Measuring agency as a dimension of empowerment among young adolescents globally; findings from the Global Early Adolescent Study

Abstract

Highlights Agency, a domain of empowerment, is a measurable construct amongst early adolescents age 10-14. Three sub-scales - Voice, Freedom of Movement, and Behavioral Control and Decision-making – comprise the measurement of agency. Differences in the Freedom of Movement sub-scale show a growing equity gap between boys and girls across multiple countries. Users of the scales must consider context when adapting the items to account for differences in culture and environment.

Associations Between Agency and Sexual and Reproductive Health Communication in Early Adolescence: A Cross-cultural, Cross-sectional Study

“…To address this gap and empirically assess the contribution of agency in healthy transitions from early to older adolescence, the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS) has developed a multidimensional measure of agency including dimensions of mobility, voice, and decision-making power that are salient to young people's lives across diverse cultural settings. The psychometric properties of the instrument that have been tested among nearly 2,000 adolescents in 15 cities are presented elsewhere [ 14 ]. Building on this research, we seek to understand how these dimensions of agency in early adolescence relate to SRH communication.…”

A critical discourse analysis of adolescent fertility In Zambia-a postcolonial perspective

“…While the agency alone is a complex concept [23], guidance on fertility control decisions was generally accepted by both the young people and their fertility control in uencers-parents, teachers, health workers, and policymakers. The lack of agency was more apparent through adolescents' lack of nancial independence, reduced decision-making power to utilize SHR information and services [23], and this typically situated them within the brackets of a marginalized or socially secluded group [34]. All the discussants seemed to be at peace with the adolescents' lack of autonomy as it was culturally acceptable for young people to be obedient without questioning the elderly, radicalizing the young people who sought to control their fertility.…”

“…Studies have noted how competing discourses relate with each other, particularly, global discourses interacting with and shaped by local socio-political contexts [19], competing for dominance or indeed existing in plurality or hybridity [19][20][21], and sometimes perpetuating the lack of access to information and services for young people [22]. For this paper, a critical postcolonial perspective is drawn upon to understand the discourses that surround the increasing burden of adolescent fertility, highlighting the structural transformations that have impacted negatively on young people and their agency [23,24]; in this case, the ability to make fertility-control-related decisions. Epistemologically, the postcolonial critical perspective highlights the linkages among the domains of human experience-the psychological, ideological, social, political, intellectual, and aesthetic, in ways that show how inseparable they are [25], and their on-going manifestations in health and wellness of communities [26].…”

Adolescent fertility in Zambia- a critical discourse analysis of adolescent fertility control from a postcolonial perspective

“…While the agency alone is a complex concept [16], guidance on fertility control decisions was generally accepted by both the young people and their fertility control in uencers-parents, teachers, health workers, and policymakers. The lack of agency was more apparent through adolescents' lack of nancial independence, reduced decision-making power to utilize SHR information and services [16], and this typically situated them within the brackets of a marginalized or socially secluded group [24]. All the discussants seemed to be at peace with the adolescents' lack of autonomy as it was culturally acceptable for young people to be obedient without questioning the elderly, radicalizing the young people who sought to control their fertility.…”

“…A critical postcolonial perspective is drawn upon to understand the discourses that surround the increasing burden of adolescent fertility, highlighting the structural transformations that have impacted negatively on young people and their agency [16,17]; in this case, the ability to make fertility-controlrelated decisions. The postcolonial criticism highlights the linkages among the domains of human experience-the psychological, ideological, social, political, intellectual, and aesthetic, in ways that show how inseparable they are.…”