Resisting social conformity pressure: Impact of a gender norms intervention for adolescents in Somalia
Journal of Development Economics · 2026 · Rajdev Brar、Niklas Buehren、Sreelakshmi Papineni、Munshi Sulaiman
中文摘要
本文利用一项随机对照试验，评估了一项针对索马里青少年的性别规范干预项目的影响。该项目使女孩和男孩在私下报告的态度中更加支持性别平等，并对心理健康、抱负以及男孩参与家务产生了进一步的积极影响。本文采用一项新颖的田野实验室实验，观察青少年同伴之间的社会群体动态，以考察该项目对社会从众接受度的影响。我们采用受阿希（Asch）启发的从众度量指标，证明处理效应体现在性别信念的从众上（当公开陈述时），并将更广泛一类公开陈述信念的从众作为安慰剂检验加以对比。我们发现，性别信念上的私下改变会导致青少年在遵从群体信念的意愿上产生差异。接受干预的青少年在公开陈述性别态度时，更不容易屈从于同伴压力而从众，从而使平等主义理念得到更多的公开表达。从众效应仅在性别规范领域被观察到。我们的研究结果表明，社会规范干预能够有效地正向塑造性别态度，有助于赋能青少年抵御规范性压力。
Abstract
Using a randomized controlled trial, this paper evaluates the impact of a gender norms intervention for young adolescents in Somalia. The program leads to greater support for gender equality in the privately reported attitudes of girls and boys; with further positive effects on mental health, aspirations, and boys’ engagement in housework. A novel lab-in-the-field experiment is used to observe social group dynamics among adolescent peers to examine the program’s impact on receptivity to social conformity. We adopt Asch-inspired conformity measures to demonstrate a treatment effect on conformity in gender beliefs (when stated publicly) versus conformity in a more general class of publicly stated beliefs as a placebo test. We find that private changes in gender beliefs lead to differences in an adolescent’s willingness to conform to group beliefs. Treated adolescents are less likely to succumb to peer pressure to conform when stating their gender attitudes in public, leading to greater public expression of egalitarian ideals. The effects on conformity are observed only for the gender norms domain. Our findings suggest that social norms interventions can be effective in positively shaping gender attitudes, helping to empower adolescents to withstand normative pressures.