Beyond Individual-Level Theorizing in Social Norms Research: How Collective Norms and Media Access Affect Adolescents’ Use of Contraception
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study emphasizes that interventions aiming to improve adolescent contraceptive use should not only target individuals but also consider the broader collective norms of their communities. Programs should assess both the strength of local norms and the level of media access when designing strategies. Media campaigns may be especially powerful in […]
Capitalising on aspirations of adolescent girls and young women to reduce their sexual health risks: Implications for HIV prevention.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around femininity, peer status, and marriage heavily dictate what AGYW perceive as achievable or desirable. Programs must help girls reconcile short-term needs with long-term goals while addressing structural barriers and providing realistic pathways to their dreams. Objectives: This study explored the aspirations of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) […]
Associations of Attitudes and Social Norms with Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Among Married Adolescents and Their Husbands in Rural Niger: A Dyadic Cross-Sectional Study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that social norms — particularly men’s perceptions of what others believe about violence — are more strongly associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) than individual attitudes. Specifically, men who believed their communities found IPV acceptable were significantly more likely to have wives reporting IPV. This highlights that community-level […]
Attitudes, Norms, and Self-Efficacy: Examining Socio-Cognitive Correlates and Sexual Abstinence Among Ugandan Youth Ages 16–18 years, in the Slums of Kampala, Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The findings underscore the powerful role of peer and parental norms in shaping sexual behavior among Ugandan youth. Programs aiming to delay sexual initiation must go beyond providing knowledge; they should also address the social pressures and normative environments influencing young people’s choices, helping adolescents develop confidence and strategies to navigate […]
Bad girl and unmet family planning need among Sub-Saharan African adolescents: the role of sexual and reproductive health stigma
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gendered social norms that shame adolescent girls for being sexually active are central to the stigma they face. These norms create major barriers to accessing family planning and must be directly challenged through stigma-reduction strategies. Objectives: This study examined how sexual and reproductive health (SRH) stigma affects adolescent girls’ ability to […]
Barriers to accessing maternal health care amongst pregnant adolescents in South Africa: a qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates how entrenched social norms surrounding adolescent sexuality and gender roles in South Africa create significant barriers to accessing maternal health care for pregnant adolescents. Norms that frame adolescent pregnancy as shameful and deviant—particularly outside of marriage—generate fear, guilt, and stigma, which young women internalize. These norms are reinforced […]
Approaches to Regulating Adolescent Sexual Behavior in Ghana: Qualitative Evidence from Somanya and Adidome
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how collective community norms — especially informal surveillance and shared social responsibility — play a key role in delaying adolescent sexual behavior. In Adidome, strong communal norms and active neighborhood monitoring contributed to lower HIV rates, while in Somanya, weakened cultural practices and lower community cohesion were linked […]
Area-Level Normative Social Context and Intimate Partner Physical Violence in Mozambique
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that normative social contexts—particularly community-level religious norms, early marriage practices, and female education—significantly shape both women’s acceptance of spousal abuse and their risk of experiencing intimate partner physical violence (IPV) in Mozambique. The findings highlight that religious norms in some contexts may protect against IPV acceptance, while early […]
Association of collective attitudes and contraceptive practice in nine sub-Saharan African countries
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community-level gender norms—specifically permissive attitudes toward premarital sex and accepting attitudes toward wife-beating—significantly influence contraceptive use and demand satisfaction among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Permissive norms are associated with greater contraceptive use, while norms accepting wife-beating are linked to lower use. Addressing these norms is key to improving reproductive health outcomes. […]
Associations between village-level norms on marital age and marital choice outcomes among adolescent wives in rural Niger.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that addressing early and forced marriage in Niger requires shifting the broader social environment — particularly the norms among men that shape marital practices — rather than only focusing on girls’ empowerment or individual beliefs. While engaging men is crucial for changing norms, interventions must be designed carefully […]