15
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      How gender- and violence-related norms affect self-esteem among adolescent refugee girls living in Ethiopia

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Background.

          Evidence suggests adolescent self-esteem is influenced by beliefs of how individuals in their reference group perceive them. However, few studies examine how gender- and violence-related social norms affect self-esteem among refugee populations. This paper explores relationships between gender inequitable and victim-blaming social norms, personal attitudes, and self-esteem among adolescent girls participating in a life skills program in three Ethiopian refugee camps.

          Methods.

          Ordinary least squares multivariable regression analysis was used to assess the associations between attitudes and social norms, and self-esteem. Key independent variables of interest included a scale measuring personal attitudes toward gender inequitable norms, a measure of perceived injunctive norms capturing how a girl believed her family and community would react if she was raped, and a peer-group measure of collective descriptive norms surrounding gender inequity. The key outcome variable, self-esteem, was measured using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale.

          Results.

          Girl's personal attitudes toward gender inequitable norms were not significantly predictive of self-esteem at endline, when adjusting for other covariates. Collective peer norms surrounding the same gender inequitable statements were significantly predictive of self-esteem at endline ( ß = −0.130; p  =  0.024). Additionally, perceived injunctive norms surrounding family and community-based sanctions for victims of forced sex were associated with a decline in self-esteem at endline ( ß = −0.103; p  =  0.014). Significant findings for collective descriptive norms and injunctive norms remained when controlling for all three constructs simultaneously.

          Conclusions.

          Findings suggest shifting collective norms around gender inequity, particularly at the community and peer levels, may sustainably support the safety and well-being of adolescent girls in refugee settings.

          Related collections

          Most cited references39

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Managing social norms for persuasive impact

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Changing Norms to Change Behavior.

            Providing people with information about the behavior and attitudes of their peers is a strategy commonly employed by those seeking to reduce behavior deemed harmful either to individuals (e.g., high alcohol consumption) or the collective (e.g., high energy consumption). We review norm-based interventions, detailing the logic behind them and the various forms they can take. We give special attention to interventions designed to decrease college students' drinking and increase environment-friendly behaviors. We identify the conditions under which norm information has the highest likelihood of changing the targeted behavior and discuss why this is the case.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Social norms: A review

              Social norms, as a topic of inquiry, has garnered significant attention from a variety of perspectives in recent years. Because of the rapidly-growing interest in social norms from scholars in multiple disciplines, this area of scholarship is often characterized by a lack of clarity on what constitutes social norms and how key concepts are operationalized. The objectives of this article are to (a) provide a review of the fast-expanding literature on social norms, (b) delineate similarities and differences in key operational definitions, (c) review theories that explicate how norms affect behaviors, (d) propose a revised theoretical framework that helps organize our understanding of normative inf luence on behavior, and (e) provide suggestions for future research in this area. This review highlights the need to consider whether a behavior is enacted spontaneously or after deliberation. If the former, whichever attitude or norm is most salient will likely have a direct effect on behavior. If the latter, we propose that behavioral, individual, and contextual attributes will influence the extent to which norms shape behavioral intentions and subsequent behavior. Finally, this review highlights the need for more studies designed to test the causal relationship between social norms and behaviors, as well as those that study norms from a qualitative perspective.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Glob Ment Health (Camb)
                Glob Ment Health (Camb)
                GMH
                Global Mental Health
                Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK )
                2054-4251
                2018
                17 January 2018
                : 5
                : e2
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health , 60 Haven Ave B-4 Suite 432, New York, NY, USA
                [2 ]Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , Keppel Street, London, UK
                [3 ]New York University College of Nursing , 433 First Avenue, New York, NY, USA
                [4 ]Independent Consultant , Mekele, Ethiopia
                [5 ]The International Rescue Committee , TK International Bldg. 6th Floor, Bole Rd, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
                [6 ]The International Rescue Committee , 1730M St NW, Suite 505, Washington DC, USA
                Author notes
                [* ]Address for correspondence: Dr L Stark, Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University , 60 Haven Avenue B-4, New York NY, USA. (Email: ls2302@ 123456cumc.columbia.edu )
                Article
                S2054425117000280 00028
                10.1017/gmh.2017.28
                5797934
                29435352
                e653464d-7f85-4a5f-8ed9-fe1c5ce66146
                © The Author(s) 2018

                This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 14 March 2017
                : 09 October 2017
                : 18 October 2017
                Page count
                Tables: 2, References: 48, Pages: 9
                Categories
                Etiology
                Interpersonal Violence and Mental Health
                Original Research Paper

                adolescent health,conflict,gender norms,resilience,self-esteem

                Comments

                Comment on this article