Effects of information about norms on beliefs, attitudes, and behavior regarding FGM in Ethiopia

Last registered on June 15, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Effects of information about norms on beliefs, attitudes, and behavior regarding FGM in Ethiopia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011558
Initial registration date
June 11, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 15, 2023, 4:56 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Ethiopia
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Andreas Kotsadam
Affiliation
University of Oslo
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Espen Villanger
PI Affiliation
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Charlotte Ringdal
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Matthew Gichohi
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Mette Løvgren
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-01-13
End date
2026-07-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study the effects of providing information about community level attitudes on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on beliefs, attitudes, and behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Gichohi, Matthew et al. 2023. "Effects of information about norms on beliefs, attitudes, and behavior regarding FGM in Ethiopia." AEA RCT Registry. June 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11558-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
At baseline, we asked all mothers and fathers “A girl in our village should be circumcised”. They could answer “Agree” or “Disagree”. We also asked them what share of men and women they believed disagreed with the statement.

Our main intervention consists of randomly telling people how many individuals in a nearby community actually oppose FGM.
Intervention Start Date
2023-06-13
Intervention End Date
2026-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
4 short run outcomes:
• Decision about FGM for a hypothetical girl (Vignette)
• Own attitudes about FGM
• Plans for uncut daughters
• Beliefs about attitudes of FGM in the community:

1 long term outcome:
The share of cut daughters at endline in 2024
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
See plan for details
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our main intervention consists of randomly telling people how many individuals in a nearby community actually oppose FGM. Randomization is at the individual level and is done with computer.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individuals
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1000 individuals (conservatively estimated)
Sample size: planned number of observations
1000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
666 individuals treated and 334 in control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Minimum detectable effect size 0.14 standard deviations with 80 percent power (calculation based on 2/3 being allocated to treatment).
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Christian Michelsen Institute
IRB Approval Date
2021-05-03
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre analysis plan: Effects of information about norms on beliefs, attitudes, and behavior regarding FGM in Ethiopia

MD5: 0d4140a1f581eab836e8ec8389cd0332

SHA1: 3f7dbc3764ce1f7715769a72d294884a9a7397ff

Uploaded At: June 11, 2023