Women's Autonomy and Subjective Well-Being is a multi-item measure of gender norms in women's autonomy and subjective well being, captured by questions on control, mobility, and perceived happiness. The measure is assessed separately for men and women, with 4 and 5 items each, respectively.
Geographies Tested: India
Populations Included: Female, Male
Age Range:
Women's items
Autonomy
1. I have control over my own life.
Response Options:
Strongly Disagree - 1
Disagree - 2
Neither Agree nor Disagree - 3
Agree - 4
Strongly Agree - 5
2. I am able to go to a doctor without asking a man.
3. I am able to go to the market without asking a man
Response Options:
Agree - 1
Disagree - 2
Happiness
4. How happy are you with your life in general?
Response Options:
Very Unhappy - 1
Unhappy - 2
Neither Unhappy nor Happy - 3
Happy - 4
Very Happy - 5
Men's items
Autonomy
1. I have control over my own life.
Response Options
Strongly Disagree - 1
Disagree - 2
Neither Agree nor Disagree - 3
Agree - 4
Strongly Agree - 5
2. Women should be able to go to community meetings on their own.
3. Women should be able to go to the doctor without a male escort.
4. Women should be able to go to the market without male permission.
Response Options
Agree - 1
Disagree - 2
Happiness
5. How happy are you with your life in general?
Response Options
Very Unhappy - 1
Unhappy - 2
Neither Unhappy nor Happy - 3
Happy - 4
Very Happy - 5
Mean scores are calculated across groups.
de Hoop, T., van Kempen, L., Linssen, R., & van Eerdewijk, A. (2014). Women's autonomy and subjective well-being: How gender norms shape the impact of self-help groups in Odisha, India. Feminist Economics, 20(3), 103-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2014.893388
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Formative ResearchQualitative Research
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Field Expert Input
Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing
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KEYEvidence-based Measures of Empowerment for Research on Gender Equality (EMERGE)
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