HIV Testing Uptake in a Sexual and Reproductive Health Service for Youth and Impact on Population-Level Prevalence of Undiagnosed HIV in Zimbabwe.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those related to gender, sexual behavior, and violence—operate as important community-level determinants of HIV outcomes among youth, influencing both access to testing and the likelihood of remaining undiagnosed. The discussion highlights that harmful norms, including stigma around HIV and sexual activity and norms tolerating violence against women, can discourage […]
Social network diffusion effects of an intimate partner violence prevention program in rural Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly injunctive norms around gender roles, violence acceptability, and help-seeking—are highly responsive to diffusion through social networks and can shift at the community level even among individuals not directly exposed to an intervention. The discussion highlights that normative change spreads beyond close interpersonal ties and may operate as a broader […]
Enablers of and barriers to ART adherence among female sex workers in mid-western Uganda: a qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly subjective norms such as peer approval, social support, stigma, and expectations around disclosure—play a critical role in shaping antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among female sex workers (FSWs). The discussion highlights that supportive norms (e.g., encouragement from peers, seeing others adhere to ART, and acceptance following disclosure) can enable adherence, […]
Disability and Bullying Victimization Among Adolescents in Nepal: The Influence of Community Gender Norms
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community gender norms—particularly those reinforcing gender inequality, violence acceptability, and rigid gender roles—shape adolescents’ vulnerability to bullying by influencing how “difference” (such as disability) is perceived and sanctioned. The discussion highlights that bullying operates as a mechanism for enforcing social norms, where adolescents with disabilities are seen as deviating from dominant […]
You are looked upon as a luxury tool’: Young Tanzanian women’s perception of community norms supporting partner violence during transactional sex (kudanga)
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms surrounding transactional sex (kudanga) in Tanzania both stigmatize women and normalize their subordination, creating a paradox where the practice is widely condemned yet structurally reinforced. The discussion highlights that norms rooted in gender inequality—such as expectations that men provide and women reciprocate with sex—legitimize male control, constrain women’s agency, […]
Adaptation of the G-NORM (Gender norms scale) in Uganda: An examination of how gender norms are associated with reproductive health decision-making
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gender norms are multifaceted, context-specific social norms that shape women’s reproductive health decision-making, and must be measured as distinct but related constructs—particularly descriptive norms (what people do) and injunctive norms (what people believe should be done). The discussion highlights that injunctive norms may shift more quickly than descriptive norms and are […]
The paradox of enhancing male involvement in family planning uptake in rural Tanzania: insights from Bahi District, Dodoma Region
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Deeply embedded social norms—including gender role inequalities, stigma around male participation in reproductive health, and expectations that family planning (FP) is a woman’s responsibility—significantly limit male involvement in FP uptake. These norms are reinforced by peer practices (e.g., traditional gatherings), taboos around discussing sexual health, and patriarchal decision-making structures. Additionally, myths, […]
Measurement of social norms for entertainment-education
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms are central to how entertainment-education (EE) programs influence behavior, but their measurement requires nuanced, multidimensional tools. This study demonstrates that descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and outcome expectations can be empirically distinguished and measured with moderate reliability, highlighting that norms are shaped by reference groups and perceived social rewards or […]
Measuring social norms related to child marriage among married women and men in Niger
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms surrounding child marriage in Niger are deeply rooted in collective beliefs about protecting girls from social and economic risks, particularly related to sexuality, reputation, and poverty. The discussion highlights that both descriptive norms (what others do) and injunctive norms (what others approve) reinforce early marriage, often justified as protective. […]
Geographies of adolescent heterosexual dating and intimacy in a rural community in South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around gender and respectability strongly shape adolescent dating practices, positioning boys as initiators with greater power while expecting girls to uphold chastity and respect. However, girls actively negotiate relationships, demonstrating agency, particularly in early stages and around sexual health decisions. Importantly, norms shift across spaces: public spaces allow more […]