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 sanctions. Importantly, the discussion emphasizes that social norms are not just individual perceptions but are embedded in social systems, and EE interventions can shift these perceptions through storytelling, role modeling, and social reinforcement mechanisms.

Objectives The study aimed to analyze and validate quantitative measures of social norms within the context of an entertainment-education intervention focused on family planning. Specifically, it sought to assess the psychometric properties of social norms items and address gaps in the literature by identifying reliable tools to measure norms in EE programs.

Methods The study conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data from 438 married women (ages 19–34) in Zambia who were exposed to a 156-episode radio EE program. Social norms were measured using multiple items capturing descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and outcome expectations across different reference groups (e.g., family, friends, community). Exploratory factor analysis using a heterogeneous correlation matrix and reliability testing (Cronbach’s alpha) were applied to assess the structure and consistency of the measures.

Results A five-factor solution best fit the data, explaining 45.7% of the variance and demonstrating that social norms constructs largely clustered as expected. Descriptive norms and injunctive norms emerged as distinct but related constructs, while outcome expectations formed a separate factor. Reliability across scales was moderate, with Likert-scale items performing better than binary measures. Findings also showed that reference groups significantly shape injunctive norms, and that different types of norms require tailored measurement approaches.

Conclusions The study provides validated, practical tools for measuring social norms in EE programs and underscores the importance of using multidimensional, theory-aligned measures. It concludes that improving the measurement of social norms is essential for advancing EE research and strengthening evaluations of norm-change interventions globally, particularly in diverse cultural contexts.