# Examining the relationship between parents' endorsed gender norms and their early adolescents' psychosocial health educational engagement, and nutrition in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $45,520

## Abstract

Project Summary
Early adolescence, the time between 10 and 14 years of age, is an important developmental period. Parents
retain crucial influence over the physical, emotional, and cognitive development of their early adolescents by
providing for their material well-being and through role modeling, monitoring, and socialization. As such,
gender norms endorsed by parents strongly influence what adolescents believe to be the socially acceptable
sets of behaviors for boys and girls. Gender inequitable constructs resulting from restrictive gender norms are
passed down intergenerationally from parents to their children, and also directly affect the mental and physical
health of both girls and boys. In low- and middle-income countries both sexes are negatively impacted by
inequitable gender attitudes; however, girls are typically disproportionately disadvantaged. An estimated 535
million children live in countries experiencing conflicts, natural disasters and other humanitarian crises. The
nature and extent to which parents' endorsed gender norms affect the well-being of early adolescents living in
protracted humanitarian crises remains an understudied phenomenon though. The proposed dissertation study
will be guided by Blum et al.'s' Conceptual Framework for Early Adolescence and the Social Norms Approach,
both adapted by the applicant to analyze parents' gender norms' effect on adolescent mental health, education
engagement, and nutrition. The purpose of this proposed mixed methods dissertation study is to examine the
relationship between parent-endorsed gender norms and their early adolescents' mental health, education
engagement, and nutrition in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The specific aims of this study
are to: 1) examine how level of parental endorsement of equitable gender norms is associated with
anxiety/depression, prosocial behavior, school attendance, and food security in early adolescence ; 2) examine
how adolescent gender moderates the association between parents' gender norms and adolescents'
anxiety/depression, prosocial behavior, school attendance, and food security; and 3) explore adolescents'
perceptions of how parents' endorsement of gender norms influence their mental health, educational
engagement, and nutrition. A comprehensive gender equality scale will be the primary quantitative measure of
parents' attitudes toward gender equality. This study is aligned with the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development strategic priority of identifying the social, environmental, economic, and biological factors
that influence early adolescent adaptive behavior development and school functioning, by understanding how
parental gender norms impact the mental health, educational engagement, and nutrition of early adolescents
living in a protracted humanitarian setting. This training plan will begin a program of research focused on the
promotion of the health and well-being of adolescents living in a post-conflict ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9990419
- **Project number:** 1F31HD102091-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrew G. Corley
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $45,520
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9990419

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9990419, Examining the relationship between parents' endorsed gender norms and their early adolescents' psychosocial health educational engagement, and nutrition in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (1F31HD102091-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9990419. Licensed CC0.

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