Using a survey of 200 low- to moderate-income households in Singapore, this study analyzes how changes in economic resources (in particular assets) are associated with family strains and family functioning. Key findings of this study are as follows: 1) a majority of the sample experienced reduced economic resources; 2) a reduction of savings increased family strain; 3) households experiencing decreases in savings have lower levels of family functioning measured by family social support and family cohesiveness. This article concludes with several implications for policy and practice.
AustinI.P. (2009) ‘Singapore in Transition: Economic Change and Political Consequences’, Journal of Asian Public Policy2(3): 266–78.
2.
BarrM.S.BlankR.M. (2009) ‘Savings, Assets, Credit, and Banking among Low-income Households: Introduction and Overview’, in BlankR.M.BarrM.S. (eds) Insufficient Funds: Savings, Assets, Credit, and Banking among Low-income Households. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
3.
ChangW.C.LimL.L. (2007) ‘Resilience and Well-being in an Asian Context – Singapore’, Journal of Psychology in Chinese Societies8(1): 47–69.
4.
ChooL.S. (2010) ‘An Overview of the Singapore Social Safety Net: Policies and Challenges’, in Rethinking Poverty and Social Mobility, pp. 5–16. Singapore: Civil Service College.
5.
CongerR.ElderG. (1994) Families in Troubled Times: Adapting to Change in Rural America. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
6.
DeanH. (2006) Social Policy. Cambridge: Polity Press.
7.
DewJ. (2007) ‘Two Sides of the Same Coin? The Differing Roles of Assets and Consumer Debt in Marriage’, Journal of Family and Economic Issues28: 89–104.
8.
DewJ. (2008) ‘Debt Change and Marital Satisfaction Change in Recently Married Couples’, Family Relations57: 60–71.
9.
FarnsworthK.IrvingZ. (2011) ‘Driven by Economics, Determined by Politics: Social Policy in the Age of Austerity’, paper presented at the Annual Social Policy Association Conference, 4–6 July, University of Lincoln, UK.
10.
GregoryL.DrakefordM. (2006) ‘Social Work, Asset-based Welfare and the Child Trust Fund’, British Journal of Social Work36: 149–57.
11.
GudmunsonC.G.BeutlerI.F.IsraelsenC.L.McCoyJ.K.HillE.J. (2007) ‘Linking Financial Strain to Marital Instability: Examining the Roles of Emotional Distress and Marital Interaction’, Journal of Family and Economic Issues28: 357–76.
12.
HanC.-K. (2009) ‘Unemployment, Financial Hardship, and Saving in Individual Development Accounts’, Journal of Poverty13(1): 74–95.
13.
HavemanR.WolffE.N. (2005) ‘Who are the Asset Poor? Levels, Trends, and Composition, 1983–1998’, in SherradenM. (ed.) Inclusion in the American Dream: Assets, Poverty, and Public Policy, pp. 61–86. New York: Oxford University Press.
JangS.J. (2007) ‘Gender Differences in Strain, Negative Emotions, and Coping Behaviors: A General Strain Theory Approach’, Justice Quarterly24(3): 523–53.
16.
LazarusA. (2004) ‘Relationships among Indicators of Child and Family Resilience and Adjustment following the September 11, 2001 Tragedy’, working paper no. 36, The Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life.
17.
LeeS. R.GohC. B.FredriksenB.TanJ. P. (2008) ‘Toward a Better Future: Education and Training for Economic Development in Singapore since 1965’, World Bank, Washington, DC.
18.
LermanR.I.McKernanS.-K. (2008) ‘Benefits and Consequences of Holding Assets’, in McKernanS.-K.SherradenM., Asset Building and Low-income Families, pp. 175–206. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
19.
LipskyM. (1980) Street-level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
20.
McCarthyD.MitchellO.S.PiggottJ. (2002) ‘Asset Rich and Cash Poor: Retirement Provision and Housing Policy in Singapore’, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance1(3): 197–222.
21.
McCubbinL. (2001) ‘Challenges to the Definition of Resilience’, paper presented at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, 24–28 August, San Francisco, CA.
22.
McCubbinH.I.PattersonJ. (1983) ‘Family Transitions: Adaptation to Stress’, in McCubbinH.I.FigleyC. (eds) Stress and the Family: Volume 1. Coping with Normative Transitions, pp. 5–25. New York: Brunner Mazel.
23.
McCubbinH.I.ThompsonA.I.McCubbinM.A. (2001) Family Measures: Stress, Coping and Resiliency. Honolulu, HI: Kamehameha Schools.
24.
McKernanS.-M.SherradenM. (2008) Asset Building and Low-income Families. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
25.
McLoydV. (1990) ‘The Impact of Economic Hardship on Black Families and Children: Psychological Distress, Parenting, and Socioeconomic Development’, Child Development61: 311–46.
MorillasJ.R. (2007) ‘Assets, Earnings Mobility and the Black/White Gap’, Social Science Research36: 808–33.
28.
NgI.RothwellD.W. (2009) ‘A Rising Tide Lifts No Sunken Boat’, Social Space2: 92–8.
29.
Parks-YancyR.DiTomasoN.PostC. (2007) ‘The Mitigating Effects of Social and Financial Capital Resources on Hardships’, Journal of Family and Economic Issues28: 429–48.
30.
RankM.HirschlT. (2001) ‘Rags or Riches? Estimating the Probabilities of Poverty and Affluence across the Adult American Life Span’, Social Science Quarterly82(4): 651–69.
31.
RothwellD.W.HanC.-K. (2010) ‘Assets as a Resource Variable in the Stress Management of Low-income Families’, Family Relations59: 396–407.
32.
ScanlonE.Page-AdamsD. (2001) Effects of Asset Holding on Neighborhoods, Families, and Children: A Review of Research (CSD Research Report). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.
33.
ScottJ.AlwinD.F. (1989) ‘Gender Differences in Parental Strain: Parental Role or Gender Role?’, Journal of Family Issues10: 482–503.
34.
ShapiroT.M. (2001) ‘The Importance of Assets’, in ShapiroT.WolffE.N. (eds) Assets for the Poor: Benefits and Mechanisms of Spreading Asset Ownership, pp. 11–33. New York: Russell Sage.
35.
SherradenM. (1991) ‘The Nature and Distribution of Assets’, in Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy, pp. 95–120. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
36.
SherradenM.LauxS.KaufmanC. (2007) ‘Financial Education for Social Workers’, Journal of Community Practice15(3): 9–36.
SolantausT.LeinonenJ.PunamäkiR.-L. (2004) ‘Children’s Mental Health in Times of Economic Recession: Replication and Extension of the Family Economic Stress Model in Finland’, Developmental Psychology40(3): 412–29.
40.
TambyahS.K.TanS.J.KauA.K. (2009) ‘The quality of life in Singapore’, Social Indicators Research92: 337–376.
VasooS.LeeJ. (2006) ‘Promoting Social Development through Integration of the Central Provident Fund and Public Housing Schemes in Singapore’, Social Development Issues28(2): 71–83.
43.
ZhanM.SherradenM. (2003) ‘Assets, Expectations, and Children’s Educational Achievement in Female-headed Households’, Social Services Review77(2): 191–211.
