme levels of complexity involved, these shortcomings are not surprising. Nonetheless, it is essential that we move beyond the current situation with better theories and methods. Recent theoretical and empirical work will be presented that focus on within-person modelling of multiple symptoms, involving both physical and psychological changes of the menstrual cycle.
This work provides insights regarding individual differences in response to the menstrual cycle, and provides the basis for more complex theoretical models involving multi-level causal pathways of biological, physical, psychological, behavioural, and social changes of the menstrual cycle. It will be argued that these approaches will provide additional instruments for developing a more coherent understanding of how the menstrual cycle influences both psychological and physical wellness of women.
Speaker Profile
Prof. Jeff Kiesner is an associate professor at the University of Padova, Italy. He finished his Ph.D. in 1997 at the University of Oregon, in School Psychology. His work on reproductive psychoendocrinology is motivated by his interest in the development of affective symptoms and disorders among adolescent girls, and the possibility that the highly complex, and very individual experiences related to the menstrual cycle, may contribute to affective development. Prior to this work on the menstrual cycle he focused on social developmental issues related to peers, parents, antisocial behaviour, and substance use.