Unsafe sexual practice and associated factors among adolescents in secondary schools in Gambella town, Ethiopia: a health belief model.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adolescents’ perceptions of what is socially acceptable around abstinence and condom use were significantly associated with unsafe sexual practices. In particular, low perceived social support for consistent condom use was associated with greater likelihood of unsafe sexual behavior, underscoring the importance of strengthening social environments that support condom use. The discussion […]
Psychometric validation of a novel community norms measure among youth, Eswatini Violence Against Children and Youth Survey, 2022.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates the feasibility of directly measuring community-level social norms among adolescents and young adults rather than relying on individual attitudes or beliefs as proxies. The validated measure captures both descriptive and injunctive norms, uses the community as the reference group, and focuses on unequal expectations surrounding domestic labor and […]
Landscaping the behaviors, drivers and norms influencing the wellbeing of very young adolescents: an exploration of stakeholders’ perspectives in Nigeria.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Harmful gender norms and sociocultural expectations operate across multiple areas of very young adolescents’ lives in Nigeria, reinforcing early marriage, gender-based violence, girls’ economic dependency, silence around sexuality, and vaccine hesitancy. The discussion emphasizes that these behaviors are embedded in unequal social structures and sustained by stigma, community expectations, misinformation, and […]
Spousal Concordance-Discordance in Justifying Wife Beating and Wife’s Experience of Spousal Physical Violence in India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Shared and internalized acceptance of wife-beating is closely associated with women’s experience of spousal physical violence. The findings suggest that patriarchal gender norms can normalize violence as legitimate discipline or control, while family and community expectations to “adjust” or preserve marriage may reinforce women’s tolerance of abuse. The authors emphasize addressing […]
Sexual behaviors, HIV self-testing awareness, and uptake among Young People (YP) attending a Ghanaian high school.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social and gender norms may be important barriers to HIV self-testing among young people. The discussion highlights conservative community expectations around adolescent sexuality, stigma surrounding sexual health discussions, and fear of judgment as factors that may discourage young people from requesting or being seen using HIV self-testing kits. The authors also […]
Adolescent Attitudes, Peer Norms, and Teacher Corporal Punishment in Five Sub-Saharan African Countries.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adolescents’ attitudes and their broader peer normative environments are important determinants of vulnerability to teacher corporal punishment. Schools function as “normative ecosystems”: when violent discipline is collectively accepted, it may give teachers greater social license to use it and reduce adolescents’ resistance or reporting. Legal prohibitions alone are therefore insufficient; prevention […]
Community and Health Care Provider Perspectives on Barriers to and Enablers of Family Planning Use in Rural Sindh, Pakistan: Qualitative Exploratory Study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that family planning (FP) uptake in rural Sindh is shaped by deeply rooted social and gender norms as much as by health system barriers. Norms that position men as household decision-makers, women as dependent caregivers, and large families as socially desirable limit women’s reproductive autonomy. Husbands’ and in-laws’ […]
Women’s Agency as Reason for Life Threats Among the Pashtuns in Pakistan: Narratives of Women Fleeing Honor Killing and Masculine Domination.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms tied to honor (izzat) and masculinity (ghairat) function as powerful regulatory mechanisms that legitimize violence against women who deviate from expected gender roles. The study highlights that threats of honor killing are not simply individual acts of violence but are socially sanctioned responses to perceived norm violations, particularly when […]
Can the law affect attitudes and behavior in the absence of strict enforcement? Experimental evidence from a child marriage reform in Bangladesh
Key Social Norms Takeaways: The study shows that formal laws can interact with entrenched social norms in complex and sometimes counterproductive ways. In contexts where child marriage is strongly supported by community norms and customary authorities, stricter laws may trigger backlash rather than compliance. Instead of shifting norms toward delayed marriage, legal changes—especially when perceived […]
She Is a Guest in My House: Exploring the Barriers to Asset Development and Decision-Making Autonomy Among Young Women in Southern Uganda
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Deeply entrenched patriarchal social norms in Southern Uganda—reinforced through family systems, cultural expectations, and institutional practices—systematically restrict young women’s access to assets and decision-making power. Norms positioning women as dependent “guests” in their husbands’ homes and prioritizing men as providers and decision-makers shape both structural opportunities and individual agency. Critically, the […]