Using structural equation modeling to explore the pathways between a social norms-shifting intervention and couple communication for family planning in Kinshasa, DRC
Outcomes: Sexual and Reproductive Health
View SourceKey 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 finds that descriptive norms—what people believe others do—had strong direct effects on injunctive norms, self-efficacy, and attitudes, supporting the Theory of Normative Social Behavior. This confirms that shifting perceptions of what is common may catalyze broader norm and behavior change. The aggregate intervention effect on couple communication was significant for women but not men, suggesting that norm-shifting strategies may need to be tailored by gender to achieve equitable communication outcomes. The study underscores that norm change does not occur through a single variable but through interdependent and synergistic pathways, particularly when embedded in faith-based and community structures.
Objectives To explore how a multicomponent social norms-shifting intervention affects couple communication about family planning through mediating factors such as descriptive norms, injunctive norms, self-efficacy, and attitudes.
Methods A quasi-experimental study using structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze endline survey data from 17 Protestant congregations in Kinshasa, DRC. Eight congregations received the MFF intervention; nine served as controls. Participants included 435 women and 356 men categorized as newly married couples or first-time parents. The model assessed direct, indirect, and aggregate effects of the intervention on couple communication through multiple mediators.
Intervention Details MFF is a faith-based, multi-component intervention that mobilized religious leaders and trained “gender champions” to conduct eight-week community dialogues and congregation-based diffusion activities focused on gender, family planning, and intimate partner violence. Both intervention and control groups received access to FP service delivery supports to isolate the effect of social norms components.
Results The MFF intervention had a statistically significant aggregate effect on couple communication for women (p = 0.01), but not for men. No individual indirect pathways were significant. Descriptive norms for family planning and gender equity had strong direct effects on injunctive norms, self-efficacy, and attitudes. However, the intervention’s direct effect on descriptive norms was marginal for women and nonsignificant for men. Norms related to intimate partner violence showed complex relationships, including some inverse effects.
Conclusions The study provides empirical support for targeting descriptive norms to generate ripple effects on related social and individual-level factors. Multicomponent norms-shifting interventions embedded in religious and community settings can improve couple communication, especially for women, but must be adapted to account for gender-specific pathways and unintended effects.
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