EFFECTS OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SETTINGS ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS

The present study investigate both independent and interaction effects of education and social setting on empowerment of adolescent girls with respect to autonomy & self-reliance, decision making and participation. The subject of the study consists of 120 adolescent girls from secondary and higher secondary schools of rural and urban areas using random sampling. The investigator adopted the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Scale (AGES) which developed by the Sisodia and Singha (2009). The study examined the impact of education and social setting on empowerment among adolescent girls, revealing varied effects. Education independently influenced autonomy, self-reliance, decision-making, and participation, with urban girls showing greater empowerment due to educational advantages. Urban girls were more socially empowered than rural counterparts in autonomy and decision-making but not in participation, where both groups were equally empowered. An interaction effect between education and social setting was found only in decision-making, highlighting urban girls’ dual advantage. Overall, urban girls benefited more from social and educational factors, reflecting disparities between urban and rural contexts in adolescent empowerment. KEY WORDS: Adolescent, Women Empowerment, Education, Social Setting, Urban and Rural Areas