Table 1.

Characteristics of included studies

Author, year Country	Construct	Items/subscales	Target population in quantitative surveys	Conceptual framework	Measured outcomes	Dimensions of women empowerment	Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha)
Upadhyay et al. 2020 [11] USA	Sexual and reproductive empowerment	23 items/7 subscales: – Comfort talking with a partner – Choice of partners, marriage, and children – Parental support – Sexual safety – Self-love – Sense of future – Sexual pleasure	1117 Adolescents and young adults aged 15–24	Kabeer’s framework	– Using the desired contraceptive method – Access to sexual and reproductive health services – Access to health information	Individual agency/immediate relational agency	0.80
Upadhyay et al. 2014 [24] USA	Reproductive Autonomy Scale	14 items/3 subscales – Freedom from coercion – Communication – Decision-making	1892 women aged 15–60	Theory of gender and power developed by Connell	– Current use of modern contraception – Reaching one’s reproductive desires and intentions – Unmet need for contraception	Individual agency	0.78 subscales: 0.65–0.82
Hinson et al. 2019 [12] Nepal	Reproductive Decision-making Agency	12 items – Agency around when to have children – Agency around whether to use contraception – Agency around which method of contraception	935 women aged 15–49	Reproductive empowerment framework, developed by Edmeades et al.	– The time of having children – Using family planning methods – Choosing the method of family planning	Individual agency	0.6416
Moreau et al. 2020 [13] Ethiopia, Uganda, and Nigeria	Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in Sexual and Reproductive health (WGE-SRH)	14 items/3 subscales – Sexual existence of choice – Contraceptive existence of choice – Pregnancy existence of choice	1229 women aged 15–49	– The World Bank’s Empowerment Framework – The SRH Empowerment	– Volitional sex – Contraceptive use – Pregnancy by choice	Individual agency	0.56–0.79 For various subscales
McCauley et al. 2017 [25] USA	The Reproductive Coercion Scale (RCS)	9 items/2 subscales: – Pregnancy coercion – Condom manipulation	4674 women aged 16–29	None	Unwanted pregnancy	Immediate relational agency	–
Morokoff et al. 1997 [5] USA	Sexual Assertiveness Scale (SAS)	18 items/3 subscales – Assertiveness regarding initiation of sex – Assertiveness regarding the refusal of sex – Pregnancy/STD prevention	The first sample: 260 and 136 The second sample: 240 and 263, women at reproductive age	General conceptualization of assertiveness based on human rights to autonomy	– Unwanted sex – Pregnancy/STD prevention	Individual agency	0.82
Santos Iglesias and Carlos Sierra 2010 [32] Spain	Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness	19-item – Initiation of sex – No shyness/refusal of sex	400 men and 453 women (N = 853) 18 to 71 years	None	Sexual desires	Individual agency	0.87
Loshek and Terrell 2014 [26] USA	The Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ)	18 items – Satisfaction – Refusal – Risk-history	725 women aged 18–49	None	– Communication – Unwanted sexual acts	Individual agency	0.78 to 0.81 For various subscales
Jones 2006 [7] USA	The Sexual Pressure Scale (SPS)	19 items/5 subscales – Condom fear – Sexual coercion – Women’s sex role – Men expect sex – Show trust	306 urban women, aged 18 to 29	Gender stereotypical expectations	Sexual choices	Immediate relational agency	0.81
Jones and Gulick 2009 [8] USA	Sexual Pressure Scale for Women-Revised (SPSW-R)	18-item/subscales – Show trust – Women’s sex role – Men expect sex – Sex coercion	325 urban women aged 18–29	Gender stereotypical expectations	Sexual choices	Immediate relational agency	0.86
Pulerwitz et al. 2000 [6] USA	The Sexual Relationship Power Scale (SRPS)	23-item – Relationship control – Decision-making dominance	Women (N = 380 Women 18–45 years old	– The theory of gender – Power and Social Exchange Theory	HIV/AIDS risk and prevention	Immediate relational agency	0.84 for English version, 0.88 for Spanish version
Pulerwitz et al. 2018 [29] Kenya	The Sexual Relationship Power Scale (SRPS)	15-item	1101 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24	The theory of gender – Power and Social Exchange Theory	HIV/AIDS risk and prevention	Immediate relational agency	15-item SRPS: 0.81 and 12-item SRPS-M: 0.76
Bhandari et al. 2014 [27] Nepal	Women’s Autonomy Measurement Scale	23-item – Decision making autonomy – Financial autonomy – Freedom of movement	250 Women at reproductive age	None	Maternal Health care Service Utilization	Individual agency	0.84
Kalysha Closson 2019 [30] South Africa	Sexual Relationship Power equity	Adaptation of Pulerwitz’s SRPS 8-items for women	235 young men and women aged 16–24	Theory of gender and power developed by Connell	HIV-risk factors	Immediate relational agency	0.63
Asaolu et al. 2018 [31] 19 countries representing/4 African regions	Women’s empowerment	4 items allocate to the subscale of health dimension – Access to healthcare domain	111,368 women aged 15–49	Kabeer’s framework	Access to healthcare	Structural agency	–