Research Studies
Research Studies
Singapore Children’s Society has completed research on the following subject matters:
Replicated Studies on Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore (Completed in 2010 and 2011)
Since the initial studies on perceptions of child abuse and neglect in Singapore in 1994 and 1997 (see below), there have been major changes to the policies and processes protecting children. To examine differences in perceptions of child abuse and neglect, we replicated our earlier studies by surveying members of the public and relevant professionals in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Findings from the study can be found in the following monograph and journal articles.
Monograph
- “Changing Public Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore”, published in November 2015 and revised in January 2016, examined changes over the years in Singaporean’s perceptions towards child abuse and neglect, their views on reporting it and their judgment of its seriousness. A summary of the study is available.
Journal articles
- “Public Perceptions of Child Maltreatment in Singapore: Differences between 1994 and 2010”, published inChildren and Youth Services Review (March 2019), examined the differences in public perceptions of child abuse and neglect between 1994 and 2010, using adjacent categories modelling.
Research Bites issues
- July 2016 Issue 1 Seriousness of abuse types
This article examined how members of the public rated the seriousness of different types of child abuse based on different contextual factors. - Feb 2017 Issue 2 What behaviours constitute CAN (Professionals)?
There are many different professionals involved in responding to child abuse such as counsellors, doctors, teachers, the police etc. This article looked into the perceptions of different professionals on the abusiveness of certain behaviours towards children. - Jul 2021 Issue 11 Understanding Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore: Our Progress and Future Directions
This article details the progress Singapore has made as a nation in preventing child abuse from 1995 to the present day. It also explores the work that still needs to be done to continue keeping children safe in Singapore.
Initial Studies on Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore (Completed in 1994 and 1997)
In order to gain an understanding of how Singaporeans perceive child abuse and neglect, members of the public and various professionals were surveyed in 1994 and 1997 respectively. Several monographs and journal articles were published between 1996 and 2003:
Monographs
- “Public Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore”, published in December 1996, confronts the average Singaporean’s thinking towards child abuse and neglect. Click on the text for the English, Chinese, and Malay versions of the questionnaire. A summary of the study is available.
- “Professional and Public Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore: An Overview”, published in April 2000, investigates the attitudes of professionals towards child abuse and neglect, and their opinions on the experience and reporting of child abuse and neglect. A summary of the study is available.
- “Professional and Public Perceptions of Physical Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore”, published in April 2000, focuses specifically on the attitudes of professionals and the public towards physical child abuse and neglect. A summary of the study is available.
- “Emotional Maltreatment of Children in Singapore: Professional and Public Perceptions” published in February 2002, examines the attitudes of professionals and the public towards emotional child maltreatment. A summary of the study is available.
- “Child Sexual Abuse in Singapore: Professional and Public Perceptions”, published in June 2003, focuses on the attitudes of professionals and the public towards child sexual abuse. A summary of the study is available.
Journal articles
- “Attitudes of the Singapore Public to Actions Suggesting Child Abuse” was published in Child Abuse & Neglect in 1997. The article discussed the Singaporean public’s acceptability of 18 behaviours suggesting child abuse and neglect, and their attitudes towards reporting instances of child abuse and neglect.
Full-text journal articles are available on request: click here
Bullying Among Primary School Students
Children’s experience of bullying can be detrimental to their well-being. With the goal of safeguarding child well-being in mind, we collaborated with Yale-NUS College and the National Institute of Education to study the relationship between bullying and primary schoolers’ psychological adjustment and well-being. We also examined if parent-child attachment or friendship quality can act as protective factors for children to reduce the negative impact of bullying on child outcomes.
Data collection concluded in 2019 and write-ups are currently in progress.
The Impact of Cyber Environments on Adolescents in Singapore
This study, conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Mental Health, examined the current trends in face to face (i.e., traditional bullying) and cyberbullying among adolescents in Singapore, and the impact of bullying on adolescents’ mental well-being. Understanding these trends would help us in our advocacy efforts and the development of programmes and interventions to prevent bullying. Data was collected from 3,319 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old in Singapore, from 28 schools.
Journal articles
- “Traditional Victims and Cybervictims: Prevalence, Overlap, and Association with Mental Health Among Adolescents in Singapore” , published in School Mental Health in 2019. The study examined the co-occurrence of traditional bullying and cyberbullying, and its association with mental health among adolescents in Singapore. The full-text of the article is available here.
- “Victimization by traditional bullying and cyberbullying and the combination of these among adolescents in 13 European and Asian countries” , published European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in 2021. The study examined the prevalence of traditional victimization, cybervictimization, and the combination of these, in 13 European and Asian countries. The study also explored how psychiatric symptoms were associated with victimization. The full-text of the article is available here.
Research Bites articles
- Issue 2
Cyberbullying: When bullying goes online
The article presented findings on the cyberbullying experiences among adolescents in Singapore, specifically the prevalence rate, the trends of cyberbullying, and association with mental health outcomes. - Issue 4
Sticks, Stones, Texts, and Tweets: Comparing traditional bullying and cyberbullying
The article highlighted the differences between traditional bullying and cyberbullying and presented the prevalence rates of these two forms of bullying among adolescents in Singapore.
A technical report on this study is available on request: click here
Bullying in Singapore Schools (Completed in 2008)
This study gives an indication of the bullying problem in our schools. It highlights similarities and differences in bullying trends between students in primary and secondary schools in terms of the extent and nature of bullying among students, how they reacted to the bullying, and who they turned to for help on bullying. The study also looks at some characteristics of students who were bullied and those of their bullies, as well as characteristics of students who admitted to bullying others.
Monograph
- “Bullying in Singapore Schools” , published in July 2008, examined the prevalence of the various forms of bullying experienced by 1299 students in primary and secondary schools, and the effects of bullying on them. The study also examined the sources of support sought by these victims and their perceived effectiveness.
- Separate summaries of key findings from the Primary and Secondary school surveys are also
Young Adults’ Recall of School Bullying (Completed in 2010)
This study looks at the possible long-term effects of bullying on victims after they leave school and enter the society. It is a retrospective study on young adults’ recollection of primary and secondary school bullying experiences.
Monograph
- “Young Adults’ Recall of School Bullying”, published in July 2010, surveyed 600 young adults (aged 25 to 29) on the possible long-term effects of bullying. The study aimed to understand the prevalence of school bullying previously experienced by young adults, the types of bullying experienced, whether bullying had impacted the victims’ life, and what steps were useful in enabling them to avoid or overcome bullying.
Academic Stress and Well-Being Among Primary School Children
We often hear about academic stress among children and youth in Singapore through the local media or through parents’ anecdotes. Among youth, the main contributors of academic stress tend to be high expectations from parents, teachers, and students themselves. However, surprisingly little is known about what contributes to the academic stress experienced by younger children.
To understand more about this phenomenon, we interviewed parents with primary school children between Primary 3 and 5, as well as professionals who work with primary school children (professionals). Data were collected in early 2020. Planning for the next stage of the study is ongoing.
Research Bites article
- Issue 12
Finding Balance: Challenges parents faced when involved in their child’s education
The article presented findings from interviews with parents and professionals on challenges parents faced when they are involved in their child’s education.
A technical report on this study is available on request: click here.
Compulsory Education: Casefile Review
2013 report
This casefile review was undertaken to better understand the profile of clients served between 2003 to 2012. We reviewed a total of 206 files of families who we served under the Compulsory Education (CE) scheme. The study objective was to examine the difficulties these families faced, the types of interventions, and durations that these interventions were provided to the clients.
Research Bites articles
- Issue 5
Compulsory Education Casework Study
The article shared the top 3 difficulty categories that CE families faced and the association between age at CE referral and regular school attendance. It also highlighted that preschool education was associated with regular school attendance and PSLE outcomes.
2016 report
To improve upon our service delivery, we conducted interviews with past beneficiaries under the CE scheme. A total of 48 participants who were past beneficiaries from 2004-2014 (15 children and 33 caregivers, from 21 families) were asked questions related to the interventions received from Children’s Society and their perceptions of education post-intervention.
Research Bites articles
- Issue 6
Back To School Woes
The article shared several challenges that children may face upon returning to school after a long period of absence, and provided some tips for support in schools and among peers to allow for easier transition back to school.
Technical report
This report documents the analysis undertaken to study the effectiveness of past interventions. Specifically, analyses were undertaken to examine how child outcomes at case closure (school attendance and outcome of first attempt at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) were affected by our interventions.
A technical report on this study is available on request: click here
Schools and the Class Divide: An Examination of Children’s Self-concept and Aspirations in Singapore (Completed in 2016)
This study looks at the influence of school type on children’s self-concept and aspirations, and their perceptions of other individuals in “elite” and “non-elite” schools. We also explored how school type may shape parents’ aspirations for their children.
Monograph:
- “Schools and the Class Divide: An Examination of Children’s Self-concept and Aspirations in Singapore”, published in August 2016
- To answer the following questions:
- What is the relationship between socio-economic status and the type of school students attend?
- What are students’ perceptions of the differences between individuals in elite and non-elite schools?
- How does socio-economic status and school type influence students’ self-concept and aspirations?
We examined the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and the type of school students attended (i.e. “elite” or “non-elite”), differences between students perceptions of those who attend elite and non-elite schools, as well as how SES and school type influence students’ self-concept and aspirations. We further explored the factors that may shape parents’ aspirations for their children, and why school-type may influence parental confidence only at the secondary school level.
Research Bites articles:
- Issue 1
Are all schools good schools?” Part 1
We interviewed 20 parents of primary and secondary school-going children to understand how they felt about “good” secondary schools. Parents generally believed “good” secondary schools are defined by reputation, high PSLE cut-off scores, and would benefit their child in providing a safer environment for the child to perform well academically.
- Issue 2
Are all schools good schools?” Part 2
Over 600 primary and secondary school students were surveyed to understand their perceptions of social standing and academic competence in relation to school types in Singapore. Generally, findings showed that children perceived those from “good schools” to have better higher social status and better academic competence. - Issue 3
Does school type matter?
We interviewed parents of over 600 primary and secondary school students to find out if the type of school their child is currently attending influences the educational aspirations for their child.
Promoting resilience in adolescents from low-income families: The roles of self-regulation, parenting and social support
Children from low-income families tend to face multiple stressors early in life, such as poverty-related risk factors and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These stressors are commonly associated with poorer developmental and behavioural outcomes. Despite growing up in challenging circumstances, some children are able to bounce back from the negative effects of these stressors and continue to do well in life – this phenomenon is also known as resilience. We studied the impact of poverty-related risk factors and ACEs on children’s outcomes, and some possible protective factors – self-regulation, parent-child relationship, and social support – that can buffer the negative impact of these stressors.
Data was collected from 192 caregivers and 270 children (between 10 and 15 years old) from December 2017 to March 2019, and write-ups are currently in progress. A second round of data collection concluded in March 2021 and write-ups are in progress.
Technical report
- “What facilitated the resilience of low-income families during the COVID-19 pandemic?”
This study explored qualitatively (i) the stressors experienced by low-income families during the pandemic and (ii) the resources that enhanced or hindered their resilience in coping with stressors. Findings in this report were based on an analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with 25 parents between November 2020 and March 2021. This report concludes with our recommendations to better support families and boost their resilience after the pandemic.- Executive summary
- The full technical report is available upon request: click here.
- “An Exploratory Study on The Effect of Different Types of Social Support in Protecting Children from the Impact of Cumulative Risk”
This study explored the role of specific types of social support in protecting children from the negative impact of cumulative risk (i.e., poverty-related risk factors) on their externalising, internalising, and attention problems. We found that three out of eight types of social support buffered this negative impact, suggesting that examining specific types of social support, rather than general social support, could be a new and valuable research approach to further our understanding on social support as a protective factor.
Research Bites articles
- Issue 4
(“What Do Practitioners Think About Resilience?”)
The article presented findings from focus group discussions with practitioners from Children’s Society on what they think promotes resilience. - Issue 6
(“What Difficult Life Events Do Children from Low-Income Families Experience?”)
The article gave an introduction to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and presented findings on the prevalence of ACEs among children from low-income families. - Issue 8
(“Do Close Relationships with Caregivers Help Build Children’s Resilience to Adversity?)
The article presented findings on whether caregiver-child closeness (from both the caregiver and child’s perspectives) mitigated the negative impact of adverse childhood experiences on children’s social emotional skills. - Issue 10
(“Which types of social support promote resilience among children from low-income families?”)
The article highlighted the three types of social support that can protect children from the negative impact of poverty-related stressors. We also featured a special guest — Dr. Quah Saw Han (our study advisor), who shared some of her insights on the findings. - Issue 14
(“What Encourages and Prevents Youths from Seeking Social Support?”)
Seeking support is essential in helping youths to better manage stressors. However, youths do not always go to others for support, even in their times of difficulty. This article explored what encouraged and prevented youths from seeking support from their networks. - Issue 15
(“Boosting the Resilience of Low-Income Families in the Post-Pandemic Era”)
This article presented findings from our interviews with parents from low-income families on their stressors and experiences with coping during the pandemic period, and our recommendations on strengthening support for them.
The Impact of Parenting Styles and Practices on Children’s Self-regulation and Well-being
Parenting practices and perceptions of parental warmth and control are closely intertwined with children’s development and mental health outcomes. Existing literature on parenting has predominantly focused on parents’ perspectives of parenting and are mostly reflective of Western cultures, but not much is known about how children make sense of parenting practices and to what extent these findings are applicable to the local context. To address these gaps, we are collaborating with Yale-NUS College to examine the relationship between parenting practices, perceptions of parental warmth and control, and its impact on children’s self-regulation, well-being, and other developmental outcomes. This study will utilise a longitudinal and mixed-methods design involving both qualitative and quantitative methods with parents and children as informants. Parent-child pairs will be recruited to complete a set of questionnaires at 3 time points/waves, with each wave approximately 6 months apart. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a subset of these parent-child pairs at Wave 1 and Wave 3 to better understand how parental warmth and control is exercised and how both parents and children make sense of these parenting practices. Data collection is projected to commence in 2022.
The Infancy Study (Completed in 2019)
This is a longitudinal study that started in 2004, in light of the growing trend of dual-income families. In collaboration with the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the study examines the care-giving practices among young children in Singapore, and how these might impact mother-child attachment and children’s social-emotional development.
Monograph
- “The Infancy Study: The Impact of Caregiving Arrangements on Early Childhood Development”, published in July 2019, investigated the impact of caregiving arrangements on mother-child attachment, child temperament, and child developmental outcomes. A total of 439 mother-child dyads participated in this longitudinal study.
Newsletter
- A brief summary of findings can be found in this newsletter.
Children’s Social and Emotional Well-being (Completed in 2008)
This study aimed to learn more about families and the state of social and emotional well-being of children in Singapore. Social well-being was investigated by finding out the quality of relationships between school children and their parents, grandparents, siblings and friends. Emotional well-being was examined by asking about children’s mental health status. A particular focus was on the comparisons between the perceptions of the child and those of his or her parent.
Monograph:
- “Children’s Social and Emotional Well-being in Singapore”, published in June 2008.Structured interviews were conducted with parent-child pairs from 906 families, to understand children’s social and emotional well-being, as perceived by themselves and their parents. Parents and children were asked about the perceived quality of the child’s relationships, and their general feelings and emotions. Overall, the study found that parents and children generally had positive perceptions about children’s states of social and emotional well-being.
Parenting (Completed in 2006)
The Parenting Project aimed to understand how parents in Singapore bring up their children, and how children view these practices. The research examined how children are disciplined by their parents when they misbehave, who the main caregivers are, and how parents interact with their children.
Monograph:
- “The Parenting Project: Disciplinary Practices, Child Care Arrangements and Parenting Practices, published in October 2006, examined parenting and discipline practices that parents commonly employed, and parent and child perceptions of these practices. We also examined the types of child care arrangements across different age ranges.
Physical Discipline in Singapore: Prevalence, perspectives and experiences of parents and young adults (Completed in 2022)
In 2021, Singapore Children’s Society, in collaboration with Yale-NUS College, embarked on a research project comprising two mixed-methods studies that focused on parental disciplinary practices in Singapore, with specific attention on the use of physical discipline. Singapore parents frequently used a combination of non-physical, physical, and psychological discipline methods in their parenting. Many parents who perceived physical discipline to be neither effective nor acceptable still used it frequently, suggesting a disconnect between their attitudes and actual behaviour. Infants, pre-schoolers, and primary schoolers were more likely to be at the receiving end of physical discipline. Our findings also suggest that even if parents disapprove of the use of physical discipline, experiencing it as a child increases the likelihood of them using it on their children.
More information on the study can be found in the study brief.
Financial Aid/ Food Insecurity Study
Understanding food insecurity among low-income families
Food insecurity is a state where one lacks economic and physical access to sufficient, nutritious food for a healthy life.
The study was originally designed to examine the differences between low-income children’s food consumption habits and social activities during the school holidays versus during the school term. However, due to COVID-19, we were unable to collect data in the school term and we focused on understanding the experiences of food insecurity among caregivers from low-income families. We studied the factors that contributed to food insecurity among low-income families, what caregivers’ coping strategies were, and their thoughts about receiving food aid.
A total of 11 children and 6 caregivers from 8 families were interviewed in November-December 2020 and December 2021 respectively.
Research Bites articles
- Feb 2020 Issue 8
Walking to School to save Money: Insights from SPMF Data
This article sought to understand how students from low-income families who were from different age groups travelled to school, highlighting a difference in the type of expenses that children might make. - Feb 2022 Issue 12
How Do Low-Income Families Experience Food Insecurity?
This article presented several factors that contributed to food insecurity among low-income families, and provided suggestions at the individual and community-level to address the issue of food insecurity.
TinkleFriend
A Friend in Need: Listening to Children’s Voices During the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore
The COVID-19 outbreak and the introduction of safe distancing measures disrupted the lives of families. During the Circuit Breaker, some children experienced difficulties in adjusting to a new mode of learning, social isolation, and increased familial tensions. In response, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s social support and how they coped with their difficulties in these unprecedented times. A total of 92 chats on peer and familial relationships were extracted from the Tinkle Friend database and analysed through thematic coding. These chats were sampled from April to July 2020. A technical report is being written, and a portion of the findings can be found in the following Research Bites article:
- July 2021 Issue 11
A Friend in Need: Children’s Concerns During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This article sought to understand the experiences and concerns of primary school children during the Circuit Breaker period from April to July in 2020.
Contact with Inmates
For individuals who are incarcerated, remaining in contact with their families contributes to better outcomes during and after their incarceration. Despite these benefits, many incarcerated parents do not maintain contact with their families. This study was undertaken to understand the factors that encourage children and their caregivers to maintain contact with their incarcerated parents, barriers that families face in maintaining contact, and the impact of prior and current relationship on contact with inmates. This study focuses on three main forms of contact: letter-writing, face-to-face prison visits, and tele-visits.