The Tapping Evidence Base
Other Physical Conditions · Anxiety

The effect of emotional freedom technique on premenstrual syndrome, menstrual symptoms and quality of life experienced by nursing students: a randomized controlled trial

Yakici, T., Yagcan, H. · Archives of Women's Mental Health · 2026

Randomized trial 👥 80 participants ⚖️ vs. No intervention 📈 Cohen's -1.47 (large) Moderate rigor ✓ Source-checked 📍 Turkiye
In plain English. Eighty nursing students with PMS were randomly split between weekly Tapping sessions for two cycles or no treatment. The Tapping group ended up with far lower PMS and menstrual-symptom scores and better mental quality of life, a large between-group difference.

What they found

Cohen's = -1.47
a large effect · on premenstrual syndrome (PMSS total), EFT vs no-intervention control, post-test; c
small moderate large
0 0.5 0.8 2.5
Eighty nursing students with PMS were randomly split between weekly Tapping sessions for two cycles or no treatment.

RCT (n=80): after ~8 weekly individual EFT sessions across two menstrual cycles, the EFT group scored significantly lower than control on PMS (113.7 vs 149.4, p<0.001), menstrual symptoms (55.4 vs 79.1, p<0.001) and distress (SUDS 3.5 vs 5.7, p<0.001); SF-12 mental component improved significantly, physical component did not. Baseline scores were equivalent.

How the study worked

Who took part Female nursing students with PMS, Dokuz Eylul University; randomized 40 EFT (weekly individual sessions over two cycles / ~8 weeks) vs 40 no-intervention control. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06557070. (n=80)
What they did In a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared with No intervention
Measured with Premenstrual Syndrome Scale, Menstrual Symptom Scale, SUDS, SF-12

💡 Where this could help

Adds a registered women's-health RCT with a genuine between-group effect for the premenstrual/menstrual-symptom story.

🔬 What to study next

Replication against an active (attention) control rather than a no-intervention arm.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants80 people
PopulationFemale nursing students with PMS, Dokuz Eylul University; randomized 40 EFT (weekly individual sessions over two cycles / ~8 weeks) vs 40 no-intervention control. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06557070.
Comparison groupNo intervention
Effect sizeCohen's d = -1.47 — on premenstrual syndrome (PMSS total), EFT vs no-intervention control, post-test; computed from published post-test means/SDs (EFT 113.7 +/- 24 vs control 149.43 +/- 24.71, n=40/40). Menstrual Symptom Scale post-test d ~ -1.98; SUDS d ~ -1.67. Baseline scores were equivalent (p=0.134).
Outcome measuresPremenstrual Syndrome Scale, Menstrual Symptom Scale, SUDS, SF-12
JournalArchives of Women's Mental Health
Year2026
CountryTurkiye
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / Tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Yakici, T., & Yagcan, H. (2026). The effect of emotional freedom technique on premenstrual syndrome, menstrual symptoms and quality of life experienced by nursing students: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of Women's Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-026-01732-z

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 · Anxiety

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Other Physical Conditions Cohen's -1.47 large effect WHAT THEY FOUND RCT (n=80): after ~8 weekly individual EFTsessions across two menstrual cycles, theEFT group scored significantly… Randomized trial · 80 participants Yakici · 2026 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com