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This study examined the reliability and validity of the Delay-of-Gratification (DoG) choice paradigm in Singapore, a multicultural Asian society. Data were collected over two waves from a nationally representative sample of 2,956 Singaporean children. Children’s DoG, working memory, and parent-reported self-control were measured during their preschool years (3 to 6 years of age) in Wave 1. Academic achievement and behavior problems were measured approximately two years later in Wave 2. Results evidenced sound psychometric properties of the 9-trial DoG choice task, indicated by (1) excellent internal reliability, (2) development of DoG as a function of age, gender, and parental education, (3) variations in children’s choices by reward size and reward attractiveness, (4) convergent validity with working memory and parent-reported self-control, and (5) predictive validity with higher standardized achievement test scores in reading and mathematics as well as fewer externalizing and internalizing problems through self-control and working memory.

It is well attested that high socio-economic status (SES) is associated with larger vocabulary size estimates in young children. This has led to growing interest in identifying associations and mechanisms that may contribute to this relationship. In this study, parent-child reading behaviors were investigated in relation to vocabulary size in a large-scale study of linguistically and socio-economically diverse families. This study sampled 902 infants in Singapore, a multilingual society. Both single-language (dominant and non-dominant) and dual-language vocabulary size estimates were obtained and related to family SES, demographic details, and home literacy activities. Results demonstrated that both single-language (dominant and non-dominant) and dual-language infant vocabulary size estimates were predicted by parental education levels. Further analyses revealed that parent-child book reading activities mediated the relationship between parental education and infant vocabulary size. Findings suggest that shared book reading may narrow effects of socio-economic disparities on early language development. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Socio-economic status (SES) was examined in relation to infant vocabulary size in a linguistically and socio-economically diverse setting. Mediating effects of the home literacy environment on infant vocabulary size were measured. Socio-economic factors, notably parental education, had both direct and indirect effects on vocabulary size. The home literacy environment mediated effects of SES on infant vocabulary size.

Infants undergo fundamental shifts in perception that are reported to be critical for language acquisition. In particular, infants' perception of native and non-native sounds begins to align with the properties of their native sound system. Thus far, empirical evidence for this transition - perceptual narrowing - has drawn from socio-economically and linguistically narrow populations from limited world regions. In this study, infants were sampled across diverse socio-economic strata and linguistic development in Singapore. One hundred and 16 infants were tested on their ability to discriminate both a native phonetic contrast (/ba/ versus /da/) and a non-native Hindi contrast (/ta/ versus /ʈa). Infants ranged in age from 6 to 12 months. Associations between age and discrimination varied by contrast type. Results demonstrated that infants' native sensitivities were positively predicted by family SES, whereas non-native sensitivities were not. Maternal socio-economic factors uniquely predicted native language sensitivity. Findings suggest that infants' sensitivity to native sound contrasts is influenced by their family socio-economic status. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We investigated effects of socio-economic status on infant speech perception. Infants were tested on native and non-native speech discrimination. Socio-economic status predicted native speech discrimination. Maternal occupation was a key predictor of native speech discrimination.

It is unclear to what degree centenarians are successful agers. We assess successful aging (SA) and its subtypes in a large Chinese sample.Based on a large national sample of 18,311 Chinese centenarians, we first estimated the prevalence of SA among centenarians, and then used the Latent Class Analysis to classify centenarians into different types based on the five dimensions of SA. Multinomial regression analysis was used to examine how demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle covariates are associated with these identified types.5.7% of centenarians fulfilled all five criteria of SA, and 1.3% failed all five criteria. The remainder could be classified into six types of SA. The regression analysis further revealed that these SA types were related to various social factors. For example, with timely access to medical care, centenarians were three times more likely to be successful agers.Centenarians demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in terms of achieving five SA criteria. Social factors are found to be significantly associated with centenarians' aging performances. Specific subtypes of SA among centenarians may be associated with and help explore different underlying biological-environmental mechanisms of exceptional longevity.

The current study extends our understanding of the widely documented gender educational gap in favor of females and its contributing factors through a mixed-methods analysis of the Chinese case. We develop an analytical framework that incorporates three mechanisms—intergenerational social contract, non-cognitive skills, and cumulative (dis)advantage across the life course—to empirically assess gendered achievement patterns and their social mechanisms among Chinese adolescents. The Chinese Family Panel Studies data documented that adolescent girls have higher verbal and math achievements than boys, with the gap larger in verbal than in math scores. Three factors account for these gender gaps: (1) (grand)parents hold higher expectations for girls, monitor girls more closely, and invest in girls as much as in boys; (2) girls possess better non-cognitive skills; and (3) girls’ stronger performance in earlier years gives them an edge for later achievement. The in-depth interviews contextualize these statistical patterns in profound changes in families’ logic in supporting girls’ education and in reconfigured gender discourses about girls’ learning behavior. From the perspective of intergenerational contracts, in the context of low fertility, daughters have become cherished as long-term family members at the receiving end of intensive investment, particularly as educational competition intensifies in post-reform China. Moreover, a gender discourse, engaged by family members and teachers, about girls’ superior non-cognitive skills such as compliance and self-discipline exerts a powerful influence as a self-fulfilling prophecy with regards to girls’ achievement. The findings underscore the need to account for both cultural and policy contexts, and nuanced gender work at home and in school in understanding the gender-gap reversal in contemporary China.

Background: The proportion of young adults living in one-person households (OPHs) has increased remarkably worldwide. Recent literature suggests that socioeconomic development established favorable conditions for individuals to live alone. Few studies have yet examined the complex relationship between contextual-level socioeconomic development, individual-level factors, and living in OPHs. Methods: We drew data from a subsample of young adults (aged between 20 and 35) from China 1% Population Sample Survey 2005 (ni = 582,139; nj = 345). Two-level random-intercept logistic regression models were employed to examine the relationship between prefecture-level socioeconomic development and living in OPHs. Two series of models, controlling for single and migrant statuses, and other sociodemographic variables, were estimated for male and female separately. Results: First, there are positive associations between singlehood/migration and living in OPHs. Being single or a migrant are the most important individual-level correlates of living alone. Second, we found a strong positive curvilinear correlation between prefecture-level development and living alone that are well explained by the concentration of internal migrants but not the proportion of singles in the developed regions. Third, after controlling for migrant status, we only found a weak positive contextual effect of development on living alone. Yet, there are cross-level interaction effects that the associations between prefecture-level development and living alone are strong for single and migrant adults. Contribution: Our findings highlight the relative importance of internal migration over singlehood in explaining the concentration of OPHs in developed areas, which has important implications on the geographical patterns of OPHs among young adults.

Early childhood is a crucial period for human development that has long-term implications for one’s life trajectories. During the years before formal schooling, brain size and structures, as well as cognitive abilities, undergo rapid development. Children’s cognitive abilities develop by leaps and bounds and show great malleability. Cognitive development during early childhood exerts a long-lasting influence on children’s life chances in adulthood. In China, however, there is no established reliable early childhood achievement test that can be used in a study. This study validates an achievement test for Chinese preschoolers. We analyze data from a nationally representative sample of children aged three to six who participated in the Zhang-Yeung Test of Achievement for Chinese Children (ZY-TACC) in 2012. The instrument consists of a 28-item verbal test and a 24-item numeracy test. Our evaluations indicate a satisfactory level of difficulty, as well as high internal consistency and reliability. This instrument exhibits ample ability to distinguish among children of different ages and varying family backgrounds in ways consistent with previous literature. Children’s test scores are also found to correlate in the expected direction with their behavioral indicators. We demonstrate that the ZY-TACC is a psychometrically robust, culturally and contextually appropriate instrument for assessing Chinese preschool children’s achievement. The instrument can make a significant contribution to research on early childhood development in China.

The continued emphasis on a decontextualized nuclear family in Asia has often obscured experiences of re-partnered individuals and stepfamilies, wherein transitions including couple dissolution and remarriage or cohabitation have had particular implications for family well-being and social mobility. The eight papers in this special issue expand scholarship beyond acknowledging the increasing prevalence of re-partnership and stepfamilies seeking to facilitate cross-cultural comparisons within the region, and between Asia and the West where notable advancements have been made in theorising diverse family processes. The pertinence of extended family ties and the cultural pressures of collectivism advance shared perspectives of re-partnership and stepfamily formation across East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. At the same time, drawing from quantitative and qualitative methodologies, these papers direct attention to the heterogeneity in re-partnership pathways where broader social categories such as class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion and historicity differentially intersect across national and socio-political contexts.

Using a qualitative life history approach, this article offers to enhance our understanding of how remarriage impacts social mobility trajectories amongst ethnic minority women in Singapore. In particular, the attention to ethnic minority Malay women’s biographies reveals how the intersections of “ethnicity” and “class” render visibility to how re-partnership entails social exclusion that is morally and culturally coded concealing the emotional and material struggles that women in stepfamilies cope with. In comparing the lived experiences of remarried middle-class Malay women with their working-class counterparts, this article argues that stepfamily formation in Singapore in fact tends to deepen rather than mitigate vulnerabilities, particularly for the latter, thus failing to live up to the lure of economic stability that repartnerships are conventionally assumed to provide. In so doing, the article also argues for a nuanced understanding of social mobility as a non-linear process rather than an outcome.

A crisis for youth labor market conditions has been building globally for more than two decades, reflected in the persistently high rates of youth unemployment around the world, which is about three times as high as that for adults. About one in five young people are not in education, employment, or training, and a large share of young adults are working in the informal economy or in precarious conditions. This volume includes a collection of thirteen articles that examine the causes, patterns, and consequences of labor market uncertainties for youth and young adults in Europe, Latin/South America, the United States, and Asia, as well as a concluding article. They reveal vast inequalities among young people, with those having the least education and lowest skills, females, those with low family socioeconomic status (SES), ethnic minorities, and migrants being the most vulnerable. In this introduction, we describe the global trends and regional variation in labor market conditions for young people, explicate the importance of integrating young people into labor markets, and summarize the findings and policy implications of these articles.

Cultural contexts influence the development of self-regulation. However, cross-cultural variations and consistencies in different aspects of self-regulation and their academic outcomes within the Asian context are less clear. This study investigated (1) the extent to which the development of hot and cool Executive Function (EF) might differ among children from different cultural backgrounds in a multicultural Asian society, and (2) whether and how the predictive power of hot and cool EF on academic skills might vary across subcultures within the nation. Longitudinal data were collected over two waves from a national probability sample of 2,527 young children in Singapore, consisting of ethnic Chinese, Malays, and Indians. Working memory (WM), Delay of Gratification (DoG), and parent-reported self-control were measured during their preschool years (3–6 years of age) in Wave 1. Reading and mathematical skills were assessed approximately 2 years later in Wave 2. Results demonstrated that ethnic Chinese children typically delayed gratification at age 4, whereas Malay and Indian children only started to delay gratification at age 6. Chinese children also outperformed their Malay and Indian counterparts in WM tasks and standardized achievement tests in reading and mathematics. Parent-reported child self-control did not differ by ethnicity. Across subcultures in Singapore, WM was a robust predictor of reading and mathematical skills and explained the longitudinal relations of DoG to academic skills. Our findings suggest that the developmental gaps in EF during early childhood can contribute to later gaps in academic achievement among ethnic groups. Nurturing self-regulation during the preschool years is essential for promoting children’s school readiness.

The singulate mean age at marriage (SMAM) refers to the average length of a single life expressed in years among those who marry before 50 years old. Men and women have delayed getting marriage and there is an increasing proportion of people remaining single. Divorce rates are low but increasing.

There is a gradual increase in the proportion of adults aged 25 and above who completed upper secondary since 2000. Singapore has the highest rate of adults completed tertiary education. Female enrolment rates in tertiary education are higher than that for males in half of the countries in this region.

This book shows that the patterns in family, socioeconomic and demographic changes in Southeast are complex and heterogeneous. The size of the population ranges from one of the largest countries in the world—Indonesia that has about 260 million—to one of the smallest countries in the world—Brunei that has less than half a million people. Most countries have experienced growth that has doubled or tripled their population since 1960.

The average household size is shrinking. Nuclear family is a predominant family structure in Southeast Asia long before industrialization. Most older adults live with their children although increasingly more live alone or with only spouse.

In the past three decades, the Southeast Asian countries have made efforts in improving child health and have seen great progress in protecting people from diseases via vaccination. It is attributable to the concerted effort by nations and global organizations, such as the WHO guidelines on nutrition for the management of severe malnutrition and overnutrition, and the National Immunization Programme (NIP) to prevent a range of diseases.

The average total fertility rate (TFR) in Southeast Asia is at about the replacement level of 2.1. There has been a decline in fertility rates in all countries at varying speeds. Childlessness rates are increasing in a few countries.

Southeast Asia is composed of 631.7 million people (World Bank in Health nutrition and population statistics, 2015) spread across 11 countries that lie east of the Indian continent and south of China. Geographically, insular Southeast Asia includes Brunei, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore while Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam comprise mainland Southeast Asia

This article contextualizes and highlights findings from the 14 articles included in this special issue that aims to examine emerging dimensions in Asia. The articles cover a wide range of topics and all make an original contribution to our understanding of different aspects of marriage in the region. The vast diversity in East, Southeast, and South Asia continues to be observed ranging from universal marriage and the high prevalence of child marriages in some countries to high singlehood rates in others. This issue explores the extent to which the “second demographic transition” occurs in Asia, documenting the rising cohabitation, singlehood, and divorce in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Transnational marriages in Singapore and South Korea and remarriage patterns in Thailand are also examined. The rise in women’s education remains a key determinant of union formation behavior empowering women in making decisions about whether, when, and to whom they marry.

Transnational marriages between Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans have increased significantly in the 21st century, peaking at 41% among citizen marriages in 2009. About three-quarters of these couples are Singaporean grooms marrying foreign brides originating from lower income countries in Asia. We use a new nationally representative study—Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG LEADS)—to examine gender relations between spouses with young children and their family dynamics. Results show that compared to native-born mothers, foreign-born mothers have a more traditional gender ideology, bear heavier responsibility for housework, and are less likely to take primary responsibility for financial matters in the family. Data also reveal that there are more disagreements about childrearing between spouses and a higher level of family conflicts in these cross-national families. These differences can partly be accounted for by the age gap between spouses, mother’s education, family income, mother’s employment status, and family composition.

Objectives Among all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, South Korean older adults work until the latest age. We investigate the extent to which work experiences over the life course and family circumstances can be associated with older workers’ incentives to remain in the labor force beyond the statutory pension age. We explore gender-specific patterns of labor force exit and labor force re-entry in later life. Methods Using panel data of South Korean older workers and retirees from 2006 to 2016, we estimate multilevel discrete-time models with random effects to predict their labor force transition process that unfolds over time. Results Results show that skilled manual workers are less likely to exit employment and more likely to re-enter the labor force. A longer history of self-employment is related to later retirement. The relationship between career characteristics and the risk of retirement is only significant for men. Late-aged employment transition among women appears to be more related to family conditions. Women who receive financial support from adult offspring are more likely to remain out of the labor force but this relationship is not pronounced among men. Discussion Policies aimed at extending working lives need to provide various types of social support to older job seekers, especially those who had low-class jobs and those without family networks.

Rural migrant children are a rapidly growing demographic in Chinese cities. Existing sociological literature yields inconsistent findings regarding their wellbeing and adaptation to the urban socie...

Given that most of the resilient literature tends to focus on Western contexts, and the western-based research may have limited applications for policy and preventions in Asia, this issue attempts to examine educational resilience in Asian or Eastern societies to complement the wealth of research in the western-based research. In Asia, a large number of children live in challenging family environments such as poverty, increasing labor migration, increased divorced and associated factors. Investigating the pathways to educational resilience, particularly focusing on the protective factors that can buffer the negative effects of low socio-economic status or dysfunctional family environments or migrant family environments on Asian children’s educational outcomes has significant implications. In this research, we found that, in Asia, education is a key vehicle for individual’s social mobility, and factors from the school, home, and community may increase students’ chances of success by buffering the effect of some of the stressors from family on academic and personal success. This issue adds an empirical support from the East to Ungar’s (2012) social ecology framing of resilience. This paper also provides evidence that suggests efforts by educators to promote resilience should be tailored to the unique risks to which a sub-population of children and youth is exposed.

This study examines the relationships between productive social engagement and cognitive functioning trajectories of older adults in South Korea and how the nature of the relationships differs for men and women. We exploit data from a nationally representative longitudinal survey of South Korea from 2006 to 2014 and apply the Growth Mixture Modeling approach to disentangle health causation from health selection processes. We find that socially productive activities are associated with more favorable cognitive functioning trajectories, independent of an individual's baseline health and cognitive status. The odds of maintaining higher cognitive functioning are greater for men who had participated in socially productive activities on a monthly basis. Social engagement protects against rapid cognitive decline for women, particularly for those with lower education. Among men, social activities in friendship/alumni organizations are likely to help maintain good cognitive functioning in older age while for women with lower cognition, religious activities may protect against cognitive decline.

We examine how rural-to-urban migration influences marriage timing and assortative mating by family origins using data from the 2012 Chinese Family Panel Studies and in-depth interviews conducted i...

This article reviews literature on migration and marriage and highlights contributions of the papers in this special issue. The papers show that Asian marriage migrants’ experience of integration a...

Internal migration has resulted in a large number of left-behind children in China. Despite growing attention to this population, important gaps remain in our understanding of their cognitive development and the factors that mediate the impact of migration on children. The present study draws on a new nationally representative survey of Chinese children to study the psychological and cognitive development of left-behind children. Results show that rural children left behind by both parents (but not by one parent) are worse off in both psychological well-being and cognitive development than rural children living with both parents. The disadvantage of left-behind children is mediated by their caregivers' emotional well-being, parenting practices, and education. We also find a pronounced rural-urban difference in children's cognitive development.

Background : Little is known about cohort variations in the relationships between living arrangements and psychological health among older adults. The current study evaluated whether cohort differences in the intergenerational support affect the differences in the mental health benefits of multigenerational living arrangements, and how they do so. Methods : Using panel regression models with lagged variables based on South Korean data, we compared the shape of the relationships between living arrangements and psychological conditions of two cohorts of older adults. Results : The study found birth cohort differences in older adults’ psychological well-being. Among older adults in recent cohorts, living in a multigenerational household was positively associated with depression and negatively linked with life satisfaction. The cohort variations were partly explained by children's marital status and home ownership. Conclusion : The birth cohort variations in psychological health implications of living arrangements may reflect the changing patterns of intergenerational support and family values.

Previous research on household labor has focused more on its physical participation and less on the mental and managerial responsibility. In this paper, using data from the 2006 East Asia Social Su...

Objectives Solo-living has far-reaching implications for older adults’ well-being. The causal impacts and the pathways of solo-living on health and well-being of older adults are still unclear. This study examines the correlates of solo-living and subsequent health outcomes of solo-living among older adults in mainland China. Methods We draw data from four waves of a nationwide survey with a total of 9,714 older adults aged 65 or older who had at least three interviews in 2005–2014. A generalized structural equation modeling approach was applied to examine what factors are associated with solo-living status and whether and how the antecedent of solo-living status subsequently affects well-being and health. Results Owning a home, having no living child, and a preference to live independently are positively correlated with living alone, whereas living in a city, having economic independence, being educated, and having poor physical and cognitive functions are associated with lower odds of solo-living. Older Chinese adults who live alone are more likely to feel lonely and have a lower life satisfaction, yet they are more likely to be involved in social/leisure activities, and have fewer physical disabilities and a lower mortality risk. Discussion There is a bi-directional relationship between solo-living and well-being/health among the Chinese older adults. Solo-living is a conditioned choice of a set of critical factors among older Chinese. The greater involvement in social/leisure activities is likely a key for Chinese solo-living older adults to mitigate the negative impact of their lower psychological well-being on subsequent mortality.

Southeast and South Asia are home to one-third of the world's population. Their great economic and cultural diversity makes generalization about family patterns and trends hazardous. We review literature on trends in fertility, marriage, divorce, and living arrangements in the past half century. The explanations for these trends focus on structural and ideological changes related to socioeconomic development; cultural factors including kinship system, religion, and ethnicity; and public policies. While the impact of rapid modernization and related ideational changes are evident, there are also changes—or a lack thereof—that cannot be explained by development and may be attributable to historical and cultural factors that have shaped family norms in the region. The following trends are evident: ( a) fertility is declining and age at marriage is rising, although teenage and arranged marriages remain common in South Asia, ( b) a majority of the elderly continue to live with or are supported by their children, and ( c) divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing remain relatively rare.

As China continues to age rapidly, whether the country should adjust the official retirement age, and if so, when and how, are currently major policy concerns. We examine the impact of postponing the retirement age on the human capital of China in the next four decades. Two critical aspects of human capital—health and education—are incorporated to account for the quality of the work force. Our projections reveal the impact of nine scenarios on the Chinese labor force in the next few decades, highlighting the changes in “the high human capital workforce”—those with good health and education. We show substantial impact with added work force ranging from 28 to 92 million per year depending on which scenarios are implemented. Furthermore, the retained workers are increasingly better educated. The gain in female workers is particularly significant, reaping the benefits of the education expansion since the 1990s. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10680-018-9467-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.