Mirhoseyni, F., Demehri, F., Azizi, M. · Journal of Child Mental Health · 2024
EFT had a significant effect on reduction of menstrual pain (P>0.002, as reported) and emotional regulation (cognitive reappraisal P<0.01, F=24.142; suppression P<0.01, F=21.272).
If tapping keeps easing menstrual pain and helping teenagers regulate difficult emotions, it could give adolescent girls — whose menstrual pain is often dismissed or under-treated — a private, no-cost skill they can use themselves rather than relying on medication alone. Because it's self-taught, a teenager doesn't need a parent's help, a prescription, or a clinic visit to use it the next time symptoms hit.
Menstrual pain has a real inflammatory and hormonal signature, so the next study should see whether tapping's effect on pain tracks with prostaglandin levels or inflammatory markers, not just the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Actigraphy could capture whether better emotional regulation translates into less pain-disrupted sleep during the cycle, and a multi-cycle design would show whether the benefit builds or fades with repeated use across several periods.
| Design | Randomized trial |
|---|---|
| Participants | 30 people |
| Population | adolescent girls aged 12-18 in Yazd, Iran |
| Comparison group | control group (n=15) vs experimental group (n=15) |
| Effect size | Cohen's d = -1.03 — on menstrual pain intensity (Persian McGill Pain Questionnaire, higher=worse), EFT vs control (between-group), post-intervention; EFT lower. Computed from Table 1 (EFT 28.20±7.80 vs control 36.60±8.50, n=15/arm). Paper reports a covariate-adjusted MANCOVA partial eta-squared (~0.68) |
| Outcome measures | McGill Pain Questionnaire (Persian version, MPQ), cognitive reappraisal and suppression measures |
| Journal | Journal of Child Mental Health |
| Year | 2024 |
| Country | Iran |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / Tapping |
| Publication type | Study / trial |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Mirhoseyni, F., Demehri, F., & Azizi, M. (2024). The effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Technique on menstrual pain and emotional regulation in female students. Journal of Child Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.52547/jcmh.11.3.6
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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