Successful Ageing: Perception and Attitudes

What does it mean to age successfully in Singapore? Find out why Professor Paulin Tay Straughan believes it would be a pity to simply dismiss the aged as social/economic liabilities, and why it is important for our society to frame the discourse in a more positive light.

Prof Paulin shares insights from her research as the Principal Investigator on a project that investigated the social construct of Successful Ageing in Singapore. Learn about her evidence-based approach to the study, and how the findings helped reveal emergent trends, and the implications on public policy, perceptions and attitudes on ageing in Singapore.

Faculty Profile: https://www.smu.edu.sg/faculty/profile/149976/Paulin-Tay-STRAUGHAN

Professor Paulin Tay Straughan is the Professor of Sociology (Practice) and Dean of Students at the Singapore Management University. Prof Straughanís research interests centre around sociology of family and medical sociology. Her current research investigates environmental risk factors in childhood obesity. She is also the Principal Investigator of a recently concluded project on Successful Ageing in Singapore, Seoul and Shanghai which involved multiple institutions and a multidisciplinary team. Professor Straughan serves as Consultant on numerous projects commissioned by various government agencies. Amongst others, she is Principal Consultant for the Marriage and Parenthood Survey 2016 & 2012, which were commissioned by the National Population and Talent Division. She has published in both sociology and medical journals, like Social Science and Medicine, Cancer, and Cancer Causes and Control. Her books include Marriage Dissolution in Singapore: Revisiting Family Values and Ideology in Marriage, and Ultra-Low Fertility in Pacific Asia: Trends, Causes and Policy Issue (with Gavin Jones and Angelique Chan).

Professor Straughan was a Nominated Member of Parliament from 2009 to 2011, during which she argued for work-life balance and the nurture of a more pro-family social environment. Her community involvement includes serving on the Child and Youth Health Task Force, and the Infectious Disease Research Advisory Group (both at the Ministry of Health). She is happily married to an Applied Mathematician, and they have 2 sons.

Research Interests:

Family (Marriage & parenthood; Fertility patterns; Courtship)

Medical sociology (Childhood obesity; Preventive health behaviour; Successful ageing; Infectious diseases)

Sociology of work & organizational behaviour (Flexiwork arrangements)

Ageing (Successful ageing, health, retirement)

References:

FENG, Qiushi, & STRAUGHAN, Paulin Tay. (2017). What does successful aging mean? Lay perception of successful aging among elderly Singaporeans. Journals of Gerontology, Series B, 72(2), 204-213.

MATHEWS, Mathew and STRAUGHAN, Paulin Tay. (2014). Results from the perception and attitudes towards ageing and seniors survey (2013/2014). 

STRAUGHAN, Paulin Tay. (2011-2014). A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Promoting Longevity, Healthy and Successful Aging (PLHSA), funded by Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE2010-T2-2-093, Principal Investigator)