Psychometric validation of a novel community norms measure among youth, Eswatini Violence Against Children and Youth Survey, 2022.
Outcomes: Gender‑Based Violence
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways This study demonstrates the feasibility of directly measuring community-level social norms among adolescents and young adults rather than relying on individual attitudes or beliefs as proxies. The validated measure captures both descriptive and injunctive norms, uses the community as the reference group, and focuses on unequal expectations surrounding domestic labor and household decision-making. Findings suggest these norms may be particularly salient for girls and young women, who are more directly affected by expectations of greater domestic labor and less decision-making authority. The authors argue that a brief measure could be incorporated into large-scale surveys to monitor normative change and its relationship with health and behavioral outcomes.
Objectives To develop and psychometrically validate a brief community norms measure among youth aged 13–24 in Eswatini and assess its factor structure, internal consistency, measurement properties by age and sex, and construct validity.
Methods The study analyzed nationally representative 2022 Eswatini Violence Against Children and Youth Survey data from 7,709 youth aged 13–24. Sixteen items assessed descriptive and injunctive community norms related to education, domestic labor, household decision-making, work, marriage, parental control, and violence, explicitly using the community as the reference group. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using random split-half samples. Measurement invariance and differential item functioning by age and sex were examined, while internal consistency and convergent validity were assessed by comparing the final norms measure with attitudes toward intimate partner violence and attitudes toward women’s and men’s relations.
Results A single-factor, four-item scale measuring community norms around unequal domestic labor among girls and boys and men’s household decision-making authority provided the most parsimonious solution. The scale showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha=0.77) and adequate model fit. Females and males differed in their responses to two items, while no significant age difference in the latent construct was identified. The norms scale was moderately correlated with attitudes condoning intimate partner violence (r=0.363, p<0.001) but only weakly correlated with attitudes toward women’s and men’s relations (r=0.087, p=0.018), supporting the distinction between social norms and individual attitudes. Conclusions: The study produced a promising brief, theory-based community norms scale suitable for inclusion in national and cross-national surveys. Youth perceived greater equality in education but substantial inequality in household decision-making, suggesting that efforts to address unequal norms may particularly benefit from focusing on decision-making power within households. Further validation across countries and social-norm domains is needed.
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