Unveiling Adolescent Boys’ Perceptions of Menstruation: A Qualitative Study.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Menstrual stigma among adolescent boys is reinforced through social silence, gender roles, peer interactions, and cultural and religious practices. Boys observed menstrual restrictions within families—such as prohibitions on prayer, cooking, and household activities—often without receiving explanations, which can lead them to internalize menstruation as impure or shameful. Parents’ and teachers’ reluctance […]
Experiences and actions taken by women to address delayed conception in Delhi, India: A qualitative study.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social expectations surrounding motherhood strongly shaped women’s experiences of delayed conception and their responses to it. Women described internalizing conventional gender roles that positioned childbearing as central to women’s social value, while family and community expectations to conceive soon after marriage created pressure, stigma, and blame. These expectations encouraged women to […]
Perspectives on post-violence support-seeking and service provision among adolescent girls and young women: Insights from community conversations in Lusaka, Zambia.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social and gender norms strongly shape whether adolescent girls and young women seek support after violence and how families, communities, and institutions respond. Norms emphasizing silence, secrecy, endurance of violence, preservation of marriage, and communal harmony can discourage disclosure and formal help-seeking, particularly for violence within marriage. However, participants also described […]
An intersectional analysis of social norms affecting adolescent access to sexual and reproductive health services in rural Tanzania.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms shape adolescents’ access to sexual and reproductive health services through intersecting systems of gender, age, economic inequality, religion, and geography. Girls—particularly those who are older, poor, rural, or from conservative religious households—experience compounded stigma, moral policing, restricted agency, and barriers to care, while boys often receive greater social tolerance. […]
Examining Trajectories of Peer Violence Experiences and Their Association with Gender Norms and Agency Among Adolescents: Evidence from China, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Unequal gender norms were associated with adolescents’ peer violence trajectories, but relationships varied substantially across settings. Sexual double standards showed the most consistent associations: more unequal perceptions predicted several higher-risk violence trajectories, suggesting that beliefs that permit different behaviors for boys and girls may contribute to violence. The discussion emphasizes that […]
Teenage Pregnancy and Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Marriage and Pregnancy: Primary Data Analysis in Akatsi North, Ghana.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Peer influence and gender norms are important social drivers of adolescents’ attitudes toward marriage and pregnancy. Peer pressure emerged as the strongest influence on preferences for earlier marriage and childbearing, while more gender-equitable attitudes—particularly valuing university education equally for girls and boys—were associated with delaying marriage. The discussion emphasizes that social […]
Factors Influencing Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence Among Married Women: A Multilevel Analysis Across 20 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Acceptance of intimate partner violence reflects patriarchal gender norms that can normalize violence against women. Women surveyed between 2019 and 2022 were substantially less likely to justify intimate partner violence than those in earlier surveys, which the authors suggest may reflect shifting social norms and greater awareness. Education and women’s decision-making […]
Parents’ and guardians’ perceptions of sexual and reproductive health communication with youth: A qualitative study in Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Sociocultural norms—including taboos, shame, secrecy, and gendered expectations—constrain parent–youth communication about sexual and reproductive health. The discussion emphasizes that simply encouraging parents to communicate is insufficient; interventions must address the cultural, relational, and structural conditions that determine whether these conversations are considered acceptable and possible. Gender norms also shape who communicates […]
Barriers and facilitators to community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health intervention for adolescent girls and young women in northeastern Uganda: A qualitative study.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms are central to whether adolescent girls and young women can safely participate in sexual and reproductive health programs. Community expectations around adolescent sexuality, contraception, fertility, and early childbearing create anticipated social sanctions—including being labeled “spoilt” or sexually active—that can lead girls to self-censor and avoid services. These norms are […]
A Social-Ecological Model to Explore Multi-Faceted Drivers of Child Marriage: An Iterative Qualitative Study in Southern Bangladesh.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social and community norms emerged as some of the most influential drivers of child marriage in southern Bangladesh. Norms surrounding adolescent sexuality, gender, religion, family honor, girls’ mobility, and the “ideal” bride reinforce one another and interact with poverty, girls’ limited agency, and institutional weaknesses. In particular, expectations that girls remain […]