Evaluating the Validity and Reliability of the Gender Equitable Men’s Scale Using a Longitudinal Cohort of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Inequitable gender norms and beliefs contribute to increased sexual risk behavior, and, among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), risk of HIV acquisition. We investigated the longitudinal measurement properties of the Gender Equitable Men's Scale (GEMS) when applied to a cohort of AGYW in rural South Africa (2011-2015). We used item response theory [Person-Item maps, Differential Item Functioning (DIF)] and measurement invariance confirmatory factor analysis models to assess the validity and reliability of the GEMS instrument. Item difficulty and endorsement of gender equitable beliefs both shifted over time. DIF analysis identified item bias for over half of the items; influenced by age, pregnancy, sexual debut, and intimate partner violence. Measurement invariance models revealed strong longitudinal invariance properties. GEMS is a reliable longitudinal measurement of gender equitable beliefs, with notable bias for specific items when administered to subgroups. Additional items specific to the adolescent experience are warranted for a more stable assessment of gender equitable beliefs in a population facing shifting norms as they mature.
Source: AIDS and Behavior
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,860
Funders: Wellcome Trust, South African Medical Research Council, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: The science for the last mile: Enhanced epidemiologic surveillance to accelerate HIV elimination, Health, population and social transitions in rural Southern Africa: Elucidating pathways and testing interventions., Preventing cardiometabolic diseases in Africa: life-course and multi-sector approaches., Activating Treatment as Prevention through Community Mobilization in South Africa, Investigating and responding to health, population and social transitions in rural Southern Africa., Multilevel Mechanisms of HIV Acquisition in Young South African Women, Carolina Population Center, Effects of Cash Transfer and Community Mobilization in Young South African Women, G8186070293, HIV Prevention Trials Network Leadership and Operations Center, LC: HIV PREVENTION TRIALS NETWORK, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), SDMC: HIV Prevention Trials Network
OpenAlex ID: W3195604560