The Tapping Evidence Base
Other Physical Conditions

The effects of Emotional Freedom Techniques on coping with premenstrual syndrome: A randomized controlled trial

Bakır, N., Irmak Vural, P., Körpe, G. · Perspectives in Psychiatric Care · 2021

Randomized trial👥 50 participants⚖️ vs. control groupModerate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 Turkey
In plain English. Fifty nursing students with significant premenstrual syndrome symptoms were randomized to learn EFT or serve as controls. The EFT group showed significant improvement across most PMS symptom categories, including mood, fatigue, and sleep issues. This is a modest-sized randomized trial supporting EFT as a quick, low-cost self-treatment option for PMS symptoms.

What they found

50
people took part

Statistically significant differences were found between pretest and posttest for the depressive affect, fatigue, nervousness, sleep-related changes, and swelling subscale scores and the total PMSS score of the experimental group (p<0.05).

How the study worked

Who took partnursing students scoring 111 or higher on the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS) (n=50)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withcontrol group
Measured withPremenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS) and subscales (depressive affect, fatigue, nervousness, sleep-related changes, swelling)

💡 Where this could help

Picture a nursing student whose PMS symptoms — mood swings, fatigue, poor sleep — pile onto an already demanding schedule. If this finding holds up in bigger studies, it points toward a technique learned once and then hers to use for free, every month, with no doctor's visit or prescription required.

🔬 What to study next

As an earlier companion to related PMS research, this study would benefit from tracking hormonal and inflammatory markers across the cycle alongside the existing symptom scales, to see whether tapping's effect on fatigue, mood, and sleep is accompanied by measurable shifts in the body's stress and hormonal systems. Testing whether benefits compound with repeated use across successive cycles would also clarify whether this is a short-term coping tool or a durable, cumulative one.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants50 people
Populationnursing students scoring 111 or higher on the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS)
Comparison groupcontrol group
Outcome measuresPremenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS) and subscales (depressive affect, fatigue, nervousness, sleep-related changes, swelling)
JournalPerspectives in Psychiatric Care
Year2021
CountryTurkey
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source
Verification note. Wiley's listing shows this as Perspectives in Psychiatric Care 58(4):1502-1511, and some indexes date the formal issue as 2022 vs the record's 2021 (likely online-first vs print-issue date). Year field left unchanged per instructions (only effect_size/n corrections authorized).

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Bakır, N., Irmak Vural, P., & Körpe, G. (2021). The effects of Emotional Freedom Techniques on coping with premenstrual syndrome: A randomized controlled trial. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12957

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Other Physical Conditions

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Other Physical Conditions 50 participants WHAT THEY FOUND Statistically significant differences werefound between pretest and posttest for thedepressive affect, fatigue… Randomized trial · 50 participants Bakır · 2021 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com