Investigation of Psychological Symptoms, Depression, and Anxiety Levels of Women with and without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.8 Issue.2

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.2.01

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

Investigation of Psychological Symptoms, Depression, and Anxiety Levels of Women with and without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Polikistik Over Sendromu Tanısı Alan ve Almayan Kadınların Psikolojik Belirti, Depresyon ve Anksiyete Düzeylerinin İncelenmesi

Merve Karafistan¹ , Sözen İnak Gönyeli²

Abstract:

The study employed a causal comparison design to examine differences in psychological symptoms, depression, and anxiety levels between women diagnosed with PCOS and those without the diagnosis. The sample consisted of women aged 18–50 living in the TRNC, totaling 824 participants. Of these, 412 were women who reported having previously been diagnosed with PCOS by a physician, while 412 had no PCOS diagnosis. Due to limited access to the PCOS group, purposive sampling was used for this group, and convenience sampling was applied for the control group to facilitate participation. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Information Form, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and SCL-90-R. The data were analyzed with SPSS 26.0. Findings indicated that women diagnosed with PCOS had significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and overall psychological symptoms than those without PCOS. Model analyses showed that 66.9% of the variation in depression levels was explained by general symptom level, anxiety level, and PCOS diagnosis. Additionally, women with PCOS scored higher on the Beck Anxiety Inventory and on the somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, hostility, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism subscales of the SCL-90-R compared to the control group. Within-group effects and multiple comparison tests also demonstrated significantly higher depression levels among women diagnosed with PCOS. Overall, these findings suggest that PCOS has a notable impact on psychological well-being and highlight the need for further comprehensive research on this relationship.

Keywords: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Psychological symptoms, Depression, Anxiety.

¹Cyprus American University, Faculty of Education, Department of Psychology, Nicosia, TRN, Cyprus.

²European University of Lefke, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, Lefke, TRN, Cyprus.

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Merve Karafistan, Cyprus American University, Nicosia- Güzelyurt Road, Alayköy, Nicosia, TRN Cyprus, E-mail: [email protected].

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 14.07.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 22.12.2025, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi:05.01.2026, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 15.06.2026

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Karafistan, M. & İnak Gönyeli, S. (2026). Investigation of psychological symptoms, depression, and anxiety levels of women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome, Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 8(2), 112-121, Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.2.01

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/