Bullying

The Impact of Cyber Environments on Adolescents

The 21st century is an era of rapid advancement in Information and Communication Technology and the cyber environment has made significant improvements in our lives. Children and adolescents today are benefiting from these advancements while being exposed to a unique set of challenges, notably, cyberbullying and internet addiction.

This study is conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Mental Health, volunteer Dr Angeline Khoo, and University of Turku, Finland. It aims to compare cross-cultural data on cyber-usage and to explore the various factors associated with internet addiction and cyberbullying among adolescents in Singapore and Finland. In particular, the study examines how internet addiction and cyberbullying are related to physical and mental well-being as well as help-seeking and other associated behaviours among adolescents.

Preliminary findings of the study: Click here to view the poster.

Child Abuse and Neglect

Replicated Studies on Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore

Since the initial studies on perceptions of child abuse and neglect in Singapore over a decade ago, there have been major changes to the policies and processes protecting children. To understand what Singaporeans currently think about child abuse and neglect, we replicated our earlier studies by surveying members of the public and relevant professionals in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

In 2012, two posters were presented at the 19th ISPCAN (International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect.

• “Public Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore: Differences in Perceptions among Singaporeans”, focuses on investigating the influence of socio-economic status on perceptions of child abuse and neglect among Singaporeans.
• “Professional and Public Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study”, focuses on comparing perceptions of child abuse and neglect between relevant professionals and the public.

Family/Child Development 

Resilience

This ongoing study investigates the impact of cumulative risk on children’s psychosocial and academic outcomes, and the protective role of parenting, self-regulation, and social support. Preliminary findings from this study can be found in Issues 4, 6, and 8 of our bi-annual research newsletter, Research Bites.