The Drum Beat 802 - Attending to Social Norms for Healthier Children and Youth

• 1.Associations between Village-level Norms on Marital Age and Marital Choice Outcomes among Adolescent Wives in Rural Niger
  by Holly Baker Shakya, Jay Silverman, Kathryn M. Barker, Charlotte Lapsansky, Jennifer Yore, Sani Aliou, Mohamad I. Brooks, and Anita RajNiger is one of a small number of nations in which child marriage continues to be legal for girls 15 and above; public perception reflects this bias. This quantitative study explores how social norms affect child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) in rural Niger and the level of norms upon which to intervene to most effectively address such a harmful traditional practice. The findings suggest the value of community-level social norms change on CEFM in Niger, as well as the importance of focusing on child marriage and girls' marital choice simultaneously, given their interconnection. Engaging with men may also help shift the dynamics of CEFM in these settings. [Jun 2020]
   
• 2.A Hidden Reality for Adolescent Girls: Child, Early and Forced Marriages and Unions in Latin America and the Caribbean
  Conducted by Plan International and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), this regional study focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean adolescent girls in child, early, and forced marriages and unions (CEFMUs) to make their specific needs visible, with the aim of working to change the social norms that perpetuate this violation of their human rights. The country reports and regional analysis yield a series of recommendations, such as: Strengthen girls' voices as agents of change so that girls speak up for themselves and others and speak out against CEFMU. [Jul 2019]
   
• 3.Mapping the Patchwork: Exploring the Subnational Heterogeneity of Child Marriage in India
  by Lotus McDougal, Holly Shakya, Nabamallika Dehingia, Charlotte Lapsansky, David Conrad, Nandita Bhan, Abhishek Singh, Topher L. McDougal, and Anita RajIn India, child marriage is encouraged through cultural traditions that dictate gender-discriminatory norms rooted in patriarchal values and ideologies. Given that it is through spatial clustering of socially connected individuals that clustering of social norms typically occurs, this article explores the localised norms that may contribute to the continuation of the practice of child marriage in certain states and communities in India. The hope is that highlighting place-based variations may improve targeting of social and behaviour change (SBC) prevention efforts. [Nov 2020]
   
• 4.Adolescent-led Marriage in Somaliland and Puntland: A Surprising Interaction of Agency and Social Norms
  by Leah Kenny, Hamse Koshin, Munshi Sulaiman, and Beniamino CislaghiMost participants in this study of four communities in Somaliland and Puntland were against child marriage, suggesting the presence, among adults, of an injunctive norm against it. However, participants almost unanimously said that child marriage had become more common in their villages over the last decade. Norms that parents should have the final say in marriage decisions played out in unexpected ways. Parents consented to marriages they did not agree with, thus ensuring parents were formally the final decision-makers while acknowledging adolescents' increased freedom to choose their own partners. Interventions should integrate a social norms perspective to avoid increasing adolescent-led marriage. [Mar 2019]
   

• 5.Effect of a Community-Based Gender Norms Program on Sexual Violence Perpetration by Adolescent Boys and Young Men: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial
  by Elizabeth Miller, Kelley A. Jones, Alison J. Culyba, Taylor Paglisotti, Namita Dwarakanath, Michael Massof, Zoe Feinstein, Katie A. Ports, Dorothy L. Espelage, Julie Pulerwitz, Aapta Garg, Jane Kato-Wallace, and Kaleab Z. AbebeThis cluster-randomised trial tested effectiveness among adolescent boys and young men of a community-based gender-transformative programme - Manhood 2.0 - on perpetration of gender-based violence by adolescent boys and young men in the United States. The researchers suggest that combining gender-transformative approaches with job-readiness programmes may be relevant for violence prevention in low-resource urban settings. With regard to gender-transformative programmes in general, they recommend: extended time for intervention implementation, youth leadership opportunities to engage in social norms change, community mobilisation, and greater attention to practicing skills discussed in the curriculum. [Dec 2020]
   
• 6.Understanding the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Peer-Violence Perpetration, and Gender Norms Among Very Young Adolescents in Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study
  by Astha Ramaiya, Ifta Choiriyyah, Lori Heise, Julie Pulerwitz, Robert Wm Blum, Ruti Levtov, Rebecka Lundgren, Lisa Richardson, and Caroline MoreauNorms valuing male toughness and authority have been well documented in relation to gender-based violence in adult populations but have not been thoroughly investigated in relation to other forms of violence. This study assesses the role of gender norms on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and peer-violence perpetration (e.g., bullying) among very young adolescents in three communities in Indonesia. [Jun 2021]
   
• 7.Impacts of COVID-19 on Female Genital Cutting
  Emergency situations and humanitarian crises, including health epidemics, have disproportionate impacts on women and girls and exacerbate existing structural gender inequalities, which lie at the heart of the practice of female genital cutting (FGC). This policy briefing from the Orchid Project highlights the gendered impact and significant challenges to the movement to end FGC presented by COVID-19. It also explores mitigating strategies that grassroots organisations and activists are using in response, even in the context of shrinking civil society space and reduced access to funding. [Sep 2020]
   
• 8.The ACT Framework Package: Measuring Social Norms Around Female Genital Mutilation
  by Suruchi Sood, Sarah Stevens, Kelli Kostizak, and Maho OkumuraThe ACT Framework is a social norms monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework that is designed to measure changes in FGM-related social norms. This Framework is at the core component of the multi-document ACT Framework Package described herein. It was developed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in support of the M&E efforts of the Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation: Accelerating Change. [Dec 2020]
   

• 9.The Intersection of Power and Gender: Examining the Relationship of Empowerment and Gender-Unequal Norms Among Young Adolescents in Kinshasa, DRC
  by Linnea A. Zimmerman, Leah R. Koenig, Julie Pulerwitz, Patrick Kayembe, Matilde Maddeleno, and Caroline MoreauThis study explores the gender norm perceptions of disadvantaged 10- to 14-year-old boys and girls in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as their "power to" voice opinions and make daily decisions. It also explores how gender norm perceptions about relationships, roles, and traits relate to voice and decision-making domains of agency. Among the implications: Findings of similar levels of inequitable gender expectations and that voice is higher among boys highlight the importance of integrated interventions that include boys during the early adolescent period. [Jul 2021]
   
• 10.Measuring the Effectiveness of Communication Programming on Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management (MHM) Social Norms among Adolescent Girls in India
  by Suruchi Sood, Kelli Kostizak, Astha Ramaiya, and Carmen CroninLed by UNICEF and local organisations in Uttar Pradesh, India, the GARIMA initiative was designed to break the culture of silence around menstruation at the individual and community levels by addressing underlying social norms framing menstruation as taboo. This paper examines whether GARIMA's social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) approach creates more positive social norms that will improve desired menstrual health and hygiene management behaviours. It also compares two different ways of measuring social norms. [Sep 2020]
   
• 11.Exploring Social Norms around Reproductive Health Affecting Unmarried Adolescent Girls in Burundi
  In Burundi, where fertility rates among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) are among the highest in the world, social norms are likely to have an influence on AGYW's ability to access reproductive health (RH) information and care, as well as on their RH behaviours and, ultimately, their health outcomes. This report by the Passages Project documents the methods, findings, key learnings, and recommendations to emerge from a study that explored social norms related to AGYW's RH knowledge and behaviours in Burundi and identified relevant individuals and groups who influence and enforce these social norms. In light of the finding that interventions should extend beyond fostering individual-level behaviour change and providing education and care to strengthening normative environments, the Passages Project offers five potential entry points and accompanying strategies for working to shift norms at the community level. [Apr 2021]
   
• 12.Evaluation of the Changing the River's Flow for Young People (CTRF4YP) Programme: A Gender Norms Transformative Programme in Zimbabwe
  Implemented in hard-to-reach areas in Zimbabwe's farming and mining communities, CTRF4YP used a community dialogue model in an effort to change the attitudes of parents and leaders and support them to address negative gender norms that fuel gender inequality. SAfAIDS and Sonke Gender Justice hoped to transform gender roles and promote more gender-equitable relationships between young men and women in order to reduce HIV and gender-based violence and to promote positive sexual reproductive health and rights. These organisations commissioned this end-of-project evaluation of CTRF4YP, which includes recommendations for similar programmes. [Apr 2021]
   

• 13.Multidimensional Social and Cultural Norms Influencing HPV Vaccine Hesitancy in Asia
  by Li Ping Wong, Pooi-Fong Wong, Megat Mohamad Amirul Amzar Megat Hashim, Liyuan Han, Yulan Lin, Zhijian Hu, Qinjian Zhao, and Gregory D. ZimetIn Asia, social, cultural, traditional, and religious elements strongly influence health-seeking behaviours and, particularly, vaccination. This paper examines the ways in which culture, normative beliefs, and religion influence human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination decisions in Asian countries. For example, many societies uphold the norms of sexual abstinence before marriage. As a result, young adult women fear being labeled as already sexually active or about to engage in premarital sex if they seek HPV vaccination. Strategies for addressing HPV vaccination hesitancy, as well as potential avenues for future research, are proposed. [May 2020]
   
• 14.Do Social Norms Influence Young People's Willingness to Take the COVID-19 Vaccine?
  by Samantha Sinclair and Jens AgerströmYoung people may be particularly susceptible to social influences on vaccine attitudes, considering they frequently use social media and tend to go online to seek health information. In that context, this study reports on an online experiment that examined whether communicating descriptive social norms - information about what most people do - is an effective way of influencing young people's intentions and reducing their hesitancy to take the COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom. [Jun 2021]
   

• 15.Information Diffusion and Social Norms Are Associated with Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in Bangladesh
  by Phuong H Nguyen, Edward A Frongillo, Sunny S Kim, Amanda A Zongrone, Amir Jilani, Lan Mai Tran, Tina Sanghvi, and Purnima MenonIn Bangladesh, from 2009 to 2014, Alive & Thrive implemented SBCC interventions, including interpersonal counseling, community mobilisation, mass media campaigns, and advocacy, to promote adequate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and to create an enabling environment for mothers and caregivers to adopt the recommended practices. This study aimed to advance understanding of how mothers' social networks, diffusion of information, and social norms link receipt of intervention messages and IYCF practices. Two years after termination of the initial donor's support, mothers' networks of known adopters, receipt and sharing of IYCF information, and social norms remained high in intensive areas and increased substantially in nonintensive areas. [Aug 2019]
   
• 16.The Role and Influence of Grandmothers on Child Nutrition: Culturally Designated Advisors and Caregivers
  by Judi AubelIn non-Western societies, most women and young children are embedded in extended and multigenerational family systems, and older, more experienced women play an active role transmitting socio-cultural norms. Thus, there is a recognised need to adopt an ecological and systems perspective on community nutrition and health issues. This paper reviews research findings from Africa, Asia, and Latin America on the role and influence of grandmothers related to nutritional practices and care of women during pregnancy and of infants and young children related to breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and feeding of sick children. [Sep 2011]
   
• See also:
  * Old Tricks, New Opportunities: How Companies Violate the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes and Undermine Maternal and Child Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic
  * Special Issue on a Family Systems Approach to Promote Maternal and Child Nutrition
  

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