Measuring impact of storyline engagement on health knowledge, attitudes, and norms: a digital evaluation of an online health-focused serial drama in West Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study illustrates how digital entertainment-education content like C’est La Vie! (CLV) can influence health-related social norms in West Africa. Specifically, the show helped shift norms regarding female circumcision, emergency contraception, and sexual assault, with higher engagement levels leading to more pro-health attitudes. Importantly, different storylines had varying levels of impact, […]
ADOLESCENT TRANSITION IN WEST AFRICA (ATWA) OUTCOME EVALUATION 2022-2023 Endline Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The ATWA program demonstrates that comprehensive, school- and community-based life skills education can lead to early shifts in social norms around gender and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights. Although short-term changes in community-level norms were modest, significant improvements in adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, and gender-equitable beliefs suggest that norms around […]
Changing the Script: Intergenerational Communication about Sexual and Reproductive Health in Niamey, Niger
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms discourage discussion of sexuality and FP with youth, but shared community values—especially protecting youth and promoting well-being—can be leveraged to shift behaviors. Objectives: This study explored how social norms and values shape communication between adults and unmarried youth about family planning (FP) and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in […]
Social network and social normative characteristics of married female adolescents in Dosso, Niger: Associations with modern contraceptive use
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly injunctive norms upheld by family—significantly affect girls’ FP use. Kinship networks, more than peers, shape norms around fertility and contraception. Restrictive norms, especially around new brides and motherhood, contribute to social isolation and limited autonomy. Effective FP programs must address these normative environments by engaging family members and fostering […]
Measuring social norms of intimate partner violence to exert control over wife agency, sexuality, and reproductive autonomy: an item response modelling of the IPV-ASRA scale
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study confirms that social norms justifying intimate partner violence to control women’s agency, sexuality, and reproductive autonomy are measurable, culturally salient, and linked to male perpetration of violence in Niger. Importantly, the norms that sanction violence when women challenge male authority—such as going out without permission or arguing—are more strongly […]
Community influences on modern contraceptive use among young women in low and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional multi-country analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Norms related to ideal family size, early marriage, and gender roles—particularly those that limit women’s autonomy—act as major barriers to contraceptive use. Changing these norms through community-wide interventions, education, and women’s empowerment is essential for increasing contraceptive access and supporting young women’s reproductive agency. Objectives: This study examined how community-level characteristics […]
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 […]
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 […]