Culture and the climacteric

Abstract

Summary Two American ethnic (sub-cultural) groups of Cuban and Jewish women of comparable socio-economic status were studied in New Jersey, USA in order to show how each of their cultures influences the climacteric. A wide spectrum of cultural variables, associated with each of these ethnic groups, was obtained through a questionnaire about self-image, reproductive history, attitudes toward the menopause, climacteric symptoms, the role of the physician during the climacteric and behaviour, attitudes and feelings about sex. A further differentiation of these variables, associated with each specific ethnic group, yielded an ethnic profile from which ethnic group membership could be predicted.