Validating an Agency-based Tool for Measuring Women's Empowerment in a Complex Public Health Trial in Rural Nepal.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Development Studies
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Indicators of women's empowerment are increasingly popular in global development.
• However, the validity of existing measures for this complex concept remains under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a mixed-methods validation of the Relative Autonomy Index (RAI).
• To assess the RAI's measurement of Amartya Sen's concept of agency freedom in rural Nepal.

Main Methods:

• Think-aloud interviews (n=7) assessed respondent understanding and interpretation of questionnaire items.
• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on a calibration sample (n=511) identified underlying factors.
• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on a validation sample (n=509) evaluated model fit.

Main Results:

• Interviews highlighted issues with Likert scales, item ambiguity, and translation.
• EFA revealed two correlated factors (r=0.64) related to internally and externally motivated behavior.
• Both factors correlated negatively with education and decision-making power.
• CFA demonstrated good model fit (RMSEA 0.05-0.08, CFI 0.91-0.99).

Conclusions:

• The study cautions against uncritical use of agency-based quantification for women's empowerment.
• While construct and content validity were satisfactory, findings suggest potential adaptive preferences.
• High scores in internally motivated behavior might reflect internalized oppression rather than true agency freedom.