Psychological well-being of midlife women: a structural equation modeling approach

OBJECTIVE: Women experience menopause at approximately 50 to 52 years of age, when reproductive aging causes various somatic, psychological, and urogenital symptoms. Women's changing lifestyles and increasing lifespan make it difficult to pinpoint the factors affecting their well-being during menopause, warranting continuous research in this field. Therefore, this study developed a structural equation model, based on the transactional model of stress and coping, to test the significance of positive and negative factors associated with psychological health during menopause. METHODS: This study validated a structural equation model based on the empirical data collected using a crosssectional study. We analyzed 300 questionnaire responses completed between May 15 and July 10, 2020, by South Korean middle-aged women (aged 45-60 y) who agreed to participate. The study's structural equation model used self-efficacy as an exogenous variable and perceived stress, menopausal management, self-compassion, menopausal symptoms, and psychological well-being as endogenous variables. Educational and economic levels were set as control variables. RESULTS: We observed statistical support for 9 out of 10 hypotheses; the predictor variables had an explanatory power of 79.5% for psychological well-being. Self-efficacy was positively associated with the psychological wellbeing of middle-aged menopausal women and appeared to be mediated by perceived stress, menopausal management, menopausal symptoms, and self-compassion. CONCLUSIONS: To improve the psychological well-being of middle-aged women, it is important to increase their self-efficacy and minimize stress. Moreover, managing menopausal symptoms and increasing self-compassion through effective coping may maximize psychological well-being. VIDEO SUMMARY: http://links.lww.com/MENO/A933.