Examining Self-Care Behaviors and Their Associated Factors Among Adolescent Girls With Dysmenorrhea: An Application of Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory.

Purpose: To test a hypothesized model that examines the relationship between selected basic conditioning factors, self-care agency, and self-care behaviors among adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea using Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory as a framework.

Design: This was a predictive correlational study conducted with a total of 531 secondary school girls.

Methods: Self-care agency, self-care behaviors, and 11 variables that have been theoretically or empirically justified in previous studies as relevant to basic conditioning factors were selected and collected by means of structured questionnaires. Path analyses were performed to test the hypothesized linkages among variables.

Findings: Path analysis revealed that age and received menstrual education had both direct and indirect effects through self-care agency on self-care behaviors. Mother's and father's educational level, pain intensity, and self-medication used when experiencing dysmenorrhea only affected the self-care behaviors directly.

Conclusions: This is the first study that provided information about the relationship between basic conditioning factors, self-care agency, and self-care behaviors among adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea. Knowledge of the factors influencing self-care behaviors in these adolescent girls will assist healthcare professionals in developing effective interventions to promote self-care and ameliorate the adverse impact of this condition.

Clinical Relevance: Interventional strategies that aim at promoting self-care behaviors among adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea should strengthen girls' self-care agency and should target those with a younger age, higher pain intensity, mother with a higher educational level, father with a lower educational level, and those who do not take self-medication for dysmenorrhea.