The Flower for Sustained Health: An integrated socio-ecological framework for normative influence and change

This working paper, developed by the Theory Group of the Learning Collaborative to Advance Normative Change (LC), proposes a tailored conceptual framework that articulates the relationship between social norms and adolescent sexual and reproductive health outcomes. The goal is to increase the clarity and rigor of design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs that address the social context of adolescent SRH. This working paper provides a brief overview of social norms theory, the relationship between social norms and adolescent SRH, the role of power in maintaining gender norms, and gives acknowledgement to the substantial body of theoretical work that came before to understand how and why social norms influence behavior. The proposed conceptual framework recognizes the relational role of social norms processes, highlights how norms fit within a larger sociostructural system, and provide insight into how to promote norms that foster positive SRH and address norms leading to negative outcomes.