University students' perceptions on family dynamics and psychological adjustment in Singapore

• Main Author: Foo, Kaelyn Yah Wen
• Other Authors: Ho Moon-Ho, Ringo
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Social Sciences; Parenting practices; Parental differential treatment; Fairness perception; Birth order; Psychological adjustment
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/177596
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With the alarming rates at which mental health problems are being reported in individuals approaching emerging adulthood, we seek to explore one’s family environment to understand how perceived parental behaviours affects their psychological adjustment. The present study investigated Singapore university student’s perceptions of parental warmth and control, taking into account their perceived parental differential treatment and fairness ratings, as well as the moderating roles of birth order and gender. University students (N = 147) were recruited from various universities in Singapore, and they completed a series of self-report questionnaires measuring perceived maternal parenting practices, differential treatment, fairness perception and their psychological well-being. Maternal control was found to significantly predict psychological outcomes, with younger siblings being more reactive towards differential parental treatment as compared to older siblings as they were found to have poorer psychological outcomes. Fairness perception was also found to mediate the relationship between differential parental treatment and psychological adjustment outcomes. The findings of this study sheds light on the complex relationships involved in a family, highlighting the potential for such parent-child or inter-child relationships to be an avenue for intervention and support for individuals approaching emerging adulthood in Singapore.