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Behavioral Sciences
Volume 15
Issue 11
10.3390/bs15111596
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Systematic Review

Entertainment Media and Gender Norm Transformation Interventions for Young Women and Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

by
William Douglas Evans
1,*,
Elizabeth A. Larson
2,
Courtney J. McLarnon
2,
Michael Hauer
2,
Marian Marian
2,
Sohail Agha
3,
Rajiv Rimal
4,
Beniamino Cislaghi
5,6,
Elizabeth Costenbader
7,
Amy Henderson Riley
8,
Helen Wang
9,
Sushmita Mukherjee
7,
Sarah Smith
2,
Claire Hunter Davis
2 and
Rebecka Lundgren
2
1
Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA
2
Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
3
Behavioral Insights Lab, Seattle, WA 98136, USA
4
Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
5
Institute for Development Studies, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK
6
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, School of Social Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda
7
PCI Advisory Private Limited, New Delhi 110020, India
8
Population Media Center, South Burlington, VT 05403, USA
9
Department of Communication, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1596; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111596
Submission received: 12 September 2025 / Revised: 12 November 2025 / Accepted: 17 November 2025 / Published: 20 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Social Cognition and Cooperative Behavior)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Adolescent girls and young women are particularly vulnerable to the influence of social and gender norms. This systematic review builds on a broader review of social and gender norms interventions, with the overall aim of identifying and mapping empirical evidence on efforts to improve health and livelihood outcomes of adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa. The review examines the strategies, methods, mechanisms of change, and research on the effectiveness of the interventions in the field. We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed literature using established PRISMA methods. The sample included 35 articles, which represented 24 distinct interventions—the unit of analysis for this systematic review—that spanned 15 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, with eleven in East Africa, six in West Africa, two in South Africa, and one in the Northern and Central regions. Interventions covered a wide range of outcomes, including sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, child early marriage, and other areas. The interventions generally served adolescents and young adults up to age 24. Evaluations included observational, quasi-experimental, and randomized controlled designs. Some interventions included social norms measures, and there was varying evidence of effectiveness (from emerging evidence to demonstrated effectiveness). This review suggests that entertainment media is an effective approach for shifting gender norms, attitudes, and behaviors among adolescent girls and young women. More rigorous intervention research is needed.
Keywords: social norms; gender norms; entertainment media; systematic review; sub-Saharan Africa social norms; gender norms; entertainment media; systematic review; sub-Saharan Africa

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Evans, W.D.; Larson, E.A.; McLarnon, C.J.; Hauer, M.; Marian, M.; Agha, S.; Rimal, R.; Cislaghi, B.; Costenbader, E.; Riley, A.H.; et al. Entertainment Media and Gender Norm Transformation Interventions for Young Women and Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 1596. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111596

AMA Style

Evans WD, Larson EA, McLarnon CJ, Hauer M, Marian M, Agha S, Rimal R, Cislaghi B, Costenbader E, Riley AH, et al. Entertainment Media and Gender Norm Transformation Interventions for Young Women and Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(11):1596. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111596

Chicago/Turabian Style

Evans, William Douglas, Elizabeth A. Larson, Courtney J. McLarnon, Michael Hauer, Marian Marian, Sohail Agha, Rajiv Rimal, Beniamino Cislaghi, Elizabeth Costenbader, Amy Henderson Riley, and et al. 2025. "Entertainment Media and Gender Norm Transformation Interventions for Young Women and Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 11: 1596. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111596

APA Style

Evans, W. D., Larson, E. A., McLarnon, C. J., Hauer, M., Marian, M., Agha, S., Rimal, R., Cislaghi, B., Costenbader, E., Riley, A. H., Wang, H., Mukherjee, S., Smith, S., Davis, C. H., & Lundgren, R. (2025). Entertainment Media and Gender Norm Transformation Interventions for Young Women and Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review. Behavioral Sciences, 15(11), 1596. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111596

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