Parents In Singapore Research Articles

Effects of Parental Predictors on Postpartum Depression.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is highly prevalent and plagues a significant proportion of parents. Postpartum depression also exerts various negative consequences on infant development and parent-infant relationships. Social support is identified as an important factor influencing many parental predictors, and may affect the development of PPD. This study aimed to investigate how perceived social support can indirectly influence PPD symptoms in parents at 6 months postpartum by influencing postpartum anxiety, parental satisfaction, and parental self-efficacy (PSE). A secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial was used with a cross-sectional exploratory design. A total of 400 Singaporean parents (200 couples) were included, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between PPD and potential predictors. Findings revealed a less adequate fit between the hypothesized model and the data collected. Social support was found to be a significant predictor of postpartum anxiety, PSE, and parental satisfaction. Postpartum anxiety was a significant predictor of PPD, but PSE and parental satisfaction were not. This study provides an overview of how different parental predictors may be associated with PPD among Asian parents. Postpartum anxiety significantly predicted PPD, but social support had negative effects on postpartum anxiety, parenting satisfaction, and PSE. The findings provide further insight into how parents at risk of PPD can be identified and demonstrated how social support might negatively impact parental outcomes. More qualitative research with Asian parents is needed to further explain these findings and inform the development of future interventions.

Family Involvement on Child’s Education among Preschool Parents

This study investigates the impact of family involvement on the education of preschool children among parents in Singapore. It aims to profile respondents based on age, gender, marital status, and educational attainment of both parents and spouses and to assess the general average and achievement in school. Key focus areas include the degree of family involvement in parental engagement, child development, curricular activities, and support for school initiatives. Employing a quantitative-descriptive survey research design, the study gathers data from 100 preschool parents in the local community, utilizing random sampling based on criteria established by the researchers. The findings highlight that family involvement in a child’s education significantly influences various domains. In parental involvement, it is observed that regular updates from teachers on the child’s progress aid in enhancing the learning experience. Regarding child development, family involvement appears to correlate with the child’s ability to read, understand, and communicate effectively. In the realm of curricular activities, active parental participation and support in activities such as reading and homework assignments are evident. Finally, in terms of school support, the study shows a positive impact of family involvement in encouraging and facilitating active engagement in school-related activities. Overall, the study underscores the multifaceted role of family involvement in shaping the educational outcomes of preschool children. Keywords: Family involvement, child education, preschool children, parental involvement, child development, curricular activities, and school support

‘The big crossroad’: Parenting, risk and educational transitions in Singapore

Singapore’s education system is globally recognized for its high academic standards. In this paper, I explore how Singaporean parents navigate sentiments of uncertainty and risk in relation to their children’s education. While academic achievements are still considered crucial to foster a competitive population, there has been a shift of attention in education policy towards social-emotional skills and holistic education. This reconceptualization of learning is partly grounded in a concern about children’s psychological well-being, but it is also construed as essential to thrive in the 21st century. The findings show that parents’ sentiments of uncertainty and risk management are complicated, and indeed heightened, by the paradoxical expectations with regard to children’s education. Sentiments of fear of regret and guilt were particularly conspicuous in the parents’ narratives and heightened during specific educational transitions, such as the Primary School Leaving Examination.

Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children: a social representations theory approach

Numerous countries are integrating autonomous vehicles into their public transport systems. Among the expected benefits of autonomous public transport, increased mobility for families with young children is foregrounded. Yet, the potential risks associated with autonomous public transport may impede parents’ acceptance of the technology for use by their children. As risk communication is an effective strategy for mitigating the influence of risk perception on acceptance, this study sought to proactively identify risk perceptions that parents hold toward autonomous public transport. Against the backdrop of Singapore’s imminent deployment of autonomous public transport and informed by the social representations theory, we elicited a mental model of parents’ risk perceptions toward autonomous public transport that was sensitive to the diversity of opinion among parents and their preferences for risk communication messages about autonomous public transport. To that end, we conducted three online focus group discussions consisting of 21 Singaporean parents who had children aged 2 wk to 12 years old. Theoretically, this study addresses research gaps in the mental models literature and offers theoretical implications for scholars seeking to employ the mental models approach to understand lay risk perceptions. Practically, this study informs the design of relevant and targeted risk communication messages about autonomous public transport.

‘Parentbot – A Digital healthcare Assistant (PDA)’: A mobile application-based perinatal intervention for parents: Development study

ObjectiveTo describe the development procedure of a mobile application-based parenting support program with integrated chatbot features entitled Parentbot – a Digital healthcare Assistant (PDA) for multi-racial Singaporean parents across the perinatal period. MethodsThe PDA development process was guided by the combined information systems research framework with design thinking modes, and Tuckman’s model of team development. A user acceptability testing (UAT) process was conducted among 11 adults of child-bearing age. Feedback was obtained using a custom-made evaluation form and the 26-item User Experience Questionnaire. ResultsThe combined information systems research framework with design thinking modes helped researchers to successfully create a PDA prototype based on end-users’ needs. Results from the UAT process indicated that the PDA provided participants with an overall positive user experience. Feedback gathered from UAT participants was used to enhance the PDA. ConclusionAlthough the effectiveness of the PDA in improving parental outcomes during the perinatal period is still being evaluated, this paper highlights the key details of developing a mobile application-based parenting intervention which future studies could learn from. Practice implicationsHaving carefully planned timelines with margins of delays, extra funds to resolve technical issues, team cohesion, and an experienced leader can facilitate intervention development.

Associations between Work-Family Balance, Parenting Stress, and Marital Conflicts during COVID-19 Pandemic in Singapore.

As part of the "Circuit-breaker" social distancing measure to address COVID-19, the government of Singapore closed schools and workplaces from April to May 2020. Although this helped reduce transmission rates, for working parents, this period had been a challenging experience of working from home while providing care for children full-time. Problems in the work-home interface can have a significant impact on parenting and marital harmony. We analyzed data from 201 married and employed parents in Singapore using online surveys. Latent profile analysis was used to identify profiles of parents' work-family balance (WFB) and spousal and employer support. Linear regression was used to examine links between profiles with parenting stress and marital conflicts. Results indicated three distinct profiles of WFB and social support levels: (a) Strong (43%), (b) Moderate (38%), and (c) Poor (19%). Mothers were more likely than fathers to be in the Moderate and Poor profiles. One key finding is that profiles characterized by poorer WFB were found to be linked with higher parenting stress and increased marital conflicts. There are important variations in parents' abilities to balance work and family and levels of social support received. Lock-downs can affect parenting and marital harmony especially for parents with poor WFB and weak social support. Any attention given to supporting working parents is vital and urgent to counter any problems in the work-family interface during a lockdown.

Play with a purpose: Intensive parenting, educational desires and shifting notions of childhood and learning in twenty-first century Singapore

This article examines how Singaporean parents negotiate complex expectations in relation to current reforms aimed at raising creative and problem-solving children. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the article explores how ideas of brain-claiming, resilience, and natural exposure shape parenting practices around young children’s learning. The findings suggest that parents’ sentiments of uncertainty and guilt in relation to their children’s future are entwined with and fueled by a deep-rooted narrative of national survival, reproduced in the form of 21st century skills.

Talking language ideologies into being in parent-child conversations in Singapore

This paper investigates how language ideologies are implicitly constructed and negotiated in the social interactions between two three-years-old children and their parents in Singapore. Conversation analysis shows that complex and competing varietal ideologies in the broader Singaporean society were present in family discourse at the micro level. Further, while the parents socialized their children into their values and norms and the children often conformed to these ideologies, the children also occasionally resisted them and asserted their own varietal preferences. The findings contribute to the understudied area of varietal ideologies in language socialization and shed light on the making of language ideologies in parents’ conversations with children.

Perinatal support for couples during COVID-19: A descriptive qualitative study.

To explore the perspectives of parents during the perinatal period amid the COVID-19 pandemic and explore the experiences of Singaporean parents receiving perinatal support via the Supportive Parenting App (SPA). The stressors accompanying parenting responsibilities often affect the overall well-being of the family unit. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singaporean parents are forced to shoulder childcare responsibilities with minimal support due to safety restrictions. The Supportive Parenting Application (SPA) was introduced to parents during the start of the pandemic to offer timely additional support. It is a mobile health application-based educational support for parents across the perinatal period, consisting of features such as peer support, expert advice and discussion forums. Descriptive qualitative study. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with 33 parents (16 from the control group, 17 from the intervention group) in an ongoing randomised controlled trial between June 2021 and February 2022. The COREQ checklist was used to guide the reporting of the data. Four themes with 10 subthemes describing the perinatal experiences of parents were identified. The themes include 'Ups and downs' of parenting experiences; Perinatal care from 'best care' to 'flying blind'; What kept couples going and Use of technology-a way forward. Although COVID-19 negatively affected parents' availability of care and support, most could still access other support sources to help them. Additionally, the SPA was found to be a dependable information source for the intervention group parents. Future research could work on improving technology-based support based on the feedback given to offer better quality perinatal care for parents. Technology-based support provided by healthcare professionals helps provide reliable perinatal information and support for parents. More efforts should be directed towards developing quality informational resources and support to improve perinatal care. Patients/members of the public contributed to the data collected and were involved in member checking to ensure the rigour of the study. NHG DSRB: 2019/00875.

An exploration of the psychosocial needs of children diagnosed with cancer and their parents in Singapore: a cross-sectional study.

An exploration of the psychosocial needs of children diagnosed with cancer and their parents in Singapore: a cross-sectional study.

Family language policy and bilingual parenting in multilingual Singapore: latent profiles and its predictors

ABSTRACT This study explored the family language policy, bilingual parenting profiles, and the predictors among Chinese parents in Singapore. Altogether 175 parents of Chinese-English bilingual preschoolers (aged 2;6–5;6) were sampled and surveyed. The research results indicated that: (1) a majority of the parents (93.7%) believed in early bilingualism but differed in their beliefs about the appropriate starting age for early bilingualism; (2) two latent profiles of bilingual parenting emerged: Radical Bilingual Parenting (n = 91, 52.00%, bilingual reading activities from Age 2, longer hours of bilingual parent–child conversation); Moderate Bilingual Parenting (84, 48.00%, bilingual reading activities after Age 3, shorter hours of bilingual parent–child conversation); and (3) child’s age, their preschool education experience, and parents’ belief about the appropriate age to start early bilingualism predicted the profile of bilingual parenting. Implications for language policymaking and early bilingual parenting are discussed.

Education as care labor: Expanding our lens on the work-life balance problem

Scholars have documented the challenges of combining wage work and care responsibilities in various societal contexts. National variations reveal that public policy and care infrastructure have major effects in shaping gendered patterns, class inequalities, as well as overall wellbeing of parents. Childcare centers and schools can enable people with children to pursue jobs and careers. Yet, as I show in this article, education systems’ demands can become a major component of parental care labor. Drawing on interviews with 92 parents in Singapore, I illustrate the ways in which education care labor impedes work-life reconciliation as well as deepens the significance of gender and class.

Text-Mining Open-Ended Survey Responses Using Structural Topic Modeling: A Practical Demonstration to Understand Parents’ Coping Methods During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Singapore

ABSTRACT Open-ended survey questions crucially contribute to researchers’ understandings of respondents’ experiences. However, analyzing open-ended responses using human coders is labor-intensive. Structural topic modeling (STM) is a text mining method that discover topics from textual data. We demonstrate the use of STM to analyze open-ended survey responses to understand how parents coped during the COVID-19 lock-down in Singapore. We administered online surveys to 199 parents in Singapore during the COVID-19 lock-down. To show a STM analysis, we demonstrated a workflow that includes steps in data preprocessing, model estimation, model selection, and model interpretation. An 18-topic model best fit the data based on model diagnostics and researchers’ expertise. Prevalent coping methods described by respondents include “Spousal Support,” “Routines/Schedules,” and “Managing Expectations.” Topic prevalence for some topics varied with respondents’ levels of parenting stress and whether parents were fathers or mothers. STM offers an efficient, valid, and replicable way to analyze textual data such as open-ended survey responses and case notes that can complement researchers’ knowledge and skills. STM can be used as part of a multistage research process or to support other analyses such as clarifying quantitative findings and identifying preliminary themes from qualitative data. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2022.2036301 .

Parental mediation of children’s digital media use in high digital penetration countries: perspectives from Singapore and Australia

ABSTRACT This research examines how parents in two high digital penetration nations in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore and Australia, mediate children’s use of digital media and how parental mediation practices in each country are explained by parents’ media perception, digital literacy, and parental self-efficacy. We conducted surveys with parents residing in Singapore (N = 316) and Australia (N = 315). Results show that Australian parents are more actively engaged in all types of parental mediation as compared to Singaporean parents. In both countries, those who are concerned about risks associated with their children’s digital media use and those who feel confident in their parenting abilities are more likely to actively engage in all types of parental mediation. Findings also show that digitally literate parents are more prone to implement discussion-based mediation than control-based mediation.

The Effect of Media Literacy and Cognitive Ability on Recognition Laptop-Based Media for Children

Education has long been the target of utopian interventions, and with technological interventions, offering to change drastically or even eliminates classroom-based learning, traditional education research needs to focus on introducing technology tools at an early age through media literacy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of media literacy and cognitive abilities on the introduction of laptop-based media. This study used a quasi-experimental design involving 46 children. Data collection techniques through tests and data collection tools using statement sheets, which were processed using t-test. The results showed that the experimental class using the original laptop media had a high average value of 86.66 compared to the control class using the imitation laptop media which had a value of 81.66. There is a significant effect of media literacy and cognitive ability on the introduction of laptop-based media in children. On the introduction of laptop-based media in children, media literacy and cognitive capacities can have a big impact. The comparison of the average value of the control and experimental classes demonstrates this. When children are introduced to media via a genuine laptop, they become more excited and engaged in the experimental lesson.
 Keywords: media literacy, cognitive ability, laptop-based learning media

Growing up poor(ly): intergenerational class-based parenting logic in Singapore

ABSTRACT Class-based parenting logic transcends national culture. This is what we found when applying Laureau’s (2011. Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life with an update a decade later (2nd ed.). University of California Press) schema of concerted cultivation for middle/higher class families and accomplishment of natural growth for working-class families to young parents in Singapore. Through in-depth interviews with 10 low-SES parents and eight high-SES parents between the ages of 27 and 37, we found Laureau’s distinctions evident even in this young Asian country where the middle class has only recently emerged. Interviewing young adults at a stage in life when they were forming their parenting ideals, the intergenerational transmission of logics was apparent. So were constraints of work and earnings in shaping the intergenerational logics. The findings suggest that improving outcomes of low-SES children requires going beyond parenting programmes to tackling structures in society that harden class lines, e.g. education and work systems.

Guiding the young child: trajectories of parents’ educational work in Singapore

Singapore has established a reputation as a top performer in international student assessment tests and rankings, which is usually understood to be the result of a competitive education system and a distinct Asian parenting culture. Drawing on ethnographic data, the aim of the article is to explore the emotional and moral dimensions of Singaporean parents’ educational work, and how they cope with complex and sometimes contradictory demands in raising their young children. The article is based on interviews and observations with parents of pre- and primary school-aged children. The reasons for focusing specifically on this category of parents was that previous research indicates that parental involvement in children’s education in Singapore is most intense during this period, and that parents everywhere are faced with increasing expectations to attend to their young children’s learning and cognitive development. The findings contest simplistic interpretations of intensive parenting in East Asia, especially when considering the role of social class, gender and generational change.

Emotional Disclosure and Secrecy in the Development of Autonomous-Related Self among Singaporean Adolescents

Drawing upon the social domain theory regarding adolescents’ information management and the model of family change on cultural orientation toward self-construal development, this qualitative study investigated Singaporean adolescents’ emotional disclosure and secrecy with parents in their negotiation of the development of self-construal. Eighty-two adolescents aged 11–19 described their negative emotional disclosure and secrecy in relation to three factors: (1) the social contexts of emotional experiences, (2) the justifications for disclosure and secrecy, and (3) parents’ reactions. Four contexts of emotional experiences, three overarching categories of justifications, and three primary types of parental reactions were identified. Singaporean adolescents’ emotional disclosure and secrecy examined through the confluence of three factors revealed the processes, successes and challenges associated with the development of autonomous-related self. Findings lend credence to the connection of the social domain theory and model of family change—specifically, the confluence of three factors involving the domains of information, justifications and parental reactions in understanding adolescents’ negotiation of self-construal development through the management of their emotional lives in developed Asian societies with an emphasis on academic achievement. Importantly, results revealed that Singaporean parents need to make adaptations in the way of their autonomy-granting for developing adolescents’ self-reliance within the school context and have implications for education stakeholders in helping adolescents develop a healthy sense of self.

The parental experiences of caring for children with childhood cancers in Singapore: a pilot focus group study

Background: Research on the parental experiences of caring for children diagnosed with cancer in Singapore are limited and not well understood. Objectives: We conducted a pilot focus group to understand the experiences of Singaporean parents whose child had survived cancer. Methods: Using convenience sampling, five parents were invited to participate in a focus group discussion regarding the psychosocial needs at the time of cancer diagnosis and into survivorship. The discussion was transcribed verbatim and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s 6-step approach to thematic analysis. Results: The analysis revealed three major themes of intrapersonal impact, interpersonal connectedness and financial implications. Conclusions: The identified themes indicated some universal and unique caregiving experiences among Singaporean parents and those reported in western and other Asian cultures. In particular, the findings provided an update on the parental experiences of caring for children with cancer in Singapore and highlighted the need for ongoing research and the development of early and holistic psychosocial support services for these parents.

A Qualitative Study Exploring Singaporean Parents' Perceptions on PreParing their Child for Surgery

PurposeTo explore the perceptions of parents regarding the preparation of their children for surgery. Design and methodsA qualitative descriptive study was conducted. Sixteen parents of children who were undergoing various types of elective surgery in a public tertiary hospital in Singapore were recruited. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. ResultsFive themes were derived: (1) assumed roles of the parents; (2) communication, decision-making, and emotional challenges; (3) factors facilitating the preparation of children for surgery; (4) surgery-related and financial concerns; and (5) the desire for more information and better management. While preparing their children for surgery, parents undertook several roles to ensure readiness and to provide support. Parents faced challenges while communicating with their children regarding their surgeries, experiencing negative emotions and dilemmas in making decisions for surgery. Factors such as previous experiences, children's positive mentality, and access to information helped to facilitate their preparation. Parents expressed surgery-related concerns such as anesthesia and a successful outcome of the surgery, the timing of the surgery, and postoperative care. Parents expressed a desire for easier to understand information through the use of visual materials, and improvements in current practices and management. ConclusionThis study provides a greater understanding of parents' perceptions of their roles, challenges, influencing factors, concerns, and needs when preparing their children for surgery. Practice implicationsThe study findings provide insightful aspects for improving current healthcare practices and informing future research studies in exploring better surgery preparation programs for both parents and children.