Quantitative Measure of Self-Perceived Gender Relations in Young Women in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

<strong>Background:</strong> The conceptualization and measurement of gender-based relations and equity are still challenging to researchers worldwide. Given a growing number of health studies which want to take into account the roles of gender relations, there is a need for quantitative...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thanh Cong Bui, Christine M Markham, Pamela M Diamond, Ly Thi-Hai Tran, Michael W Ross, Huong Thi-Hoai Nguyen, Thach Ngoc Le
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences 2017-01-01
Series:Women’s Health Bulletin
Subjects:
Online Access:http://womenshealthbulletin.sums.ac.ir/article_45251_39fecaf837f94e9c9f359e0f97ebf968.pdf
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Summary:<strong>Background:</strong> The conceptualization and measurement of gender-based relations and equity are still challenging to researchers worldwide. Given a growing number of health studies which want to take into account the roles of gender relations, there is a need for quantitative measures of this determinant. <strong>Objectives:</strong> Based on the theory of gender and power and results from our previous qualitative work, this analysis aims to examine the applicability, reliability, and validity of a set of self-perceived gender-relation measures in the Mekong delta of Vietnam. <strong>Methods:</strong> Data came from a cross-sectional survey of 1181 undergraduate female students from two universities. Second-order latent variable modeling was used to examine applicability of theoretical structures and validity of measuring items. Single-factor modeling was employed to screen for the most relevant dimensions of self-perceived gender relations. <strong>Results:</strong> The second-order modeling showed good fit, suggesting that the theory well explained self-perceptions of gender relations. The consistency of models across 500 hypothetical bootstrapping samples further substantiated factorial validity of measures. Students who ever had a boyfriend held slightly different perceptions of gender relations compared to those who never had a boyfriend. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> The final parsimonious set of measures which had best loadings onto perceived subordination consisted of ten dimensions; this provides a practical application to measure self-perceived gender relations in other health research.
ISSN:2345-5136
2382-9990