International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH), Department of Uro-Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
J Adolesc Health. 2017 Oct;61(4S):S42-S47. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.03.007.
The purpose of the study is to explore how gender norms emerge in romantic relationships among early adolescents (EAs) living in five poor urban areas.
Data were collected as part of the Global Early Adolescent Study. The current research analyzed data from interviews with 30 EAs (aged 11-13 years) living in five poor urban sites: Baltimore, Cuenca, Edinburgh, Ghent, and Nairobi. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in English using Atlas.ti, focusing on how EAs experience and perceive gender norms in romantic relationships.
Across the five sites, only a few respondents described having been in love, the majority of whom were boys. Findings indicate that stereotypical gender norms about romantic relationships prevail across these cultural settings, depicting boys as romantically/sexually active and dominant, and girls as innocent with less (romantic) agency. In spite of the similarities, Nairobi was unique in that respondents referred to how sexual behavior and violence can occur within EA relationships. In all countries, heterosexuality was perceived to be the norm. Nevertheless, there were examples of EAs accepting homosexuality and expressing supportive attitudes toward equality between the sexes.
While EAs across five different cultural settings seem to endorse stereotypical gender norms in romantic relationships, a few stories also illustrate more gender-equal attitudes. As stereotypical gender norms have a demonstrated negative effect on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and well-being, additional research is needed to understand which factors-at the interpersonal and structural level-contribute to the construction of these norms among EAs.
本研究旨在探讨生活在五个贫困城市地区的早期青少年（EA）的浪漫关系中性别规范是如何出现的。
数据是作为全球早期青少年研究的一部分收集的。本研究分析了来自五个贫困城市地区（巴尔的摩、昆卡、爱丁堡、根特和内罗毕）的 30 名 EA（年龄在 11-13 岁）访谈的数据。所有访谈均以英语录制、转录，并使用 Atlas.ti 进行分析，重点关注 EA 如何体验和感知浪漫关系中的性别规范。
在五个地点中，只有少数受访者描述过恋爱经历，其中大多数是男孩。研究结果表明，关于浪漫关系的典型性别规范在这些文化背景下普遍存在，描绘男孩在浪漫/性方面活跃且占主导地位，女孩则较为天真无邪，浪漫/能动性较弱。尽管存在相似之处，但内罗毕的独特之处在于，受访者提到了性行为和暴力如何在 EA 关系中发生。在所有国家，异性恋被认为是常态。然而，也有一些 EA 接受同性恋，并表达了对性别平等的支持态度。
尽管来自五个不同文化背景的 EA 似乎都认可浪漫关系中的典型性别规范，但也有一些故事描绘了更为性别平等的态度。由于典型的性别规范对青少年的性健康和幸福感有负面影响，因此需要进一步研究，以了解在 EA 中构建这些规范的人际和结构层面的因素。
