Profiles of parenting in Singapore: its Longitudinal Associations with parental bonding and the predictors of profile membership

• Main Author: Seow, Claramae Shu Ying
• Other Authors: Setoh Pei Pei
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/165895
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The foundation of a child’s future development begins with the bond formed between parent and child. As parenting is multi-faceted, it is important to consider positive and harsh parenting practices in tandem to understand how they collectively affect the parent-child bond. The present study identified parenting profiles amongst Singaporean mothers, explored their longitudinal effects on the parent-child bond, as well as investigated the predictors of mothers’ membership in the parenting profiles. Mother-child dyads (N = 262) were recruited as part of the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes study. When the child was 4.5 years old, mothers reported on their engagement in various parenting practices, their mental health experiences, as well as various sociodemographic variables. When the child was 8.5 years old, they reported on their relationships with their mothers. Results revealed that mothers could be classified into three parenting profiles: Supportive, Supportive-Harsh, and Undifferentiated Parenting. Children of Undifferentiated mothers perceived a worse parental bonding with their mothers as compared to children of Supportive and Supportive-Harsh mothers. Furthermore, maternal anxiety, maternal education, and child gender were found to be significant predictors of mothers’ profile membership. Findings of the study provide insight on parenting in Singapore, suggesting that more diverse parenting profiles might exist. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the use of positive parenting practices can serve as a buffer against the use of negative parenting practices to promote a positive bond between parent and child.