A stigma-reduction intervention targeting abortion and contraceptive use among adolescents in Kisumu County, Kenya: a quasi-experimental study
Key Social Norms Take-Aways: This study shows that participatory, values-based education can shift deeply held social norms among adolescents. By encouraging open dialogue and reflection on stigmatized issues like abortion and contraception, the intervention helped reduce judgment and promoted supportive attitudes. Addressing these interconnected stigmas is critical for enabling young people to make informed reproductive […]
Gender norms and modern contraceptive use in urban Nigeria: a multilevel longitudinal study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that gender-equitable norms—particularly attitudes supporting shared household decision-making, joint family planning decisions, and family planning self-efficacy—significantly influence women’s adoption and sustained use of modern contraceptives in urban Nigeria. Importantly, neighborhood-level gender norms also matter: living in a community where gender-equitable attitudes are prevalent increases the likelihood of contraceptive […]
Rape Prevention Through Empowerment of Adolescent Girls
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores the power of individual-level empowerment to shift social norms around sexual violence. By teaching adolescent girls to assert their boundaries, resist coercion, and speak out, the intervention helped dismantle norms of silence and victim-blaming. Increased disclosure and the use of verbal resistance signaled changing expectations about girls’ agency […]
Effects of the Momentum project on postpartum family planning norms and behaviors among married and unmarried adolescent and young first-time mothers in Kinshasa: A quasi-experimental study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Momentum project revealed that social norms regarding postpartum family planning (PPFP) remain especially restrictive for never-married adolescent mothers. While the intervention improved contraceptive behaviors across groups, it had limited influence on shifting normative expectations, descriptive norms, and personal agency—particularly among 15–19-year-olds who were never married. These findings underscore how age […]
Association of Male Partners’ Gender-Equitable Attitudes and Behaviors with Young Mothers’ Postpartum Family Planning and Maternal Health Outcomes in Kinshasa, DRC
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community and household norms around male involvement, decision-making, and caregiving shape reproductive and maternal health outcomes. Programs should challenge norms that restrict men’s roles to authority figures and promote shared caregiving and decision-making to support healthier, more equitable outcomes for young families. Objectives: This study explored how male partners’ gender-equitable attitudes […]
“As young men we have a role to play in preventing sexual violence”: Development and relevance of the men with conscience intervention to prevent sexual violence
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates how social norms tied to masculinity, leadership, and gender equity can be challenged through structured, reflective interventions with young men in positions of influence. It shows that gender-transformative programming can shift deeply held beliefs about power, control, and male privilege—especially when young men are engaged as allies in […]
Determining the most significant changes on intergenerational communication and young people’s family planning and reproductive health outcomes: Qualitative evaluation of the Merci Mon Héros media campaign in Niger and Cote d’Ivoire
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study directly explored social norms by examining how community members perceived changes in what people believe should be done (injunctive norms) and what others are doing (descriptive norms) regarding adolescent reproductive health and intergenerational communication. It found early evidence of shifting norms: adults and youth described increased comfort and empathy […]
Transforming Masculinities/Masculinite, Famille, et Foi Intervention; Endline Quantitative Research Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The endline evaluation of the Masculinité, Famille et Foi (MFF) intervention confirms that social norms—particularly those embedded in religious teachings—strongly influence gender roles, family planning (FP) use, and intimate partner violence (IPV). The intervention effectively challenged harmful gender norms by engaging faith leaders and couples in critical reflection, leading to shifts […]
Using structural equation modeling to explore the pathways between a social norms-shifting intervention and couple communication for family planning in Kinshasa, DRC
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study rigorously assesses how a social norms-shifting intervention, Masculinité, Famille, et Foi (MFF), affects couple communication about family planning. While the intervention explicitly incorporated injunctive and descriptive norms, and the survey measured them as separate constructs, the analysis provides particular insight into the sequencing of social norms change. The study […]
Masculinite, Famille, et Foi : End of Project Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The MFF (Masculinité, Famille, et Foi) intervention illustrates that engaging faith leaders and faith communities is a powerful strategy for transforming social norms related to gender equality, family planning (FP), and intimate partner violence (IPV). The project shows that shifting norms is possible when communities are encouraged to reflect on and […]