Peering into the "Black Box" of Parental and Peer Relationships

• In Event: Profiles, Perspectives, and Pressures: Understanding Adolescent Flourishing, Motivation, and Relationships in Singapore

Abstract

Objective

This study investigates how meaningful connections with parents and peers differentially impact outcomes in Singapore. It challenges Western assumptions about teenage independence and begins a timely conversation about the need for culturally informed frameworks to better understand adolescent development in Asian educational contexts.

Framework
Adopting Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory as a lens, this research examines relationships across personal, social, relational, cultural and national spheres rather than focusing solely on school-based experiences. Specifically, it provides a frame to look at quality relationships —characterized by care, trust, openness, and cooperative engagement— across different systems, and how different relationships are central to outcomes such as positive identity development, school belonging, and career expectations.

Methods
Mixed-methods design combining quantitative survey analysis with qualitative interview data provide comprehensive insights into relationship dynamics and their impact on developmental outcomes and experiences. More details about the DREAMS project will be shared at the symposium.

Data Sources
DREAMS survey data from Singapore (n=7,730) and in-depth interviews (n=144) examining adolescent relationships across diverse academic and social backgrounds, measuring psychological wellbeing, school belonging, motivation, and engagement outcomes.

Results
Among Singaporean teenage respondents, parents maintain the strongest influence on psychological wellbeing compared to teachers and peers, contradicting expectations of adolescent independence-seeking. Qualitative evidence reveals parents' pivotal role in shaping career aspirations, even as individual, school, peers contribute to career formation. It is also clear that adolescents, regardless of their socio-economic status, prioritize making parents proud and seek opportunities for secure employment to provide for family. This bidirectional relationship among teenagers reflects culturally informed interdependence rather than more Western models of separation.
Peer relationships emerge as supported through school structures (class layouts, co-curricular activities) and while it is key to providing academic support, it deepens significantly during crises and setbacks. Peers provide authentic support—described as "real" and "without pretense or agenda”, offer immediate, contextually relevant assistance during critical moments that adults are unable to provide. This assistance helps teenagers find equilibrium and protect them against a sense of chaos.

Significance
This research constructs a new vision for education research by revealing that optimal life pathways in Asian contexts emerge through maintaining strong parental connections while developing meaningful peer relationships, rather than through Western models of parental separation and personal agency. The findings demonstrate that these culturally mediated relationships serve complementary roles and function as a protective mechanism for adolescents.
It challenges schools to reimagine how they can support students. Perhaps, moving beyond individual-level resilience building efforts toward a more holistic and integrated student support ecosystem, that takes into consideration the roles peers and parents play within different cultural contexts.

Authors

• Trivina Kang, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Nur Qamarina Binte Ilham, Nanyang Technological University - National Institute of Education

• Janelle Shaina Ng, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Imelda Santos Caleon, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University