From: Women empowerment in reproductive health: a systematic review of measurement properties
Author, year Country | Construct | Items/subscales | Target population in quantitative surveys | Conceptual framework | Measured outcomes | Dimensions of women empowerment | Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Upadhyay et al. 2020 [11] USA | Sexual and reproductive empowerment | 23 items/7 subscales: – Comfort talking with a partner – Choice of partners, marriage, and children – Parental support – Sexual safety – Self-love – Sense of future – Sexual pleasure | 1117 Adolescents and young adults aged 15–24 | Kabeer’s framework | – Using the desired contraceptive method – Access to sexual and reproductive health services – Access to health information | Individual agency/immediate relational agency | 0.80 |
Upadhyay et al. 2014 [24] USA | Reproductive Autonomy Scale | 14 items/3 subscales – Freedom from coercion – Communication – Decision-making | 1892 women aged 15–60 | Theory of gender and power developed by Connell | – Current use of modern contraception – Reaching one’s reproductive desires and intentions – Unmet need for contraception | Individual agency | 0.78 subscales: 0.65–0.82 |
Hinson et al. 2019 [12] Nepal | Reproductive Decision-making Agency | 12 items – Agency around when to have children – Agency around whether to use contraception – Agency around which method of contraception | 935 women aged 15–49 | Reproductive empowerment framework, developed by Edmeades et al. | – The time of having children – Using family planning methods – Choosing the method of family planning | Individual agency | 0.6416 |
Moreau et al. 2020 [13] Ethiopia, Uganda, and Nigeria | Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in Sexual and Reproductive health (WGE-SRH) | 14 items/3 subscales – Sexual existence of choice – Contraceptive existence of choice – Pregnancy existence of choice | 1229 women aged 15–49 | – The World Bank’s Empowerment Framework – The SRH Empowerment | – Volitional sex – Contraceptive use – Pregnancy by choice | Individual agency | 0.56–0.79 For various subscales |
McCauley et al. 2017 [25] USA | The Reproductive Coercion Scale (RCS) | 9 items/2 subscales: – Pregnancy coercion – Condom manipulation | 4674 women aged 16–29 | None | Unwanted pregnancy | Immediate relational agency | – |
Morokoff et al. 1997 [5] USA | Sexual Assertiveness Scale (SAS) | 18 items/3 subscales – Assertiveness regarding initiation of sex – Assertiveness regarding the refusal of sex – Pregnancy/STD prevention | The first sample: 260 and 136 The second sample: 240 and 263, women at reproductive age | General conceptualization of assertiveness based on human rights to autonomy | – Unwanted sex – Pregnancy/STD prevention | Individual agency | 0.82 |
Santos Iglesias and Carlos Sierra 2010 [32] Spain | Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness | 19-item – Initiation of sex – No shyness/refusal of sex | 400 men and 453 women (N = 853) 18 to 71 years | None | Sexual desires | Individual agency | 0.87 |
Loshek and Terrell 2014 [26] USA | The Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ) | 18 items – Satisfaction – Refusal – Risk-history | 725 women aged 18–49 | None | – Communication – Unwanted sexual acts | Individual agency | 0.78 to 0.81 For various subscales |
Jones 2006 [7] USA | The Sexual Pressure Scale (SPS) | 19 items/5 subscales – Condom fear – Sexual coercion – Women’s sex role – Men expect sex – Show trust | 306 urban women, aged 18 to 29 | Gender stereotypical expectations | Sexual choices | Immediate relational agency | 0.81 |
Jones and Gulick 2009 [8] USA | Sexual Pressure Scale for Women-Revised (SPSW-R) | 18-item/subscales – Show trust – Women’s sex role – Men expect sex – Sex coercion | 325 urban women aged 18–29 | Gender stereotypical expectations | Sexual choices | Immediate relational agency | 0.86 |
Pulerwitz et al. 2000 [6] USA | The Sexual Relationship Power Scale (SRPS) | 23-item – Relationship control – Decision-making dominance | Women (N = 380 Women 18–45 years old | – The theory of gender – Power and Social Exchange Theory | HIV/AIDS risk and prevention | Immediate relational agency | 0.84 for English version, 0.88 for Spanish version |
Pulerwitz et al. 2018 [29] Kenya | The Sexual Relationship Power Scale (SRPS) | 15-item | 1101 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 | The theory of gender – Power and Social Exchange Theory | HIV/AIDS risk and prevention | Immediate relational agency | 15-item SRPS: 0.81 and 12-item SRPS-M: 0.76 |
Bhandari et al. 2014 [27] Nepal | Women’s Autonomy Measurement Scale | 23-item – Decision making autonomy – Financial autonomy – Freedom of movement | 250 Women at reproductive age | None | Maternal Health care Service Utilization | Individual agency | 0.84 |
Kalysha Closson 2019 [30] South Africa | Sexual Relationship Power equity | Adaptation of Pulerwitz’s SRPS 8-items for women | 235 young men and women aged 16–24 | Theory of gender and power developed by Connell | HIV-risk factors | Immediate relational agency | 0.63 |
Asaolu et al. 2018 [31] 19 countries representing/4 African regions | Women’s empowerment | 4 items allocate to the subscale of health dimension – Access to healthcare domain | 111,368 women aged 15–49 | Kabeer’s framework | Access to healthcare | Structural agency | – |