Gender norms are social constructs held by communities that dictate the acceptable range of behaviors and roles for men and women. Inequitable gender norms have a negative impact on the health and well-being of adults and children alike. In early adolescence, children become more attuned to their communities’ gender norms. Exposure to humanitarian emergencies, such as armed conflict, exacerbate the health threats of inequitable gender norms by disrupting the social supports necessary for safe and healthy adolescent development. Caregivers are key in socializing children to their communities prevailing gender norms and in buffering against the mental health risks associated with growing up in a humanitarian setting. Limited research has been conducted into the role that caregiver gender attitudes play in the health of adolescents living in a humanitarian setting. This study employs mixed-methods to explore how caregiver gender attitudes are associated with adolescent psychosocial health, nutrition, and school attendance in a sample of adolescent/caregiver dyads (n=375) living in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Adolescents of caregivers with moderately gender equitable attitudes were found to have greater food security than children of caregivers with the least equitable gender attitudes. After stratifying by sex, girls of caregivers with moderately gender equitable attitudes had better food security and girls with caregivers endorsing moderately or the most gender equitable attitudes were found to have better scores on a measure of anxiety and depression than as compared to girls of caregivers with the least equitable gender attitudes. There was an overall trend for adolescents with caregivers classified as moderately gender equitable to have better outcomes across all four measures than adolescents with caregivers classified as having the least or most gender equitable attitudes.
Focus group discussions suggested that differences in girls’ mental health outcomes might differ due to caregivers’ use of control techniques that limit girls’ autonomy and in the frequency that girls witness intimate partner violence. Researchers should examine how the different dimensions of individuals’ gender attitudes affect adolescent health and explore how to prevent families who challenge restrictive gender norms from experiencing the social sanctions resulting from endorsing more gender equitable attitudes.
Advisor:
Nancy E. Glass, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN
[email protected]
