Mothers’ intentions to discuss menstruation-related topics with their daughters using the theory of planned behavior
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study demonstrates that social norms—particularly those related to menstruation as a taboo topic, expectations around modesty, and perceived social approval from family and community members—strongly influence mothers’ willingness to communicate with their daughters about menstrual health in Ethiopia. The discussion highlights that subjective norms (i.e., what important others think mothers […]
Exploring the barriers and facilitators to HIV information and health services among youth in N’Djamena, Chad: a qualitative descriptive study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those related to sexual taboos, abstinence expectations, gender roles, and community surveillance—strongly shape adolescents’ access to HIV information and services in Chad. The discussion emphasizes that stigma, fear of judgment, and power imbalances with authority figures discourage care-seeking, while trusted peer networks and youth-friendly environments can help shift norms […]
Qualitative evaluation of an edutainment intervention to prevent age-disparate transactional sex in Tanzania: Changes in educational aspirations and gender equitable attitudes towards work
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study demonstrates that edutainment can shift gender norms by modeling alternative roles and behaviors, helping to create an enabling environment where girls’ education is prioritized and restrictive norms—such as male provider expectations and limitations on women’s work—are challenged. These normative shifts matter because they address underlying drivers of age-disparate transactional […]
Understanding How Violence Is Transmitted Across Generations: An In-Depth Multiple Case Study of Families in South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that deeply embedded injunctive social norms—particularly those supporting authoritarian parenting, gender inequality, and the acceptability of violence as discipline—play a central role in sustaining intergenerational transmission of violence (ITV) in South Africa. Norms that justify harsh punishment, normalize aggression, and reinforce rigid expectations around obedience and gender roles […]
Gender norms in sexual and reproductive health and rights: insights from young Angolan women and the development of a context-specific questionnaire (2021-2022).
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gender norms are central to shaping young women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Angola, operating through socially shared expectations around education, autonomy, relationships, and reproduction. The study highlights that norms are unevenly supported across domains and geographies, with stronger acceptance of education and relational autonomy but weaker support […]
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 […]
Generational trends in education and marriage norms in rural India: evidence from the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around education and marriage in rural India are shifting unevenly across generations: while education norms have changed substantially, marriage norms remain more resistant. Adolescents express aspirations for greater autonomy and later marriage for their children, but entrenched gender norms, intergenerational power dynamics, and the influence of senior household members […]
Exploring the impact of perceived early marriage on women’s education and employment in Bangladesh through a mixed-methods study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms play a central role in shaping girls’ perceptions and decisions around early marriage, with norms around safety, family honor, gender roles, and acceptable relationships driving both parental pressure and girls’ own choices. Early marriage is often normalized and even desired as a socially sanctioned pathway to security, adulthood, and […]
A Social-Ecological Model to Explore Multi-Faceted Drivers of Child Marriage: An Iterative Qualitative Study in Southern Bangladesh
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Child marriage in southern Bangladesh is sustained by deeply entrenched and interconnected social norms—particularly those linking family honor to girls’ sexuality, expectations of female purity and obedience, and beliefs about girls’ limited social and economic roles. These norms constrain girls’ agency, justify parental control, and normalize early marriage as a protective […]
Determinants of young People’s gender norm attitudes related to rights and equity in Southeast Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Young people in Southeast Nigeria simultaneously endorse women’s empowerment and uphold entrenched patriarchal norms—particularly male dominance in household decision-making and social roles. Social norms are shaped through family structures, education, religion, and gender socialization, demonstrating that shifts toward gender equity require addressing broader social systems, not just individual attitudes. Objectives: To […]