Singlehood and the changing perspectives on marriage and childbirth.

• Main Author: Tan, Clara May Jan.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Family, marriage and women
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48260
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The increasing number of singles in Singapore is alarming as this goes against the government‟s efforts in promoting the family nucleus and increasing the birth rates in Singapore. While the existing literature has primarily been targeted at addressing the reasons for singlehood, the aim of my paper is to examine singlehood from another perspective. Through in-depth interviews, I will find out the reasons why they have chosen to remain single or get married and what their views are on alternative family arrangements and study the structural limitations that they are facing. I will be focusing on couples that have been dating for more than six months, and never married before. The increasing trend of singlehood in Singapore is related to the changing attitudes towards marriage, family influence, impact of education and housing policies.