A

·          Abortions

There were 1,698 abortions among girls aged 20 and below in 2001. This accounted for 13% of all abortions here. (The New Paper, 29 May 2002)

• Advisors

In the National Youth Survey conducted in 2002, young people were asked to indicate the first person they turned to for advice on important decisions. Majority of youths (75%) indicated their mothers as the first person they would turn to. This is followed by their friends (65%), father (57%) and siblings (39%). Despite the fact that most students spend many hours in school, they hardly approach their teachers to confide their troubles.

In the same survey, 17% of youth not at all depressed by their concerns, compared with 8% whom were often depressed. Indeed, 25% would choose to act on the concern themselves, a close second to asking friends for help (28%). Interestingly, 12% listed seeking counselling as their top three choices, indicating a greater receptivity to professional help as opposed to traditional means.

 C

• Citizenship Values

According to the National Youth Survey 2002, citizenship values are particularly strong. There is a high level of inter-ethnic trust with over 90% of youth indicating that they have no problems working and living with different ethnic groups. The survey also provides clear evidence of the high levels of national pride, with many citing the security, efficiency and progress of Singapore , as sources of their pride.

D

• Demographics

During the last decade, the population of youth aged 15-29 years had been declining steadily. With delayed family formation and declining birth rates, the proportion of the youth population declined from 27.3% of the total resident population in 1990 to only 21.2% of the 3.26 million resident population in 2000.  The total number of resident youth stood at 691,511 in 2000.  Non-resident youth made up just over one third of the total youth population in Singapore . 

The Singapore youth population is likely to increase gradually over the next ten years. While there is presently more older youth, the next decade will see an increase in the numbers of the younger age cohorts. Among the three age sub-groups of youth, the older youth comprising 38.7% in 2000 is most likely to drop to 30% in 2010 while the younger youth comprising 30.6% in 2000 is likely to reach 36% in 2010.  

·        Divorce

      According to the National Youth Survey (2002), on the subject of divorce, more than half (54%) of youth approve of divorce either regardless of whether there are children or when mutual love does not exist in the marriage. Only one-fifth (20%) of them feel very strongly that once married, divorce should never be allowed for any reason at all.

Female youth tend to support divorce more than the males. More than half (51%) of male youth are against divorce as compared to female youth (41%). Financial independence could be the reason that females are stronger supporters of divorce.

·        Drop-out

880 secondary school students dropped out of school in 2004, compared to 1,152 in 2000. (The Straits Times, 4 April 2005 , pg. H6)

• Delinquency

In a large-scale study conducted by Fei Yue Counselling Centre in October 2002, which involved surveying students from nine secondary schools in the northeast region (N=5773), they found that the most prevalent delinquent act is damaging school properties, followed by getting into public facilities without paying, truancy, and purposely hurting or beating up someone.

There were more girls than boys among those who damaged school properties and played truant.

In terms of educational level, delinquent acts were more prevalent among secondary 2 and 3 students.

In terms of academic stream, delinquent acts are more prevalent among students in the Normal Technical (NT) stream. NT students have the highest commission rate of 25 out of the 30 delinquent acts listed.

Delinquent acts are more prevalent among students whose parents are separated or divorced,

Higher proportions of delinquent acts are also found among students from both ends of the income spectrum, that is, those from low-income families as well as from well-to-do families.

E

• Ethnic Group

In terms of ethnic composition, Malay youth has declined proportionally from 15.8% of total resident youth population in 1990 to 14.1% in 2000.  There was a 1% increase in Chinese youth to 77.2% and a 0.4% increase in Indian youth to 7.5%.

·       Education  

      The educational levels of youth have remained constant since the new millennium, according to the statistics published by the Ministry of Education. Gross enrolment ratio for secondary (youth aged 12-15) is 99% in 2003, just 1% higher than in 2002. Post-secondary enrolment ratio for post-secondary (age 16-17) and tertiary (age 16-20) are at 50% and 46% respectively.

Youths have an average of 12.7 years of schooling in 2003, up from 9.3 years in 1990.

Findings from the National Youth Survey reveal that Singaporean youth have high aspirations towards education. Among the secondary school students surveyed, 81% indicate intentions to complete tertiary education, 44% aspire after a polytechnic diploma, while 37% aspire after a university degree. Considering differences by gender, Singaporean females have higher education aspirations than males. More female secondary school students aspire to university education than males (2002). 

• Emotional Support

While parents are important, most young people turn to their peers for social support. From the National Youth Survey (2002), 79% of youths indicate that they will turn to their friends for emotional support, followed by their mothers (70%)

F

• Fertility Rate

Delayed marriages led to later pregnancies as manifested in the decline in fertility rates among youths.    Fertility rate for older youth was down to 109.1 per thousand resident females in 2000 from 136.0 in 1990.  For those aged 20 to 24, the decline was from 58.7 to 41.9 per thousand resident females.

• Family and Social Support

The National Youth Survey 2002 revealed that moderately strong relationships between youth and their families. In the area of family support, young Singaporeans generally indicate a positive perception of support from their family, 75% are able to get along with family members. On the flip side, fewer youths indicate that their family pays attention to their problems and that their achievements are noticed by family members.

• Family Life Satisfaction

In a large-scale study conducted by Fei Yue Counselling Centre in October 2002, which involved surveying students from nine secondary schools in the northeast region (N=5773), slightly more than half of the students were satisfied with their family life, there were more boys than girls among those students.

Specifically, less than half of the students were satisfied with issues regarding the amount of parental control and the extent of autonomy that they should have.

There is a higher proportion of Indian students who were satisfied with their family life, compared to the other races.

H

·          Homosexuality - Attitudes and Perceptions

In a survey conducted by the National University of Singapore, it was found that most young Singaporeans hold negative attitudes towards homosexuals and are generally quite conservative on the matter. Almost nine out of 10 said they would be disappointed if they realised that their child was homosexual. Eight out of 10 agreed with the statement: "I would be upset if I learned my brother or sister was homosexual".

However, they become more tolerant towards homosexual if they don't have too much to do with them. For example, almost seven out of 10 of those surveyed agreed with the statement: "It would disturb me to find out my doctor was homosexual."

As for attitudes on working with homosexuals, respondents expressed ambivalence. About 44% were uncertain if they would be comfortable working closely with a homosexual. To another statement: "I would be uncomfortable if I learned that my boss was homosexual", almost 40% agreed; another 40% were uncertain. (The Straits Times, 22 June 2000 )

I

·           Information Technology

The 2004 IT Household Survey by IDA Singapore revealed that In 2004, the number of households in Singapore owning computers (Desktop/Laptop) increased by over 13,000 over the past one year. However, the proportion of households owning computers remained unchanged at 74% due to the increased number of households in the base population over the same period.

Similarly, the number of households with Internet access increased by 16,000 from 2003 to 2004, with the household Internet penetration remaining at 65% due to the increased number of households in the base population.

E-mail, Online Information Retrieval/Search and Download Application Software were the top 3 applications used by Internet users aged 15 and above in 2004.

Usage of more sophisticated applications beyond email have picked up - Online Information Retrieval/Search from 64% to 82%, Download Application Software from 43% to 62% and Online Government Related Transactions from 42% to 56%.

Almost one-third of the Internet users aged 15 years and above has ever used online shopping as at 2004. This was the highest growth since 2000.

The average number of online purchases increased from 2.3 in 2003 to 2.8 in 2004. Internet users also spent more through online purchases in 2004. The average online dollar-spend by online shoppers has increased from $336 in 2003 to $539 in 2004. Ticketing (39%), Books/Magazines (31%) and Travel items (30%) were the top 3 products/services bought online in 2004.

(For more information, visit www.ida.gov.sg)

L

· Labour Force Participation

Corresponding to the trend of youth spending more years in education, the labour force participation rate among youth aged 15-19 years declined from 31% in 1990 to 19% in 2000. Higher tertiary enrolment also caused the labour force participation rate of those aged 20-24 years to fall from 83% in 1990 to 77% in 2000. As a result, more youth joined the labour force between the ages of 25-29.

In contrast to the total labour force in which male workers outnumber female workers, there are more female working youth than male youth. Both have declined between 1990 and 2000 from 35% to 29% for male youth and from 48% to 40% for female youth.

Better education has led to some changes in occupation structure. There are more youth now being employed in professional, managerial or technical positions; the proportion of which has increased sharply from 18% in 1990 to 28% in 2000.

Primarily a result of higher educational qualification and employment positions, the wage levels of young workers have risen. For instance, the majority (34.9%) of working youth aged 25-29 years in 2000 was earning a monthly income of $2,000 to $2,999. This compares with only 9.6% in 1990, where the majority (37%) of older youths was more likely to be earning between $500 to $999.

·        Life Goals

In a survey conducted by the National Youth Council in 2000, "To lead a lifestyle that I desire" was the top choice of 39% of youth. This compares to the 44% who chose "To live as I like" in a 1996 study. "To get rich" was the next top choice for 16% of Singapore youth in 2000, a decrease from the 32% in 1996. As the majority of youth are single, they have more freedom to do what they want.

The decline in these more pragmatic life goals did not appear to signify a shift towards civic consciousness. The least mentioned life-goal is "To improve society and the world" (8%) in the 1996 study. Similarly, "To contribute to the growth of our society" tied with "To help the needy" as the top choice of only 2% of the youth in 2000. 

When asked whether they have made plans to pursue their life goals in the 2000 survey, the majority of older youths aged 27 to 29 (60%) had done so compared with their younger parts aged 15 to 18 (29%). Most youth specified upgrading their skills/knowledge, to work harder/make more money and to further their studies as their concrete plans. 

The National Youth Survey 2002 showed that youth aspirations reflect a consensus on the importance young people attribute to material success and family life, but also a variety of interests, ranging from starting their own business, to arts, sports and volunteering. All in all, acquiring new skills (91%) and earning money (77%) are the top of two life goals, followed by goals to start their own family (72%), to set up their own business (57%) and to pursue interests such as sports, volunteer work, and the arts.

• Leisure & Interests

Based on a 1999 study on youth interests commissioned by National Youth Council, the top activities that youth were interested in were outdoor sports (32.3%) and popular entertainment (22.5%). Adventure activities/outdoor sports (8.86% for scuba diving, 5.14% for tennis, 3.71% for mountain climbing, 3.14% for roller blading, 3.14% for rock climbing and 2.29% for canoeing) and travelling (11.14%) also featured as new interests that they would like to be involved in. Community work was an interest with only 0.8% of the youth surveyed.

In terms of actual participation in activities, the top activities of our youth were watching movies and watching TV or VCD, with over 70% having been involved in either in the past six months. Listening to music and shopping came in next with 62.7% and 57.5% respectively.

On the whole, the younger youth tend to be more active than older youth. Of the one in ten youth who were inactive, little free time was cited as the main reason. Commitment to the family came up as a significant hindrance to female participation.

Most of the top activities undertaken by youth were either organised by themselves or by their friends. School-based activities, which covered mostly sports and uniformed groups, accounted for only about 5% of the top activities of our youth. Similar figures were shown for activities organised by clubs and associations.

• Life skills

Singaporean youth are confident in their ability to socialize, adapt to change and to work in teams. They are less confident in areas such as public speaking and leadership. 92% of young people indicate confidence in their ability to “work with other people”, 90% in their ability to “adapt to change”. On the flip side, fewer young people indicate confidence in their ability to “lead a team of people” or to “speak publicly”. (National Youth Survey, 2002)

M

• Marital Status

The percentage of single youth has increased slightly from 77% in 1990 to 78.2% in 2000. The mean age at first marriage has been rising gradually, from 28.7 years in 1990 for grooms to 29.9 years in 2001 and from 25.9 years in 1990 for brides to 26.8 years in 2001.  There is no change in the percentage of singles for older youths between 25 to 29 years, which remained stable at 51.8% over the past decade.

• Marriage

The National Youth Council 2000 Survey found that one-third (33%) of the Singapore youth population deemed marriage to be very important while almost one-half (49%) thought marriage to be important. These combined, over 4 in 5 (82%) vouched for the importance of marriage.

The most preferred type of marriage arrangement, as indicated by 65% of the youth surveyed, is having husband and wife both holding jobs and with both taking care of the house and children. On top of that, the diploma holders (72%) and degree holders/postgraduates (77%) were more likely than those with N/O level or below education (60%) to prefer this arrangement. 

Two-thirds (66%) surveyed felt that they would prefer to build up a career prior to starting a family. Another 24% reckoned that they would like to do both at the same time while a much lesse 1 in 10 (10%) would choose to start a family first.

The youths were found to have cautious view towards marriage; almost three-quarters (74%) strongly agreed or agreed that it would not be wise to get married if they are not financially stable.

===================================

Comparing the 2002 National Youth Survey findings with the 1997 State of Youth Survey in Singapore (Chow and Yeo, 1997), one notices a slight change in attitudes away from beliefs in the value of marriage. 40% of Singaporean youths in 2002 indicate “one should marry”, a decline from 46% in 1997. Considering attitudes towards divorce, 30% of youths surveyed in 2002 were not in favour of divorce, compared to 20% in 1997 (National Youth Survey, 2002)

• Media

In the 1999 National Youth Council study on the media consumption patterns of our youth, the highest frequency is in respect of listening to music (37%), followed by watching TV (17%) and going to movies (14%). The vast majority of the respondents read newspapers. Only 10% of the respondents said that they do not read newspapers. The most commonly read topics are home news (30%) followed by sports (19%) and world news (10%). The two most commonly read newspapers among the young people are The Straits Times and The New Paper. 

54% of the respondents said that they read magazines on a regular basis. There is a vast range of magazines read by the sample. The most popular magazines are 8 Days and Her World.

On readership of books, the most preferred are cartoons/comics (17.3%), romance (16.7%) and adventure (15%). 64% said that they buy books and the number of books purchased a year ranges from 1 to 4 books (24%) to over 15 books (15%).

Compared to people in other Asian countries, Singaporeans are considered heavy cinema goers. In the study, 23% said that they go to the cinema at least once a week. 35% said that they go at least once a month. The sample prefer many types of films. These range from western action & adventure (22%), to comedies (18%) to award-winning movies (17%). The most cited reason for going to cinema is to relax (33%) followed by the desire to see favourite stars (21)% . Outing and dating were given as reasons by 14% and 11% of the respondents respectively. Very often, they go to the cinema with either friends (58%) or with boy/girl friend (23%). Only 3% said that they go to the cinema with their family.

• Mental Illness

In the last five years, the number of new young patients admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) has doubled.

According to statistics from IMH, 134 children aged 18 and below were admitted to IMH's children's ward last year. This is almost double the figure in 1999.

Among those admitted last year, the most common mental disorder was situational reaction, where a person has abnormal reactions to a certain situation, such as parents' divorce. This is followed by depression, behavioural problems and psychosis.

Children with such severe mental disorders are admitted to allow for close observation, intensive medical treatment and to provide relief to strained family ties. Most of them stay for about two weeks for medical treatment and counselling before they are allowed to leave. (Today, 5 May 2005)

N

• National Pride

Although nine in 10 youth think Singapore is a good place to live in, one in four said they would consider emigrating, with top choices being Australia and the United States . In keeping with this longing for things foreign, multinational corporations are the preferred employers for four in 10 of the survey respondents. In terms of national identity, eight in 10 view themselves as Singaporeans first, rather than members of distinct ethnic groups. (The Straits Times, 20 December 2000 )

O

• Obesity

Obesity among those aged 18 to 69 years rose from 5.1 per cent in 1992 to 6 per cent in 1998, according to the National Health Survey 1998. A further one quarter of adults are overweight and 9 per cent of the population have diabetes.

The number of overweight students has dropped from 14 per cent in 1992 to about 10 per cent in 2002. (The Straits Times, 24 April 2002 )

==========================

The TAF program was launched in 1992 and the government credits it with helping to cut the number of overweight students from 14 percent in that year to 10 percent in 2003.

However the program is a cause of concern for many parents, who feel the potential weight loss benefits for their children are outweighed by the pyschological pressures and the inevitable name calling.

Singaporean schools that singles out apparently fat children may be contributing to eating disorders among girls, a study published in the Straits Times on Monday, May 16, said.

The study of 4400 female students found that seven percent were at high risk of disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, with many of them former or current members of the Trim and Fit programme (TAF). (The Straits Times, 16 May 2005 )

P

• Personal Satisfaction

In a National Youth Council Survey 2000, the findings revealed that youth apparently derive the most satisfaction when they are with their friends (28%). Being with friends reaffirms each other’s ideas and gives a sense of belonging. A smaller proportion (16%) of youth get personal satisfaction when with family, when at work or when concentrating on sports/hobbies. Since being with friends gives the most satisfaction, very few youth like being alone (3%). Youth, 24 years older or younger, prefer the companionship of friends (35% for those 15-19 years and 29% for 20-24 years) while those above 24 years old are more satisfied when with family (28%) or at work (27%).

•   Priorities

In terms of life priorities, all of the young people surveyed indicate that family is important, followed by friends, work, leisure time, service to others, religion and politics (in order of importance). Comparing the reporting of such priorities by age, our findings reveal that while interest in service to others and religion declines from the ages 15-22, it picks up from the ages of 23-29. Interest in politics increases steadily with age.

• Premarital Sex

In a survey conducted by National Youth Council in 2000, 48% of our youth perceives sex before marriage as unacceptable even when two people love each other. The youth surveyed were split in their views as to whether pre-marital sex is ok if the couple practice safe sex - 34% strongly agreed or agreed with the statement while 35% held the opposite view. Similarly, people were split in their views regarding the idea of living together as a couple before getting married - 32% concurred with this statement while 35% disagreed or strongly diasgreed.

 ========================

In a large-scale study conducted by Fei Yue Counselling Centre in October 2002, which involved surveying students from nine secondary schools in the northeast region (N=5773), most students thought they would be able to resist pressures or temptations when they encounter situations where they are pressured or tempted into having sex. There were more girls than boys who thought so.

 Approximately 30% of the students have friends who were having sex.

 Approximately 40% of the students have half or less than half of their friends believe in abstinence from pre-marital sex.

 Approximately 60% of the students have some, if not many friends, who hold permissive values towards pre-marital sex.

 The three most common reasons for having pre-marital sex are curiosity, to satisfy desire, and for love.

 The three most common reasons for abstinence are to avoid getting AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and the loss of self-respect.

R

• Religion

According to Population Census 2000 for youth aged 15 to 24, Buddhism rose from 29.1% in 1990 to 38.9% in 2000 while Taoism has decreased significantly from 18.6% to 8.4%. Islam saw a slight increase of 0.9% from 17.7% in 1990 to 18.6% in 2000 while Christianity declined slightly from 13.2% in 1990 to 12.8% in 2000. The proportion of Hinduism is almost the same between 1990 (3.6%) and 2000 (3.5%).

 A survey by The Straits Times on 622 Singapore residents aged 15 and above showed that 27% of believers were converted when they were below 15 years old, 19% were converted then aged 15-19 years, 26% between 20-24 and 12% when they were aged 25-29 years old (The Straits Times Special Report, Jul 16 2005).

 S

·        Sports Participation

Sports participation level decreases as age increases. The younger the age group, the higher is its percentage of regular participants. Based on National Sports Participation Survey 2001, about 67% of the teenagers (15 to 19 year old) are regular participants (those who exercise at least once a week), compared to the population average of 38%. In contrast, only 42% and 36% of those in the age groups of 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 respectively are regular participants.

Compared to the older participants who are motivated by health reasons, teens are more likely to be motivated by elements of fun and play like "love of the sport" and "being with friends".

·          Smoking / Tobacco Use

Health Promotion Board figures show that in 2001, 8 per cent of women aged 18 to 24 years old smoked.  This was 2 per cent more than in the 1998 National Health Survey.

In the Singapore Youth Tobacco Survey 2000 involving 13,000 secondary school students in Singapore , it found that one in four under-aged youths have smoked before. 11.2% have lit up at least once in the month before the survey, including 2.4% who smoke daily. 13.4% of boys and 8.8% of girls were smokers. Despite it being illegal to sell cigarettes to those under 18, half of those surveyed said they could buy cigarettes from shops.

Among females, more 18-29 year olds smoked, and their percentage rose from 5% in 1998 to 7% in 2004.

• Substance Abuse

A finding shared in 2002 revealed that more than a third of ketamine abusers were aged between 20 and 24, and 55% were younger than 25. One in three of the young abusers of such synthetic drugs was a female. (The Straits Times, May 31, 2002 )  

• Sexual Behaviour

In the 2004 Global Sex Survey by Durex, the average of Singaporean youths’ first sex is 18.9 years. The average age when they first received sex education is 14 years, which is about the time when sex education is taught in school as part of the curriculum. This figure is almost the same as our neighbours like Thailand and Malaysia .

Almost half the Singaporean respondents (52%) indicated that parent/guardian should be the ones teaching sex education, followed by school (32%).

39% of Singapore youth have unprotected sex and 69% of them rate HIV/AIDS as their top sexual concern. Another 22% indicated that the other sexual concern was unwanted pregnancy. When asked where government should focus, 47% of them responded that they should focus on sex education in schools, followed by educational initiatives (21%), free contraception (14%), and advertising campaigns (11%).

  Singapore youth are having sex 79 times a year and are the least sexually active together with Hong Kong and Japan . Singapore youth have had an average of 5.8 sexual partners, which is low compared to the global average of 10.5. 

V  

• Values

A Universal McCann Survey for Coca-Cola released in 2002 revealed that young people here trail those in other countries in optimism, ambition and self-respect. Only 65% of 16 to 24 year olds agreed that the future always offers more and new possibilities, compared to 86% for the US and 91% for Thailand . One third agreed that they are ambitious, compared to 57% for Malaysia and 49% for the US . 21% have self-respect, while comparable with the regional average, pales in comparison with the US with 42%. A quarter of our youth find life exciting, but as seen from other studies, having an exciting life is not very important.

In a Unicef survey conducted in 2001, it was found that 67% feel happy most of the time, well above the regional average of 52%. Indeed, Singapore ranks third on the happiness scale in the Asia-Pacific, trailing only China and Australia . Happiness stems from being with friends (55%) and family members (43%). Half of the respondents indicated that they are "quite satisfied" with themselves, with only 16% saying that they "don't have much to be proud of".

The same survey found that 45% of our students aged 9 to 17 would be saddened when they do badly in schools, compared to 11% who would be sad when someone dies.

41% chose either parent when asked to name one person they admired most, with only 1% choosing a president, prime minister or famous athlete. This shows that the family was still the most significant source of values and love for children. 92% said that their relationship with their mothers was either "good" or "very good". Fathers scored 86% for the same question.

·          Volunteer Work

In the 2000 National Youth Council Survey, 71% had never done volunteer work in the past one year, compared to 18% who had volunteered either once or twice.   Of those who had not volunteered, 57% indicated that they would not like to take part in some volunteer work.

According to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre figures in 2004, young people accounted for the largest jump in volunteer participation rate. The volunteer rate in the 15-24 age group rose to 25% in 2004 from the 2002 rate of 17%.

The top reason for non-volunteering among youth is no friends for company (16%)

(For more information, visit www.nvpc.org.sg)

W

·          Work (Part-time)

In the National Youth Survey 2002, it was found that 42% of students were involved in part-time work, and there were marginally more females than males who work part-time. Out of these 42% who work part-time, 66% only worked during the school holidays. However, a significant percentage of youths (30%) worked part-time across their school term and their school holidays.

The top reasons for working part-time were to gain experience (75%), because their friends are working too (39%), and to pay for education (20%). The youths also reported that working part-time made them learn to be more responsible (89%), taught them social skills that are useful for future work, and all in all, part-time work is a positive influence in life (81%). Only 7% agreed that work affected their studies negatively. This may mean that the positive benefits and consequences of part-time work outweigh the negative ones.

==========================

According to a survey by the Ministry of Manpower, unemployed workers aged 25-29 are most likely to consider self-employment alternatives (63.9%). The percentage of respondents mentioning self-employment declines with age.