Determinants of husbands’ involvement in family planning: Evidence from a community-based cross-sectional study in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Husbands’ attitudes toward family planning and contraceptive use are strongly associated with whether they participate in reproductive decision-making and support their wives’ contraceptive use. The discussion emphasizes that favorable attitudes occur across social groups and that media exposure may help shape attitudes toward shared responsibility for family planning. Programs could leverage […]
Male Contraceptive Methods: Understanding Men and Women’s Views and Related Relationship Dynamics via Nationally Representative Surveys in Six Countries.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gender expectations around contraceptive responsibility are important for introducing new male contraceptive methods. Most men and women supported shared responsibility, communication, and decision-making, but respondents in African countries generally reported less equitable attitudes and lower trust than those in Asian countries. The authors emphasize that regional and cultural differences, alongside concerns […]
Spousal Concordance-Discordance in Justifying Wife Beating and Wife’s Experience of Spousal Physical Violence in India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Shared and internalized acceptance of wife-beating is closely associated with women’s experience of spousal physical violence. The findings suggest that patriarchal gender norms can normalize violence as legitimate discipline or control, while family and community expectations to “adjust” or preserve marriage may reinforce women’s tolerance of abuse. The authors emphasize addressing […]
Sexual behaviors, HIV self-testing awareness, and uptake among Young People (YP) attending a Ghanaian high school.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social and gender norms may be important barriers to HIV self-testing among young people. The discussion highlights conservative community expectations around adolescent sexuality, stigma surrounding sexual health discussions, and fear of judgment as factors that may discourage young people from requesting or being seen using HIV self-testing kits. The authors also […]
Adolescent Attitudes, Peer Norms, and Teacher Corporal Punishment in Five Sub-Saharan African Countries.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adolescents’ attitudes and their broader peer normative environments are important determinants of vulnerability to teacher corporal punishment. Schools function as “normative ecosystems”: when violent discipline is collectively accepted, it may give teachers greater social license to use it and reduce adolescents’ resistance or reporting. Legal prohibitions alone are therefore insufficient; prevention […]
Contraceptive use intention among women in Pakistan: Application of theory of planned behavior.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social expectations appear more influential than women’s personal attitudes in shaping contraceptive intentions in Pakistan. The findings suggest that even when explicit opposition to contraception is uncommon, subtle disapproval, gendered expectations, and deference to husbands and extended family can constrain women’s reproductive choices. Programs should therefore address family and community expectations […]
Factors affecting menstrual hygiene among women living in slum areas of Budanilakantha Municipality, Kathmandu.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Menstrual hygiene among women living in slum communities in Kathmandu is shaped not only by knowledge and access to resources but also by deeply entrenched cultural norms, stigma, and restrictions. Nearly all women experienced menstrual restrictions, and perceptions of menstruating women as impure remained common. The authors emphasize that menstrual health […]
Women’s Perceptions and Experiences of Domestic Violence: An Observational Study From Hyderabad, Pakistan
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that patriarchal social norms shape how women recognize, tolerate, and respond to domestic violence in Pakistan. Women were more likely to identify physical violence as abuse than sexual or psychological violence, and many remained silent because of expectations that women preserve family harmony, obey male authority, and avoid […]
The Dominant Role of Community Influences over Individual Contraceptive Choices in Pakistan
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community-level normative environments appear to play a particularly important role in contraceptive use in Pakistan. The discussion suggests that supportive collective intentions can normalize family planning, reduce social costs and uncertainty, and encourage uptake even among women with limited decision-making autonomy. Conversely, community expectations favoring larger families may suppress contraceptive use. […]
Gender norms, contraceptive use, and intimate partner violence: A six-country analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This cross-country study demonstrates that gender-related attitudes, used as proxies for gender norms, and couple power dynamics are important correlates of contraceptive use and intimate partner violence (IPV). Joint decision-making within couples—particularly regarding major household purchases—was consistently associated with greater modern contraceptive use and, in some settings, lower IPV, suggesting that […]