Role of Health-promoting Behaviours in Minimising Mental Health Vulnerability of Middle-aged Women: Insights from Cluster Analysis.

Abstract

Background: A woman's primary concern during her middle adulthood is menopausal transition-a key aspect of her reproductive health. Although extensive research has been conducted on menopause and associated physiological and psychological changes, there remains a paucity of research on the role of health-promoting behaviours of middle-aged women in addressing their transitory state of mental health vulnerability.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to identify profiles of middle-aged women based on their health-promoting behaviours using k-means cluster analysis, (b) to explore the role of health-promoting behaviours in minimising their mental health vulnerability and (c) to examine the major confounding variables in understanding their health-promoting behaviours.

Methods: This study used a simple retrospective design with one group involving 440 Indian women selected through purposive sampling based on a degree of homogeneity of their developmental stage-middle adulthood. Two measures, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, were used along with a case history form.

Results: The k-means cluster analysis yielded three clusters based on six domains of health-promoting behaviours. The discriminant analysis confirmed that the k-means clustering results were reliable with high classification accuracy. The findings posited that health-promoting behaviours played a significant role in minimising the mental health vulnerability of middle-aged women. Further analyses showed that the three clusters of middle-aged women were confounded by their age, menstrual stage and occupation.

Conclusion: The findings shed new light on the significant association between health-promoting behaviours and mental health vulnerability of middle-aged women during menopausal transition, emphasising the need for future research in designing easily accessible tailor-made biopsychosocial interventions.