Autonomy, Norm, Social, Relation, Family
Conditions
Keywords
Gender norms, Gender transformation, Couples intervention, Reproductive autonomy, India, Women's empowerment
Brief summary
The ECOVI trial is a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) conducted in rural and urban communities across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan, India, and funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The trial evaluates the impact of a couples-based financial literacy and gender-transformative intervention ("Let Us Grow Together: Economic Wellbeing for Families") on economic intimate partner violence (IPV), economic decision-making, and economic empowerment among 2,276 married couples across 150 clusters. This sub-study examines an understudied downstream question: whether such couples-based programs change normative beliefs that extend beyond the treated couple's own relationship to younger generations, particularly their daughters and their sons. Specifically, we ask whether the intervention shifts how treated women and men think about who should have the main say in reproductive decisions for newly married couples, for their daughters and their sons. In an additional analysis, we examine whether respondents apply different standards when reproductive decisions concern their daughter and her husband versus their son and his wife. A difference in the endorsement of women's reproductive autonomy across the two scenarios may indicate an asymmetry in the application of egalitarian norms, whereby respondents are more accepting of autonomy for biological daughters than for daughters-in-law. We further examine whether the intervention reduces this gap by promoting more consistent endorsement of women's reproductive decision-making autonomy across both scenarios. Items measuring normative beliefs regarding younger generations are added to the ECOVI endline survey before the start of endline data collection. This pre-registration protocol is submitted before any endline data is collected, providing a fully prospective analysis plan. All mediator variables, internalized gender norms, and female household decision-making participation are collected at both baseline and endline as part of the main ECOVI trial. The sub-study pursues four interconnected objectives: (1) to estimate the causal effect of the intervention on normative beliefs regarding reproductive decision-making; (2) to test whether any such effect operates through a shift in internalized gender norms (the norm internalization channel); (3) to test whether any such effect operates through a shift in perceived community gender norms (the perceived norms channel); and (4) to test whether any such effect operates through an increase in women's participation in household decision-making (the agency channel).
Interventions
The ECOVI intervention "Let Us Grow Together: Economic Wellbeing for Families" integrates financial literacy education with gender-transformative content on equitable household roles, communication skills, and joint decision-making, delivered in six structured community-based sessions for couples.
Sponsors
Technical University of Munich
Sambodhi Research and Communication Pvt., Ltd.
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 49 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* married and co-habiting husband-wife pairs; * women aged 18-49 and men aged 18 and older; * primary residence in a study cluster in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, or Rajasthan; * completion of at least primary schooling (4th grade); * both partners provide written informed consent and agree to participate in six sessions, baseline and endline surveys, and SMS follow-ups; * both partners understand the local language used in sessions; * no plans for relocation or prolonged absence before endline.
Exclusion criteria
* either partner under 18 years; * refusal of consent or unwillingness to participate by either partner; * serious physical or mental condition preventing safe active participation.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Intergenerational Normative Beliefs Items | T2 = endline (~6 months after intervention, approx. 1.5 years after baseline)) | Normative beliefs regarding reproductive decision-making are assessed using three hypothetical scenario-based items with identical wording and response options. Respondents indicate who should have the main say in deciding whether and when a newly married couple has children in three contexts: (1) a newly married couple in the community, (2) the respondent's daughter and her husband, and (3) the respondent's son and his wife. Response options include wife, joint decision by spouses, husband, other family members, other, and prefer not to say. |
Countries
India
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORJanina I Steinert, Dr.
Technical University of Munich
Outcome results
None listed