An Improved Measure for the Strength of Social Gender Norms (SSGN) Developed for Adolescents in Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Social norms can frame how typical and appropriate the choices available to individuals are, making some more difficult while others easier to make. Despite the important role of both descriptive and injunctive norms for intervention, few measures are available that distinguish these types of perceptions. Fewer still are tailored for settings where development challenges are present and behaviorally-informed interventions are implemented. To address gaps in measuring social norms that impact women’s employment in India, this study was conducted with 399 adolescents aged 14-17 years to develop the Strength of Social Gender Norms (SSGN) scale. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a good two-factor structure. Psychometric analyses satisfied tests for internal consistency, differentiated it from attitudes, and found moderate test-retest reliability. Using this scale, we found that girls perceived more positive social norms overall but held more negative perceptions of what others in their communities think about women working (i.e. injunctive norms), relative to boys. Our results confirm the ability of the SSGN scale to distinguish different aspects of social norms among low-income Indian adolescents, a population that is neglected in psychology research at large. Future research should aim to replicate results in additional hard-to-reach samples and investigate the association between actual longer-term employment outcomes of women.