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General

Study Overview

Title:

Sister of Success Mentoring and Girls Groups in Liberia

Study is 3ie funded:

No

Study ID:

RIDIE-STUDY-ID-54ab035bdbff7

Initial Registration Date:

01/05/2015

Last Update Date:

12/30/2014

Study Status:

Ongoing

Location(s):

Liberia

Abstract:

This impact evaluation investigates whether being part of a mentorship program during early adolescence improves outcomes for girls in Liberia’s capital city, Monrovia. As girls pass through adolescence, a number of factors influence whether they complete secondary school, avoid teenage pregnancy, and develop the life skills, attitudes, behaviors and relationships that will set them on a path to a healthy and productive adulthood. Sisters of Success (SOS) matches volunteer mentors to groups of 10 girls, who then meet twice a month over the course of a year and a half. The impact evaluation will answer whether the SOS program (i) Reduces girls’ likelihood of dropping out of school prematurely (ii) Reduces girls risky sexual behavior and likelihood of becoming pregnant as a minor (iii) Increases the extent to which a girl expresses her views, has a say over her own life, and influences others in her household and community (iv) Changes girls’ occupational choice, earnings, and savings. Complementary qualitative research will examine how the interventions affect participating girls. This study involves 2,880 girls and will follow them for four years.

Registration Citation:

Koroknay-Palicz, T., Montalvao, J. and Seban, J., 2015. Sister of Success Mentoring and Girls Groups in Liberia. Registry for International Development for Impact Evaluations (RIDIE). Available at: 10.23846/ridie041

Categories:

Public Sector Management
Social Protection

Additional Keywords:

mentorship, adolescent girls program, Liberia, life skills, mentoring, school dropout, teenage pregnancy, role model

Secondary ID Number(s):

World Bank P147656

Principal Investigator(s)

Name of First PI:

Tricia Koroknay-Palicz, Joao Montalvao, Juliette Seban

Affiliation:

World Bank, World Bank, International Rescue Committee

Name of Second PI:

Affiliation:

Study Sponsor

Name:

World Bank

Study Sponsor Location:

United States

Research Partner

Name of Partner Institution:

World Bank, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)

Type of Organization:

NGO-international

Location:

United States

Intervention

Intervention Overview

Intervention:

The Sisters of Success (SOS) program’s goals are for girls to adopt healthy behaviors; build confidence, self-esteem, social capital, and healthy peer relationships; build and practice problem solving skills, communication, and leadership skills; learn and practice their rights; begin to develop savings and financial literacy habits; increase community participation and involvement; and help them work towards their own personal development. SOS is implemented by International Rescue Committee (IRC), in partnership with two local organizations, EDUCARE, and Planned Parenthood Association of Liberia (PPAL), and volunteer mentors drawn from the same communities as the girls they mentor. SOS recruited girls aged 12-15, and matched each mentor with 10 girls from her neighborhood. Pairs of mentors and their girls meet twice monthly for 15 months and follow a common curriculum, whose themes are: Identity & empowerment; friendship & being a team; communication & setting goals; conflict resolution & managing emotions; body & healthy relationship skills; and money, savings & future goals. Mentors serve as trusted individuals, friends, advisors, coaches, guides, teachers, and role models.

Theory of Change:

Multiple Treatment Arms Evaluated?

No

Implementing Agency

Name of Organization:

International Rescue Committee (IRC), EDUCARE Liberia, Planned Parenthood Association of Liberia (PPAL), and volunteer mentors

Type of Organization:

NGO (local)/Community Based Organization/Other civil society organization

Program Funder

Name of Organization:

Nike Foundation

Type of Organization:

Foreign or Multilateral Aid Agency

Intervention Timing

Intervention or Program Started at time of Registration?

Yes

Start Date:

01/01/2014

End Date:

05/31/2015

Evaluation Method

Evaluation Method Overview

Primary (or First) Evaluation Method:

Randomized control trial

Other (not Listed) Method:

Additional Evaluation Method (If Any):

Other (not Listed) Method:

Method Details

Details of Evaluation Approach:

Within target neighborhoods of Monrovia, Liberia’s capital city, 2880 girls aged 12-15 were registered for SOS: twice the number SOS could afford to serve, and roughly 30% of 12-15 year old girls in those neighborhoods. After registration, half of the girls (1440) were individually randomized to the treatment group, and half to the control group which will not participate in SOS. Close friends, sisters, and girls who live together were randomized to treatment or control groups jointly, since the research team deemed such cases to otherwise be at a high risk of “spillover effects.” A spillover effects is when the impact of the intervention on a treatment girl somehow “spills over” on to a control girl. Randomization was also stratified on age, neighborhood, and schooling status. A baseline survey was carried out before the start of SOS, collecting data both from the girls and their household heads. Endline survey data will be collected at the end of the SOS program, and approximately two years after that. The study will assess the impact of the SOS program by comparing the endline data of those girls randomly assigned to the treatment group, and those assigned to control group.

Outcomes (Endpoints):

(i) Schooling: Secondary school completion; level of schooling completed by age relative to the average; in school or out of school. (ii) Sexuality and pregnancy: Age at first pregnancy; age at birth of first child; unprotected sex; age at first co-habitation with a romantic partner; number of sexual partners; knowledge and use of contraception (iii) Voice and influence: Girl shares her views; and girl’s level of decision-making power within her household of origin, romantic relationships, peer networks, classroom, and community. (iv) Occupational Choice, Earnings and Savings: Main occupation; main economic activities; earnings from economic activities; own savings (stock, and flow)

Unit of Analysis:

Girl

Hypotheses:

Primary Hypotheseses (i) SOS program reduces girls’ likelihood of dropping out of school prematurely. (ii) SOS program reduces girls’ risky sexual behavior and likelihood of becoming pregnant as a minor. Secondary Hypotheses (i) SOS program increases the extent to which a girl expresses her views, has a say over her own life, and influences others in her household and community (ii) SOS program may change girls’ occupational choice, earnings, and savings. (iii) SOS program may change girls’ norms and aspirations. (iv) SOS program may change the resources available to the girl – her own and others – such as time, money, social support, her own knowledge, and her own “life skills”. (v) SOS program may change girls’ peer influences and role models. (vi) SOS program may change girls’ self-efficacy, self-confidence, and self-esteem.

Unit of Intervention or Assignment:

Girl

Number of Clusters in Sample:

Number of Individuals in Sample:

2880

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

1440 girls in the treatment group; 1440 girls in the control group

Supplementary Files

Analysis Plan:

Other Documents:

Data

Outcomes Data

Description:

Endline survey of girls and their household heads.

Data Already Collected?

No

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Treatment Assignment Data

Participation or Assignment Information:

Yes

Description:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Data Analysis

Data Analysis Status:

Study Materials

Upload Study Materials:

Registration Category

Registration Category:

Prospective, Category 1: Data for measuring impacts have not been collected

Completion

Completion Overview

Intervention Completion Date:

Data Collection Completion Date:

Unit of Analysis:

Clusters in Final Sample:

Total Observations in Final Sample:

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

Findings

Preliminary Report:

Preliminary Report URL:

Summary of Findings:

Paper:

Paper Summary:

Paper Citation:

Data Availability

Data Availability (Primary Data):

Date of Data Availability:

Data URL or Contact:

Access procedure:

Other Materials

Survey:

Survey Instrument Links or Contact:

Program Files:

Program Files Links or Contact:

External Link:

External Link Description:

Description of Changes:

Study Stopped

Date:

Reason: