Overview

Gender attitudes refers to views held by individuals regarding the roles that men and women and boys and girls should play in society. The positive relationship between gender-equitable attitudes and numerous health issues is well established;^1,2 the relationship to child health, nutrition, and development is increasingly examined. For example, research in Zimbabwe found that caregivers with more equitable gender norm attitudes were more likely to exclusively breastfeed children and have better nourished children.^3,4 Gender attitudes are sometimes included as an element of women’s empowerment or intrinsic agency.⁵

The gender attitudes of caregivers can be assessed through use of well-validated scales such as the Gender Norms Attitudes scale.⁶ Another option to assess gender attitudes is through the standardized question on women’s attitudes toward domestic violence in specific situations. The population-based Demographic Health Survey (DHS) includes this question in a women’s empowerment module. With the accessibility of these population-based data on attitudes toward domestic violence, many studies have examined the relationship to child nutrition. Some researchers have used caregivers’ attitudes toward domestic violence as a proxy for other resources, such as autonomy and self-esteem. See WHO's guide on Ethical and safety recommendations for intervention research on violence against women to put safety first.

Measures

• Gender Norms Attitude scale (10 items)
• Gender Equitable Men scale (24 items)
• DHS Women’s Empowerment module: Attitudes toward wife-beating (5 items)
• MICS Domestic Violence module: Attitudes toward domestic violence (5 items)