Female Condom Use among Female University Students in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Results of a Randomized Behavioral Trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study suggests that brief, group-based female condom (FC) promotion interventions can shift individual-level attitudes and peer norms regarding condom use among young women, even in contexts of entrenched gender inequalities. While broader social norms around male dominance in sexual decision-making remain a barrier, increasing women’s condom self-efficacy and improving peer […]
Students and brides: a qualitative analysis of the relationship between girls’ education and early marriage in Ethiopia and India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study reveals that persistent social norms in Ethiopia and India devalue girls’ education and prioritize early marriage, often reinforcing traditional gender roles that restrict girls’ autonomy and opportunity. These norms include beliefs that educated girls are less marriageable, that marriage should precede education, and that domestic responsibilities and motherhood outweigh […]
Narrative Persuasion and Social Norms in Entertainment-Education: Results from a Radio Drama in Mozambique
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around maternal health, sanitation, and reporting sexual abuse in Mozambique remain resistant to change, with community norms often not aligned with the behaviors promoted by the intervention. Although audiences engaged deeply with the radio drama’s characters and stories, indicating strong narrative persuasion, prevailing social norms continued to favor inaction […]
Combination prevention package of interventions for reducing vulnerability to HIV among adolescent girls and young women in Nigeria: An action research
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that interventions co-designed with communities can shift entrenched social norms that heighten adolescent girls’ and young women’s vulnerability to HIV. Parental silence around sexuality, peer silence about safer sex, and stigma associated with condom access were actively challenged through tailored, participatory activities. Interventions that enabled parents to discuss […]
Evaluation of a male engagement intervention to transform gender norms and improve family planning and HIV service uptake in Kabale, Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the difficulty of transforming entrenched gender norms through short-duration, community-based interventions without adequately trained facilitators. Although some improvements were observed in men’s health-seeking behaviors, meaningful changes in gender attitudes were minimal. The findings underscore that deeply held cultural beliefs are resistant to change, especially when interventions are not […]
The media or the message? Experimental evidence on mass media and modern contraception uptake in Burkina Faso
Key Social Norms Take-aways: While the study does not frame its analysis using formal social norms theory or terminology, it implicitly engages with normative influences—particularly descriptive norms—through its mass media intervention. The radio program aimed to shift perceptions of contraceptive use by portraying it as common, accepted, and beneficial. Results suggest that exposure to the […]
Challenges in Changing Social Norms: Evidence from Interventions Targeting Child Marriage in Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-Aways: This study underscores that changing social norms is possible but complex. Interventions prompted discussion and shifted some attitudes but also deepened divisions. Gender and power hierarchies remained largely intact, and future programs must anticipate resistance and support collective norm change. Objectives: This study evaluated whether social norms interventions and economic incentives […]
Results from a cluster-randomized trial to evaluate a microfinance and peer health leadership intervention to prevent HIV and intimate partner violence among social networks of Tanzanian men.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study shows that shifting men’s attitudes around gender norms is possible through peer-led interventions, but changing behaviors tied to power, masculinity, and violence demands deeper, sustained engagement. Effective interventions must focus not only on individual beliefs but also on the community and relational dynamics that reinforce harmful practices. Objectives: This […]
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 […]
Using behavior change communication to lead a comprehensive family planning program: the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) explicitly integrates social norms into its behavior change communication strategy, guided by the theory of ideation. The project focuses on transforming beliefs, attitudes, and social expectations—particularly around family size, spousal consent, and acceptability of contraceptive use—by using mass media, community mobilization, and interpersonal communication. […]