Does going against the norm on women’s economic participation increase intimate partner violence risk? A cross-sectional, multi-national study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those governing women’s economic participation and gendered expectations around male provision—critically shape the relationship between women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and intimate partner violence (IPV). The discussion highlights that when women’s economic behaviors deviate from what is normative in their community (“vanguard” behavior), they may face increased risk of IPV […]
Exploring relationship pathways to prevent intimate partner violence among young women in Malawi.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those related to masculinity, male provision, women’s gender roles, and sexual expectations—play a central role in shaping relationship dynamics and intimate partner violence (IPV) among young women in Malawi. The study highlights that IPV is often triggered when men perceive threats to their socially expected roles (e.g., being questioned […]
Support or Interference: Relational Influences on Mother’s Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices in Ghana
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those related to infant feeding practices, gender roles, and caregiving responsibilities—play a central role in shaping exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) behaviors. Norms around infant thirst, beliefs that breastmilk alone is insufficient, and expectations that grandmothers and other relatives should guide infant feeding often lead to early introduction of water or […]
The intersection of career aspirations and family planning among women in Lagos State: a qualitative analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those related to gender roles, spousal authority, and expectations around motherhood—play a central role in shaping women’s family planning decisions in Lagos. The discussion highlights that patriarchal norms position men as primary decision-makers in reproductive matters, often limiting women’s autonomy and requiring spousal approval for contraceptive use. At the […]
Assessing the application of adapted theory of planned behaviour in predicting postpartum family planning intentions in a pragmatic randomized control trial in Western Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—captured as perceived normative beliefs and partner/community expectations—are a central driver of postpartum family planning (PPFP) intentions. The study shows that women are more likely to intend to use PPFP when they perceive approval and support from significant others (e.g., partners, family, providers). Normative beliefs operate alongside attitudes and perceived […]
Validating measurement of social norms for entertainment-education: a five-factor model
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms are multi-dimensional constructs that must be measured across distinct but related domains—descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and outcome expectations—to fully capture how they influence behavior. The study underscores that norms are not a single unified concept but operate through different pathways, including perceptions of what others do, what others approve […]
Intimate partner violence help-seeking norms: scale reliability and cross-sectional multilevel associations with intimate partner violence among youth in Nairobi, Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms related to IPV help-seeking—particularly those governing whether it is acceptable for women to disclose violence or seek formal or informal support—operate at the community level and have a stronger influence on IPV risk than individual attitudes. The discussion highlights that norms discouraging help-seeking (e.g., beliefs that reporting violence brings […]
Misperception of Norms About Intimate Partner Violence as a Driver of Personal IPV Attitudes and Perpetration: A Population-Based Study of Men in Rural Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Misperceptions of social norms—specifically overestimating the extent to which other men endorse and perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV)—play a critical role in sustaining harmful attitudes and behaviors. The discussion highlights that many men believe IPV is more socially accepted and more commonly practiced than it actually is, creating a false consensus […]
Motivations for Starting and Stopping PrEP: Experiences of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in the HPTN 082 Trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those related to gender, sexuality, and HIV stigma—are central to adolescent girls’ and young women’s (AGYW) decision-making around PrEP use, often outweighing individual risk perceptions. The discussion emphasizes that norms such as expectations of male infidelity, acceptance of condomless sex in relationships, stigma linking PrEP to HIV infection or […]
Association of fertility-related attitudes and norms among adolescent wives, husbands, and mothers-in-law with wives’ fertility desires in rural Niger
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly descriptive norms (what others do) and injunctive norms (what others approve)—play a more powerful role than individual attitudes in shaping adolescent wives’ fertility desires in rural Niger. The discussion highlights that pronatalist norms, reinforced through expectations about birth spacing and social sanctions for delaying pregnancy, constrain women’s reproductive autonomy […]