Most Singapore families are 'resilient', can tide through challenges together: MSF survey

SINGAPORE: Most Singaporeans feel that their families are strong and resilient, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) last year. 

The survey findings, which were published in MSF’s inaugural Family Trends Report on Monday (Jul 15), showed that 85.9 per cent of its respondents reported “moderate to high family resilience” scores, which means that these families would generally be able to recover from challenges together as a family.

Meanwhile, 25.1 per cent of all families reported “high family resilience” scores, which means they are likely to be more adept at working together to recover from challenges, the report said. 

Their level of family resilience was measured using a 32-item questionnaire with a response set ranging from 1 (rarely/never) to 5 (almost always). The overall score for family resilience for each respondent was derived from the mean of their responses to the 32 items, with higher scores indicating greater family resilience.

“Moderate to high family resilience” refers to a score of three and above out of five, while a “high” score refers to four and above.

Developed by American clinical psychologist Froma Walsh, the questionnaire is used to assess how a respondent’s family copes with crises and ongoing challenges by examining their family’s belief systems, organisation processes as well as their family’s ability to communicate and solve problems. 

MSF’s survey on families consists of 2,000 respondents, aged 15 and above. The ministry said that the sample is representative of the Singapore citizen population broadly along age, sex, race, and HDB/non-HDB residential status.

It was conducted through face-to-face and door-to-door surveys, with fieldwork carried out between the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year.

Respondents were randomly selected from a government administrative database where only one respondent per household was selected, said an MSF spokesperson. 

MSF’s report also highlighted an increasing number of elderly residents living alone. Citing figures from the Department of Statistics (DOS), it said the number of residents aged 65 and above living alone more than doubled from 35,160 in 2013 to 78,135 last year.

However, based on its own survey on families conducted last year, MSF said the majority of respondents reported that they had a close-knit family (86 per cent). 

Out of the survey’s respondents aged 65 years old and above, 82.5 per cent reported that they would turn to their families for help when they need physical support such as caregiving or assistance with running errands. 

Findings also showed that majority of the survey’s respondents aged 15 to 64 years old (93.1 per cent) agreed that it was their responsibility to take care of their parents.

MARRIAGE STABILITY AND CHILDREN

The 37-page report, which aims to provide updates on key statistical family trends in Singapore, noted an increase in marriage stability in more recent cohorts.

The cumulative proportion of couples who ended their marriage before their 10th anniversary was lower for those married between 2006 (16 per cent) and 2012 (15.3 per cent), compared to those who wed in 2005 (17 per cent).

The most significant improvement was seen in the fall in dissolution rates for Muslim marriages, the report said. 

“While the rate for Muslim marriages remained higher than that of civil marriages across all cohorts, the gap has narrowed significantly for more recent marriage cohorts,” it added.

In another section of the report, which looked at parental leave schemes and flexible work arrangements, MSF highlighted that the proportion of fathers who took government-paid paternity leave increased from 47 per cent for children born in 2016, to 53 per cent for children born in 2021.

It also found that among female Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 40 to 49 - who have been married at least once - those with two children continued to form the largest group. 

The proportion of those who had no children rose from 10 per cent in 2013 to 13.9 per cent last year, and the proportion of those who had one child rose from 20.8 per cent to 23.8 per cent, according to the report.

MSF’s report also found that full-day infant care places increased nearly threefold over 10 years, while median fees and out-of-pocket expenses declined. 

There were 14,580 full-day infant care places last year, compared to just 5,257 in 2013. The number of full-day childcare places more than doubled over the same period. 

With more dual-income families and greater recognition of the importance of early childhood care and education, MSF said the enrolment rate of children aged three to four increased from 75 per cent in 2013 to 90 per cent last year. 

It added that the enrolment rate of children aged five to six also rose over the last 10 years and remained high at 95 per cent last year.

MSF said it will tap on insights from the report and continue with its efforts to help Singaporeans realise their marriage and parenthood aspirations.

This includes encouraging stable marriages, making preschools more affordable, strengthening support for children with developmental needs, and caring for seniors, the ministry added.