Delayed marriage : a life course perspective on the attitudes and perceptions of marriage among young adults in Singapore

• Main Author: Teo, Christine Yi Ting
• Other Authors: Premchand Varma Dommaraju
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Family, marriage and women
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/70034
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Although the government has implemented several pro-natalist policies to address the problem of ultra-low fertility in Singapore, the efforts have not yet succeeded. Since marriage and parenthood are inextricably linked in Singapore society, sociologists suggest that apart from studying the limits of policy, it is also crucial to understand the shift towards delayed marriage and singlehood. Hence, this study aims to explain the delay and decline of marriage in Singapore by shedding light on the perceptions and attitudes towards marriage of young adults. Utilising the Elder’s life course perspective as a theoretical framework, this study built on prior research to understand how young adults negotiate the twin forces of modernisation and culture to construct their trajectory of adulthood. The findings revealed that Singapore experiences “late and orderly” adulthood, wherein marriage is still a desirable transition in adulthood but it is delayed because of the lengthening of work and courtship.