Measuring Adolescent Girls' Agency
Author Information
Author(s): Ogunbiyi Bolatito O., Bingenheimer Jeffrey B., Baird Sarah, Vyas Amita
Primary Institution: Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University
Hypothesis
The study aims to construct and validate a multidimensional measure of agency among adolescent girls in Ethiopia.
Conclusion
The study provides a validated multidimensional measure of adolescent girls' agency that can support future policy and research.
Supporting Evidence
- The study confirmed known-groups validity, showing older girls had higher agency scores than younger girls.
- Convergent validity was not confirmed, indicating weak correlations with gender attitudes.
- Six factors of agency were identified through exploratory factor analysis.
Takeaway
This study created a way to measure how much power young girls in Ethiopia feel they have in making decisions about their lives.
Methodology
The study used cross-sectional data from 3033 in-school adolescent girls and their adult female caregivers, employing exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.
Potential Biases
Self-reported measures may be influenced by social norms, leading to potential bias in the data.
Limitations
The study's limitations include reliance on secondary data, potential social desirability bias, and the inability to generalize findings beyond the studied context.
Participant Demographics
Participants were never-married, in-school adolescent girls aged 10-12 and 15-17 years from both urban and rural areas in Ethiopia.
Statistical Information
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website