Negotiating Emerging Adulthood at the Onset of COVID-19 in Singapore

Abstract

Historical events and cultural contexts have major implications for emerging adults’ developmental experiences. Underpinned by the theory of emerging adulthood, this study examined how COVID-19 interacted with Singapore youths’ negotiation of emerging adulthood. We employed a mixed-methods design and drew on Telegram text messaging among 757 Singapore youths (M_age = 19.60, SD = .63) at the onset of the pandemic. Using qualitative analysis, we examined whether the five features of emerging adulthood were salient in the context of the pandemic among Singapore youths. Using the quantitative methodology of topic modelling, we identified five culturally salient domains that emerged in Singapore youths’ negotiation of the developmental features of emerging adulthood at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with work and studies being the most salient domain. Finally, quantitative analysis using a person-centered approach revealed four classes of youths with varying patterns of how experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic interacted with their negotiation of developmental features and domains of emerging adulthood: the Struggling youths, Relationship-Oriented youths, Me generation, and Go-Getters. Results from this study revealed how the pandemic and socio-cultural conditions of the Singapore society presented a unique developmental context for emerging adults. Practical implications for supporting each group of emerging adults are discussed.

Introduction

According to the theory of emerging adulthood, with later entrance into marriage and parenthood and the prevalence of postsecondary education and training in industrialized economies, young individuals experience a prolonged period of development that extends from adolescence to adulthood (Arnett et al., 2014). Specifically, emerging adults negotiate the developmental features of identity explorations, feelings of instability, self-sufficiency, feeling in-between, and optimism (Arnett et al., 2014). Macro-level factors involving socio-historical conditions and cultural contexts mold the way individuals experience and manage the five features (Arnett, 2015; Arnett et al., 2014). The global pandemic provides an important lens through which we understand emerging adulthood experiences. It has been noted that the social implications of COVID-19 most directly impact emerging adults (Ohannessian, 2021). For instance, the pandemic brings about much uncertainty which can reduce one’s sense of optimism towards the future (Ohannessian, 2021). However, the developmental implications of the pandemic in specific cultural contexts have not been fully investigated.

The overarching goal of this study is to explore how the onset of the pandemic interacted with youths’ negotiation of the five features of emerging adulthood in Singapore, a modernized Asian society that has received limited empirical attention. Emerging adulthood experiences are embedded within socio-historical and cultural contexts (Arnett et al., 2014). As such, the saliency of the five features and how individuals negotiate these features likely manifest the pandemic conditions and the socio-cultural norms and values of the Singapore society. We performed mixed-methods analyses on Singapore youths’ Telegram text messages exchanged at the onset of the pandemic. Using qualitative analysis, we first explored whether the five developmental features of emerging adulthood were salient in the pandemic context. Second, we utilized topic modelling to identify socio-culturally salient developmental domains surrounding Singapore youths’ negotiation of the five features at the onset of the pandemic. Third, using a person-centered quantitative approach, we identified different classes of emerging adults who displayed distinct patterns of how COVID-19 interacted with the developmental features and domains of emerging adulthood.

Negotiating Emerging Adulthood at the Onset of COVID-19

Emerging adulthood marks a developmental period with unique affordances and challenges that revolve around five features (Arnett, 2015; Nelson, 2021). According to Arnett (2015), identity exploration entails developing and clarifying different aspects of the self that includes relational, vocational, and ideological identities (i.e., worldviews; Arnett, 2015). A sense of instability that accompanies the numerous changes are typical. Individuals can be self-focused in making decisions, and they obtain skills and knowledge to be self-sufficient. Emerging adults often experience the state of feeling-in-between—that the self is neither adolescent nor adult and is work-in-progress. At the same time, they express optimism about their futures and aspirations, and rarely foresee failures and disappointments.

The onset of the global pandemic provides a unique context for emerging adults’ development. The social implications associated with the pandemic are closely related to and can affect how individuals explore identities, learn to be self-sufficient, and maintain optimism. Furthermore, the prospective and uncertain changes brought by the pandemic may contribute to youths’ sense of instability. In a similar vein, a reduced sense of agency and self-directedness can intensify the state of feeling in-between (Ohannessian, 2021). Indeed, several studies have revealed how emerging adults experienced disruptions to routine, leisure, and personal activities (Muñoz-Fernández & Rodríguez-Meirinhos, 2021), intensified negative feelings of loneliness and reduced sense of optimism (Lippke et al., 2021; Muñoz-Fernández & Rodríguez-Meirinhos, 2021), and these have occurred with increase support from parents and peers (Wray-Lake et al., 2022). These findings suggest the COVID-19 pandemic can shape the way in which emerging adults experience the five developmental features.

Emerging Adulthood in Asian Cultural Contexts

Culture refers to “a system of shared meanings embodied in artifacts and practices” (Miller et al., 2020, p. 2). Culture influences how individuals make sense of and navigate development (Miller et al., 2020). Theoretically, how individuals experience and manage the five developmental features of emerging adulthood are bounded by the macrosystem of culture (Arnett, 2015). Empirical studies have underscored the importance of understanding the social practices and experiences surrounding emerging adulthood within specific cultures (e.g., Arnett et al., 2014; Fuligni, 2007). However, most studies on emerging adulthood were conducted in Western cultural contexts, primarily with white middle-class populations (e.g., Lanctot & Poulin, 2018; Luyckx et al., 2008).

Studies with Asian American and Asian emerging adults have identified developmental domains that are particularly important in these Asian or Asian American emerging adults’ development. For instance, among Asian Americans, the cultural meaning of growing up during emerging adulthood emphasizes the family domain, in which individuals are socialized and oriented to be self-reliant and responsible towards the family (i.e., the ability to support and protect a family) (e.g., Arnett et al., 2014; Fuligni, 2007). For rural Chinese emerging adults, Confucian ideologies underscore the domains of family, social relations, and career in their emerging adulthood experiences. These studies highlight how culture defines values and meanings in development and shapes how youths experience emerging adulthood.

Salient Features, Domains, and Groups of Emerging Adults in Singapore at the Onset of COVID-19

Singapore is a small nation state in Southeast Asia that experienced modernization and global influences early in its development (Tan, 2012). Considering that emerging adulthood experiences are socio-historically and culturally embedded (Arnett, 2015), it is worth exploring how the intersection of the pandemic and Singapore’s cultural norms, values, and practices inform emerging adults’ development. The many preventative measures implemented by the government shortly after the outbreak of the pandemic further differentiates the nation from many others around the world. Although many social practices in Singapore are similar to those in Western countries (e.g., Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012), Singapore is also heavily influenced by Confucian ideologies.

As soon as the COVID-19 outbreak was announced by WHO on December 31, 2019, Singapore began to implement risk mitigation measures as early as January 2, 2020 and multi-ministry task force was set up January 23, 2020 to manage the expectation of increasing cases of COVID-19. With the onset of the pandemic, Telegram, an instant messaging app that allows users to send text messages, photos, videos, stickers and files, became a prevalent mode of communication among young people in Singapore (Chen & Neo, 2020). In particular, the multi-ministry task force and various government agencies were turning to Telegram to broadcast news about and pandemic and to communicate with Singapore youths (Chen & Neo, 2020). These risk mitigation measures and communication about the pandemic might affect the saliency of the five features when Singapore youths negotiate emerging adulthood.

For example, the pandemic presents much uncertainty and challenge, which should make instability a prominent feature of development during this time. At the same time, Singapore youths may discuss the pandemic and their development in an optimistic manner, given the government’s timely response (especially at the onset of the pandemic when no one knew the pandemic would last for this long). The pandemic lockdown may also provide some emerging adults with an opportunity to reconsider their vocational and relational goals, leading to identity exploration being a salient feature in this context. Co-residence with parents is a common experience among emerging adults in Singapore because public housing is unaffordable and limited (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012). Furthermore, staying with parents is perceived positively—an expression of filial piety and responsibility towards parents (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012). The pandemic situation may heighten the experience of co-residence with parents among Singapore youths, and they do not experience leaving home for college or work, which is important in contributing to the state of feeling-in-between. Thus, co-residence with parents may render the discontinuous transition from adolescence to young adulthood and the associated state of feeling-in-between less relevant in emerging adulthood in the Singapore context.

While scholars have speculated that the pandemic would impact the developmental saliency of the five features of emerging adulthood (Ohannessian, 2021), exactly what “growing up” looks like in terms of experiencing and managing the different developmental features during the pandemic remains unclear. Findings from the pre-pandemic research have shown that whereas some emerging adults embrace the opportunities afforded by this developmental stage and flourish, other flounder (Nelson & Padilla-Walker, 2013). A similar observation may emerge during the pandemic. The saliency of how individuals explore identities, manage instability and the state of feeling in-between, become self-sufficient, and stay optimistic about their futures can affect or be manifested in how some may thrive in this unique period whereas others struggle in the context of the pandemic (Wray-Lake et al., 2022).

Some domains of development may be especially salient in Singapore emerging adults’ development, given the cultural norms in the society. Confucian ideologies of filial piety and respecting parents are regarded as the cornerstone of Singapore culture (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012). Young people are socialized from young the importance of the family and the need to bring honor to and provide for the family (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012). The Singapore society also emphasizes work and studies as important channels through which youths achieve their goals and ambition and become financially independent (Ng, 2020; OECD, 2015; Pheng & Chua, 2018). Given the saliency of these domains, family and work and studies are likely prominent domains in Singapore youths’ navigation of emerging adulthood. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the social implications involving social distancing and lock downs affect family dynamics, work, education and mental health of young people in Singapore (Chen & Neo, 2020; Chung et al., 2020; Shorey et al., 2020), and may underscore these domains in the developmental experiences of emerging adulthood among Singapore youths.

Importantly, findings from cultural studies on emerging adulthood suggest that different groups of youths could be identified based on how different culturally embedded domains are emphasized in the five developmental features (e.g., Mitra & Arnett, 2019). For example, using concept mapping, one recent study involving Indian urban youths’ exploration of life goals and purposes hinted at four possible classes that focused on different socio-cultural domains. Some of these youths prioritized career and independence, others focused on family and social relationships, or community services and cultural practices (Mitra & Arnett, 2019). These studies have revealed heterogeneity in emerging adults’ development and suggested the importance of taking a person-centered approach to identify different groups of emerging adults’ varying experiences. To date, only a few studies have taken this approach (e.g., Lanctot & Poulin, 2018; Luyckx et al., 2008), and these limited studies mostly relied on pre-pandemic, Western samples and attended to only a few developmental features. To unravel the complexity and diversity of emerging adulthood, there is a need to examine how different groups of youths may focus on different socio-cultural domains of development in their negotiation of the five developmental features in Asian societies at the onset of COVID-19.

Among Singapore emerging adults, it is possible for a subgroup to be family-oriented. These youths may center their developmental experiences, such as identity exploration and sense of instability, on familial responsibilities and providing financial support to their families (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012). The pandemic conditions can interact with how these youths negotiate emerging adulthood. In particular, because family is viewed as an extension of the self in this culture (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012), for family-oriented youths, self-sufficiency during the pandemic may emphasize ensuring the safety of family members. At the same time, because Singapore youths are socialized and face immense pressure to excel in school and work (Ng, 2020; OECD, 2015), it is conceivable that a class of youths may be achievement-oriented. The social implications of the pandemic that disrupt education and internship opportunities can interact with the cultural pressure to excel, and affect these youths’ identity exploration and optimism on their pursuit of academic excellence and personal goals. The enormous cultural pressure to succeed has resulted in a growing number of young people experiencing mental health issues (Ng, 2020). Hence, there may also be a group of Singapore youths whose identity explorations and the other developmental features reflect struggles and challenges (Ng, 2020). The sense of loneliness and reduced sense of optimism associated with the pandemic (Lippke et al., 2021; Muñoz-Fernández & Rodríguez-Meirinhos, 2021) may intensify the experience of struggles and challenges in these youths’ negotiation of emerging adulthood.

In sum, this study explores whether all five emerging adulthood features remained salient among Singapore youth during the pandemic, and what domains of development these emerging adults were most concerned about. It is plausible that groups of Singapore youths may display different patterns of negotiating the five features in relation to various culturally salient domains at the onset of COVID-19. Identifying these groups is crucial to elucidate the heterogeneity of emerging adulthood experiences among Singapore youths in the context of the pandemic. However, these possibilities have not been empirically examined.

The Current Study

Although there is growing research on the implications of the pandemic, most studies focused on mental health outcomes of young people (e.g., de Miranda et al., 2020; Huckins, et al., 2020; Nearchou et al., 2020). There is limited research documenting emerging adults’ developmental experiences, in terms of the relevance of the five developmental features and how individuals negotiate these features in the context of the pandemic. This study examined how Singapore youths negotiated emerging adulthood at the onset of the pandemic via Telegram text messages with peers by exploring the following research questions (RQs):

RQ1

Are the five developmental features of emerging adulthood salient among Singapore emerging adults at the onset of the pandemic?

RQ2

What are the culturally salient developmental domains (e.g., work, school, relationships) that emerge within Singapore youths’ discussion of features of emerging adulthood at the onset of the pandemic?

RQ3

Using person-centered analysis, what different groups of emerging adults emerge based on how they discuss the developmental features in relation to the culturally salient domains at the onset of the pandemic?

We investigated these RQs by attending to youth’s Telegram text messages exchanged with peers, given that it is a prevalent mode of communication among young people in Singapore at the onset of the global pandemic (Chen & Neo, 2020). Additionally, such unsupervised peer communication, relative to self-report surveys or interviews, should be less susceptible to social desirability. To address RQ1, we performed a qualitative analysis on participants’ Telegram messages to examine the saliency of identity exploration, sense of instability, self-sufficiency, feeling-in-between, and optimism in Singapore youths’ negotiation of emerging adulthood. To examine RQ2, using the quantitative methodology of topic modelling, we identified culturally salient developmental domains that emerged from Singapore emerging adults’ negotiation of the five features. To answer RQ3, we took a quantitative, person-centered approach to identify different groups of emerging adults, whose experiences revealed distinct patterns of how the COVID-19 pandemic interacted with the developmental features and domains of emerging adulthood.

Person-centered approaches describe overarching groups of individuals by identifying interindividual differences in the patterns of associations among multiple characteristics, while accounting for intraindividual differences in these characteristics (Asendorpf, 2015). In other words, individuals are classified into distinct groups, based on the patterns of variations in how different features relate to one another. Person-centered approaches address the limitation of the traditional variable-centered approaches—specifically, its limited capacity in capturing specificity (i.e., showing how the pattern of associations among different developmental features exist for different groups; Howard & Hoffman, 2018). While we anticipated to identify three classes of youths (the family-oriented, achievement-oriented, and struggling youths), this classification has not been empirically examined. Thus, we remained open to a different classification.

Method

Sample

Participants were youths from different institutes of higher education in Singapore (N = 757; M_age = 19.60; SD = .63; 55% females). The ethnic composition of the sample (76% Chinese, 13.7% Malay, 5.1% Indian, and 5.2% Others) approximated the Singapore population (74.3% Chinese, 13.4% Malay, 9.1% Indian, and 3.2% categorized as Others; Singapore Department of Statistics, 2010). Most participants were from low-middle income families (43.6%), and the rest from middle-high and high income families (34.9% and 21.5%, respectively).

Our study’s sample size was sufficient to reach saturation in a qualitative analysis (Fusch & Ness, 2015; O’Reilly & Parker, 2013), and provide 80% power to detect two to six latent classes with a moderate effect size (the extent to which the number of latent classes is fewer than that hypothesized), based on extensive Monte Carlo simulations for Latent Class Analysis (LCA). This power analysis considered simulated power and effect sizes in deriving the required sample size (Dziak et al., 2014). These simulations involved generating many cases with different number of latent classes, tabulating the effect size measures across the different cases, and estimating the power on the simulated dataset for each case (Dziak et al., 2014).

Procedure

After the study was approved by the institutional review board of the lead author’s affiliated university, 1344 Singapore youths aged 18 to 25 were recruited from institutes of higher education to participate in a study on social media use and messaging apps, such as Telegram. Announcement about the study recruitment was made via the lead author’s social media accounts. An electronic recruitment flier was e-mailed to each of these students with a brief description of the study and an invitation to participate. Of these individuals, 757 met the eligibility criteria to participate (i.e., had been using Telegram for the past year). Participants completed an online consent procedure at the start of the study. All data collection was conducted over a Telegram chat bot at the onset of the pandemic from 20^th January to 26^th January 2020 over four time points: Monday (time 1), Wednesday (time 2), Friday (time 3), and Sunday (time 4). Participants provided the following: (a) demographics, (b) their use of Telegram and (c) Telegram chat history with a friend, whom they shared a mutually valued friendship (Barry et al., 2009).

Measures

Demographic Information (Time 1)

Participants reported their gender, age, ethnicity, family income, and parental education. Family monthly income was examined using six categories ranging from 1 (less than $1000) to 6 ($5000 or more). Low-middle income families refer to categories 1 to 3 (less than $3000), middle income families refer to category 4 ($3000-$4000), and middle-high income families refer to categories 5 and 6 ($4000-$5000 and $5000 or more, respectively). For parental education, participants provided information about their primary care-giver’s educational level using six categories ranging from 1 (did not complete the primary school leaving examination; the equivalent of elementary school in the United States) to 6 (bachelor’s degree and above; the equivalent of college degree in the United States). The sample mean income was 2.54 (SD = 1.23) and parental education was 3.51 (SD = .72).

Use of Telegram (Time 1 to 4)

Participants indicated, on average, the number of minutes they spent on Telegram daily (M = 135.80; SD = 22.84), the number of years they had been using Telegram (M = 3.25; SD = 1.32), and the number of Telegram friends they had at that time (M = 670; SD = 371). In addressing RQ3, in which we conducted LCA to identify different groups of emerging adults, these variables functioned as covariates in this study because previous findings indicate that time spent on social media and messaging app and the number of friends on these digital platforms can influence emerging adults’ communication with peers (e.g., Yang & Brown, 2015).

Peer Telegram Text Messaging (Time 1 to 4)

A total of 8907 text messages were extracted from participants’ Telegram chat history with a friend. These text messages were subjected to data pre-processing (refer to Table S1 in Supplementary Materials), and extracted and coded for the five emerging adulthood features. Because participants’ friends were anonymous and were not recruited as part of this study, their responses in the Telegram chat did not count towards the text messages extracted for this study.

Plan of Analyses

Analyses proceeded in the following sequence using mixed methods: (a) using qualitative analysis to identify the five developmental features of emerging adulthood in Singapore youths’ discussion of their developmental experience and development during the pandemic (RQ1), (b) performing topic modelling to surface culturally salient developmental domains that emerged from Singapore youths’ discussion of their emerging adulthood experiences during this time (RQ2), and (c) conducting quantitative person-centered analysis to elucidate different classes of emerging adults, based on the patterns of how they discussed the developmental features in relation to the culturally salient domains in face of the pandemic (RQ3). Below, we provided general technical information about (a), (b), (c) and the associated research questions that were addressed. Additionally, in Supplementary Material, we used participant Amanda’s (pseudonym) telegram chat history with her friend as a case for illustrating the steps in analyses.

Addressing RQ1

We conducted qualitative analysis that involved data extraction using participants’ Telegram chat history with a friend to elucidate if the five features of emerging were salient among participants. Two undergraduate research assistants (i.e., coders) each extracted half the total number of text messages. The coders extracted and coded the texts based on the definitions of the five features of emerging adulthood: (a) identity explorations (i.e., figuring out who they were and what they wanted to do), (b) instability (i.e., a sense of instability associated with shifting choices and plans), (c) self-focused efforts (i.e., being self-sufficient or self-reliant in making decisions), (d) optimism (i.e., expressions of hopes and aspirations), and (e) feeling-in-between (i.e., feeling neither adolescent nor adult and is work-in-progress). The state of feeling-in-between was initially in the codebook, but both coders noted that the sentences or phrases reflecting the in-between state were also largely reflected in the other features, particularly as identity explorations. Thus, the two codes were combined. The final codes were mutually exclusive, and each sentence or phrase was assigned only one of the four codes.

Addressing RQ2

Based on the data that were extracted and coded in the preceding qualitative analysis, for each emerging adulthood feature we coded for culturally salient developmental domains that emerged in the context of the pandemic for Singapore youths. We performed topic modeling using Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) with R, which parallels the process of coders grouping words together (Eickhoff & Neuss, 2017). Topic modelling groups different words together and identifies underlying domains, such that each domain consists of words with similar meanings. Topic modelling uses an algorithm to decide which phrases should be concatenated together (Richardson et al., 2014). The processes of LDA are described below and illustrated with concrete examples in Supplementary Material. First, LDA requires that we create a model—known as the document term matrix. In our study this matrix comprised the text messages that were extracted and coded based on the four features of emerging adulthood. On average, the window size of sentences and phrases of 20 to 35 words.

With the entire corpus of text messages in the document matrix, we ascertained the number of times similar sentences or phrases (i.e., keywords) occurred using the frequency matrix. For those that occurred less than two times, we discarded them because they did not add value to the algorithm, and removing these texts reduced computation time (Richardson et al., 2014). Then, we ran the LDA, which used an algorithm to concatenate phrases together. This algorithm calculates a probabilistic score—a score that indicated if the words made sense when they were grouped together—to help us decide the best number of underlying domains to choose from. A high probabilistic score suggests that the words are closely related and number of domains make sense. For our study, across the four features, we found five culturally salient developmental domains. Based on the existing literature on the socio-cultural norms and values of the Singapore society (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012), we labelled these five domains as follow: (1) work/studies, (2) well-being, (3) personal goal and finance, (4) friends and family, and (5) time. For each participant, LDA assigned one of these five domains to each of the four developmental features.

Addressing RQ3

Missing data involving demographic information and participants’ use of Telegram ranged from 0.3% to 57.1% and they were not systematic, as indicated by the non-significant result from Little’s Missing Completely at Random Test, χ ² (1018) = 1036.8, p = .33. Thus, this study handled missing data using full information maximum likelihood estimation (Kaplan, 2008). Maximum likelihood estimation is a method that ascertains the parameter values of a model using mean and variance, and maximizes the chance that the values generated are closest to those observed (Kaplan, 2008).

We conducted LCA to identify homogeneous, mutually exclusive “classes” of emerging adults with distinct patterns in how the pandemic interacted with the developmental features and domains of emerging adulthood. Gender, age, ethnicity, family income, and information about participants’ Telegram use served as covariates. For each participant, results from LDA provided a specific pattern describing the four developmental features. For instance, a participant’s text with her friend showed that the phrases concerning identity exploration, self-focused efforts, and optimism mostly focused on domain 4 (friends and family), whereas those concerning instability mostly focused on domain 2 (well-being). This participant’s pattern was thus labelled as domains 4, 2, 4 and 4 (for identity exploration, feelings of instability, self-focused efforts, and optimism, respectively).

For another participant, whose text messages about identity exploration and optimism primarily reflected domain 4 (friends and family), whereas feelings of instability and self-focused efforts primarily reflected work/studies and well-being, respectively. His pattern was labelled as domains 4, 1, 2 and 4 (for identity exploration, feelings of instability, self-focused efforts, and optimism, respectively). Based on these different patterns of association, LCA identified different classes of youths. Using the guidelines for LCA, lower AIC, BIC, and log-likelihood value suggest a better model fit (Linzer & Lewis, 2011). It is recommended that successful model convergence demonstrates three indicators: high entropy value—specifically, greater than .8 or closest to 1.0 (Jung & Wickrama, 2008), no less than 1% of the total participant count in a given class, and high posterior probabilities (close to 1.0). High posterior probabilities indicate that there is high confidence that an individual assigned to a given class actually belongs to that class.

Results

We presented results of qualitative analysis (addressing RQ1), topic modelling (addressing RQ2) and LCA (addressing RQ3), respectively.

Qualitative Analysis: Saliency of Emerging Adulthood Features

For Singapore emerging adults, identity exploration, instability, self-sufficiency and optimism were salient developmental features in the context of the pandemic. In contrast, the coders unanimously agreed that sentences or phrases reflecting the in-between state largely overlapped with other features, especially identity exploration. For instance, Jeremy, aged 23, described his exploration of identity centered on how the self was still work in progress—the state of feeling-in-between. He explained that, “In many ways, I’m still work in progress, especially in how I develop myself at work, build my relationships and worldviews, and the pandemic is making me feel like I’m slowing down....” Sue, aged 19, shared with her friends about the difficulties of developing an identity of being competent at work and at school, which also reflected the struggles associated with being in a transitional phase of life. Her text messages stated that, “I struggle with finding my voice and asserting my perspective at my part-time work and school project team….at times I feel confused like a teenage and other times I’ve some adult sensibility.”

Topic Modelling: Culturally Salient Developmental Domains Underlying Each Feature of Emerging Adulthood

We identified five culturally salient domains of development that emerged within Singapore youths’ negotiation of the four features of emerging adulthood at the onset of the global pandemic (RQ2). Close to half of the texts on the four emerging adulthood features revolved around work/studies (43.5%). In particular, this developmental domain centered on work-life balance and feelings of stress that were compounded by the uncertainty brought about by the outset of the pandemic. A substantial portion (17.2%) of the Telegram text messages reflected the well-being domain—specifically, concerns with physical, mental and emotional health. These concerns stemmed primarily from the challenges of working with people, making progress and achieving goals at work and in school. Singapore emerging adults expressed the need for greater structural support at work and in the community for their well-being, especially with the outbreak of the pandemic. About 15.7% of the text messages were about the domain of personal goal and finance that reflected Singapore youths’ desire for achieving sound financial status to lead a comfortable life. A similar percentage of the Telegram texts reflected the domain of friends and family (14.8%). Finally, a small percentage of text messages centered on time (8.8%), which reflected a consistent concern about not having sufficient time to rest. Below, for each feature of emerging adulthood, we provided examples showing the five domains of development that were culturally salient.

Identity Exploration

The identity development of James, aged 23, centered on work/studies. His text indicated that, “I want to be someone with more work-life balance and more opportunities (and time) ¹ so that I can develop different aspects of the self…not sure if this (pandemic) will affect work.” Emphasizing well-being in the exploration of identity, Amanda, aged 20, shared in her text, “This COVID-19 seems quite worrying….I think the sense of loneliness is likely to affect our mental health and the person we will become. For me, I’m especially concern with and want to work on improving social and emotional well-being….” For John, aged 24, his identity exploration was focused on personal goals and finance in which his text showed that, “This (pandemic) reminds my crave for inspiring mentors/colleagues, intellectual stimulation, personal development, better fitness and health habits, especially with achieving the personal goals I want in life.” Others, such as Christine, aged 20, discussed identity development in relation to friends and family, “Times like this (the pandemic) remind me of who I am, what matters to me and the importance of all these—deeper connections with a couple of close friends that I can rely on, greater ease in connecting and being understood by others.” Singapore youths’ text messages also revealed concerns with the lack of time for developing and clarifying one’s identities, as a result of social constraints and implications of the pandemic. Samantha, aged 21, stated, “Because of this (COVID), how do I find time to explore different vocations, and would I have time to hang out!”

Feelings of Instability

With the pandemic outbreak, a significant number of young individuals’ feeling of instability stemmed from the expectation of numerous changes to work/studies, as Tesa, aged 22, stated, “Such inefficient processes, uncooperative and/or ineffective colleagues, wasted efforts establishing this and that, now they are telling us to change the way we work. I’m not sure how I can cope!” Some Singapore youths’ text messaging with peers indicated feelings of instability that surrounded how the pandemic might affect their well-being, as Jason, aged 24, revealed, “did they (government) announce for us to stay at home because of this (COVID-19)? I think there may be more (social) changes that can lead to more anxiety and loneliness…” For others, they experienced feelings of instability because of COVID-19’s impact on their personal goals and finance. According to Tim, aged 19, “the degree is only a stepping stone. With all the changes introduced to cope with the pandemic, I’m not sure I can stay motivated in reaching my personal goals of upgrading myself, financing my house, and to beat inflations and competitions!” With lockdowns and social distancing in place, a sense of instability surrounding relationships with friends and family was evident in Singapore emerging adults. Brandon, aged 25, revealed in his texts, “I hope this (the pandemic) doesn’t affect them, not sure how my folks are going to manage, if it would affect love, friends and family…if I can build strong genuine connections, to have (girlfriend) to rely on.” Managing time to cope with outbreak of the pandemic also contributed to Singapore youths’ feelings of instability. As evident from the text messages of Calvin, aged 25, “Hobby is like luxury these days; can find time for it once a month I’m in heaven! Lockdown and this whole thing happening are causing a lot of uncertainties in how we find time for hobbies and leisure…it means all the time is going to be work and home, right?”

Self-Focused Efforts

The onset of the pandemic has underscored the need for self-sufficiency among Singapore youths, particularly with making decisions, obtaining skills and knowledge about work/studies. As Amy, aged 19, shared in her text messages, “We are such a paper graded society, educating youth for yesterday’s problems and not tomorrow, and now this (COVID-19), are we even prepared to manage how it is going to affect the paper grade, what about jobs?” Singapore youths’ text messages also revealed concerns with and the need for efforts at coping with one’s well-being. For instance, Jason, aged 24, shared over Telegram, “better support for mental health, to keep mind and body fit and active. More affordable healthcare, being allowed to take sick leaves, especially now with the COVID-19, without worrying about drowning in work after returning.” Participants also indicated efforts at focusing on personal goal and finance, as revealed by Xenia, aged 25, “you know like have my own studio apartment, making sure I have the financial means and resources to build my business eventually, and to engage professional services to take care of my home and needs.” Among Singapore emerging adults, attention towards the self included attending to interpersonal relationships with friends and family, which is evident in text messages of Peter, aged 22, “they (girlfriend and family) motivate me to do better in order to give them a better life…I hope the pandemic doesn’t affect them, and I have to think about taking care of them.” Managing time was also a key focus for the self; Ting, aged 19, shared with her friend, “Frustrated with the long working hours and lack of flexibility…constantly busy throughout the day, without the chance to take a breather. There’s simply not enough time for personal activities or sleep….household chores and exercise.”

Optimism

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore youths expressed optimism with their work/studies, as stated by Chen, aged 22, “After this (the pandemic) is over, I’ll find better work advancement, environment, opportunities for self development and further education.” Others were optimistic about support for their well-being. For instance, Shane, aged 25, revealed, “with a supportive and understanding community, I’m confident in taking care of my well-being, despite what is coming (referring to the pandemic outbreak).” Singapore young people also saw future in and had aspirations about attaining personal goal and finance. Eva, aged 20, texted, “Pandemic (or not), my goal is to lead a comfortable life...like getting a house, having enough emotional and material resources and personal development…enrolling in courses to improve myself.” Friends and family was also a source of optimism for Singapore emerging adults, as revealed by Ken, aged 23, “This pandemic makes me think about the need to find a girlfriend, find a source of support and companionship. Learn to love and care for others—family, friends and partner.” Some youths remained optimistic about having time for different aspects of life and managing the pandemic social implications; Li Hua, aged 19, stated, “Tech is so advanced now, we will find time and means for all the things we always do…study, socialize, exercise, even with the current state (of the pandemic).”

LCA: Classes of Emerging Adults

Fit statistics for one-to four-class models are displayed in Table 1. In addressing RQ3, the four-class model was selected, which had the lowest AIC, BIC, and log likelihood, and the highest entropy value, with reasonable representation of participants across classes and good posterior probabilities. Results from the LDA analyses assigned a culturally salient developmental domain to each of the four features of emerging adulthood for each participant. Using these results, we delineated four classes of emerging adults who revealed distinct patterns of the pandemic experiences intersecting the four developmental features with the five culturally salient domains (refer to Figure A1 in the Appendix).

Table 1.

Summary of Fit Indices for Latent Class Analyses.

Number of classes	AIC	BIC	G^2 (Likelihood ratio/deviance statistic)	χ^2 (Chi-square goodness of fit)	df	Log-likelihood	Entropy
1	4261.32	4556.86	214.35	465.53	608	−2114.66	.66
2	4254.77	4465.45	189.88	236.59	591	−2088.56	.74
3	4243.16	4391.95	162.33	160.83	574	−2070.00	.76
4	4240.01	4333.46	148.54	134.10	557	−2060.39	.86

Note. The model in bold indicates the best-fit model. The four classes have good posterior probabilities, specifically, .05, .11, .41, and .42.

Figure A1.

Characteristics of the four classes of emerging adults.

(a) Struggling Youths (n = 50, 6.6%)

Their text messaging with friends online revealed their struggles with work and study, especially noting the outbreak of the pandemic. Their identity exploration centered on the difficulties of being competent at work and at school, which also reflected the negative emotions associated with being in a transitional phase of life. Relatedly, they struggled to be self-reliant in managing competition and to excel in their work and study (in order to make enough money). Nonetheless, they expressed some optimism in better employment and education opportunities. Their text messages evidenced a sense of instability about future work and education prospects that accompanied the numerous changes brought about by the impending pandemic. These youths expressed anxiety and frustrations with devoting long hours at work/studies and not having time for rest and personal activities.

(b) Relationship-Oriented Youths (n = 113; 14.9%)

These individuals’ text messaging with friends online revealed a deep concern and value for families, friends and romantic partners in managing the pandemic. Their sense of identity and optimism centered on their family of origin and (future) family, peers and romantic partners. They expressed self-focused tendencies in providing for their families financially, and spending sufficient time with them, peers and romantic partners. They reported a sense of instability that stemmed from the changes brought about by the onset of the pandemic, and how these changes might affect whether they have sufficient financial support for their parents and future families, especially in managing the increase in healthcare costs. Their sense of instability also implied the subjective feeling of in-between—the need to take on adult responsibilities and make independent decisions. Their daily frustrations and anxiety further revealed their exasperations with the limited time they had for their loved ones because of work and study commitments.

(c) Me Generation (n = 264, 34.9%)

The defining feature of these emerging adults’ peer text messaging was the emphasis on personal well-being, especially mental health and personal growth. Their identity exploration revolved around self-development, which echoed feeling-in-between—that the self is work in progress—and psychological well-being. They expressed optimism and were self-reliant in seeking (better) work and study environments, which these youths envisaged facilitate collaborative cultures, personal progression and well-being. With the onset of the pandemic, their peer text messaging over a week evidenced instability in their experience of mental health. They noted how community efforts support physical well-being through healthier dietary choices and exercising programs, and expressed concerns with the lack of support for psychological well-being. They experienced frustrations and distress working with others and managing the competition at work and in school, coupled with their anxiety about achieving personal growth, affected their psychological well-being negatively.

(d) Go-Getters (n = 330, 43.6%)

This class of youths’ text messaging on their negotiation of emerging adulthood were characterized by their self-focus efforts at personal achievement, including the management of finance, security, and time. In contrast to Struggling youths’ focus on work and studies to make ends meet, Go-Getters’ identity exploration was centered on achieving their ambitions and in leading a sophisticated lifestyle. Particularly, they regarded having time and opportunities for personal development, such as cultivating a hobby and interest, as an integral aspect of their identity. The recognition that achieving their goals and desired lifestyle is an incremental and gradual process reflected their sense of feeling in-between. Notwithstanding the outbreak of COVID-19, these emerging adults expressed a desire for and optimism in leading a sophisticated cosmopolitan life. However, these achievement-oriented youths experienced instability with balancing work (study)-life. Reiterating the same notion, their daily anxiety and frustrations revolved around time management—specifically, in balancing work or study and personal activities.

Discussion

According to the theory of emerging adulthood, historical conditions, such as the global pandemic, and socio-cultural contexts shape how individuals negotiate identity explorations, instability, self-sufficiency, feeling in-between, and optimism (Arnett et al., 2014). In addressing RQ1, qualitative analysis of Singapore youths’ peer text messaging indicated the saliency of four emerging adulthood features in the context of the pandemic outbreak. In answering RQ2, topic modelling revealed five culturally salient domains of development underlying each feature of emerging adulthood: work/studies, well-being, personal goal and finance, friends and family, and time. In addressing RQ3, using a person-centered approach, we identified four groups of youths with distinct experiences of COVID-19 that intersected with the developmental features and domains of emerging adulthood. Some of these groups thrived while others struggled in the context of the pandemic outbreak.

Saliency of the Features of Emerging Adulthood in the Context of Singapore During the Pandemic

Our findings revealed how the pandemic in Singapore presents a unique context for emerging adult development. In the current sample, except the state of feeling-in-between, identity exploration, instability, self-sufficiency, and optimism were salient developmental features. Both the pandemic and the unique sociocultural environment of Singapore may have contributed to this phenomenon. Historically, with the outbreak of the pandemic, Singapore youths envisioned changes to studying, work, and relationships, which brought identity exploration to the forefront. The social constraints of lockdowns and social distancing, coupled with unpredictable future changes, could increase a sense of self-sufficiency and instability felt among youths. Governmental measures to safeguard the interests and safety of the Singapore society (Chen & Neo, 2020) could contribute to youths’ sense of optimism.

Socio-culturally, the state of feeling-in-between may be a less relevant experience for Singapore youths. Part of the in-between feeling stems from the fact that young people at this stage are leaving home (for college or work) but have not established their own family (Arnett, 2014). However, the majority of Singapore emerging adults stay with parents because housing is expensive and unavailable and co-residence in adulthood is regarded positively by the society (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012). Co-residence at this stage may provide a more continuous and less disrupted transition into emerging adulthood and thus make the state of feeling of in-between inconspicuous. These findings underscore the need to examine the defining features of emerging adulthood experienced in the context of the pandemic across different socio-cultural conditions.

Culturally Salient Developmental Domains Surrounding Singapore Youths’ Negotiation of Emerging Adulthood During the Pandemic

At the onset of the pandemic, Singapore youths’ text messaging with friends revealed the salience of work and studies as a developmental domain in their negotiation of emerging adulthood. Close to half of all the text messages were related to work/studies-life balance, especially struggles with the fast pace of life, the desire for more personal time with one’s close social networks, and less societal emphasis on work and studies. The concerns that COVID-19 could result in heavier workloads and decreased social connections furthered the desire for better work/studies-life balance, which has been culturally salient and longstanding among Singapore youths (Pheng & Chua, 2018).

Although the mention of well-being was not particularly common in our sample (15.7%), it is worthy of a note. In Singapore, young people are increasingly concerned with holistic well-being that encompasses physical, mental, and emotional health as an important domain of development, especially with the onset of COVID-19 (Chung et al., 2020; Shorey et al., 2020). Unlike many Western societies, where there is greater public attention to mental health, most Asian societies are conservative in addressing mental health concerns (Cheon & Chiao, 2012; Tan et al., 2020). Likewise, increased public awareness of mental health issues is a relatively recent phenomenon in Singapore. Singapore youths are facing burgeoning mental health issues in recent years (Lee et al., 2019; Subramaniam et al., 2020), especially in managing socio-cultural stressors associated with highly competitive education and workforce systems (Ng, 2020). Thus, the pandemic may foreground the culturally salient domain of well-being in these youths’ emerging adulthood experiences. Singapore youths also indicated concerns with personal development and goal achievement. Specifically, it was developmentally salient for these youths on becoming financially independent in supporting themselves and their families, which reflected the cultural emphasis on Confucian ideology of filial piety (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012). Singapore youths revealed how COVID-19 exacerbated financial pressure—a socio-cultural condition that was already present before the pandemic, such as insufficient salary, increasing cost of living, and the need to save for retirement (Shorey et al., 2020).

Friends and families is another key developmental domain that emerged from our participants’ text messages. They shared that friends and families are pivotal sources of support in managing the challenging condition of the pandemic outbreak. This finding is consistent with the socio-cultural norms and values of the Singapore society that underscore interpersonal connections and interactions as a way to cope with challenges and emotional distress (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012), especially those brought about by the global pandemic. At the same time, Singapore youths noted the need to be self-sufficient and optimistic, so that they could support their friends and families during the challenging time of the pandemic. Lack of time was also among the developmentally central domain that surfaced in Singapore youths’ text messaging with peers. The pandemic brought major changes to various aspects of life, which required Singapore youths to spend time coping with the constraints imposed upon day-to-day life, work, and studies (Shorey et al., 2020). These adjustments led to insufficient time for family and friends, personal activities, and rest.

Taken together, the five culturally salient domains of development underlying Singapore youths’ negotiation of the four developmental features provide insights into the affordances of emerging adulthood (Nelson, 2021) at the intersection of a major historical event and the Singapore society. The social implications and uncertainty associated with the onset of the pandemic, as these youths have noted, limit the opportunities to flourish (and increase their struggles) across the developmental domains of work/studies, well-being, personal goals, and finances. On the other hand, the outbreak of the pandemic may have afforded unique opportunities for Singapore youths to deepen relationships with friends and families. Notably, before the pandemic, Singapore youths did not usually play a care-giving role because they co-resided in the same household with their parents, who were the primary care-takers (Quah, 2016). During the pandemic, many of these emerging adults’ text messages underscored their caregiving role, which can shape their developmental experiences and facilitate their attainment of emerging adulthood status.

Classes of Emerging Adults

Using a person-centered approach, we identified four latent classes of Singapore youth with distinct experiences negotiating the developmental features and domains of emerging adulthood in the context of the global pandemic. Comprising a relatively small group, the Struggling youths were characterized by their identity exploration that centered on managing unstable work and education prospect at the onset of the pandemic. They expressed anxiety and frustrations with the challenges of being self-reliant in their work/studies. These challenges stemmed primarily from peer comparisons and competitions inherent in the socio-cultural makeup of the Singapore society (e.g., Ng, 2020; OECD, 2015). The Struggling youths identified in our study may face greater susceptibility to mental health issues. They appear to fall into the category of poorly adjusted emerging adults, who struggled with negotiation of emerging adulthood and reported greater psychological symptomologies (Nelson & Padilla-Walker, 2013). Previous studies suggested that some groups of youths face greater challenges in their transition to emerging adulthood (Lanctot & Poulin, 2018; Luyckx et al., 2008; Nelson & Padilla-Walker, 2013), and the global pandemic appears most harmful for the least adaptive group.

About 14.9% of Singapore youths were identified as Relationship-Oriented emerging adults. These youths’ identity explorations centered on developing meaningful relationships with families, friends, and romantic partners and financially supporting these close associates. Their sense of instability was revealed through their anxiety and frustrations about the potential (and negative) implications that the pandemic had on their close social networks. These youths’ unique characteristic entailed a strong sense of self-reliance to succeed in school and at work. These Relationship-oriented youths manifest the qualities of Confucian ideologies of filial piety towards parents and responsibility towards their (future) families involving their romantic partners (Quah, 2016; Tan, 2012).

Me Generation was the second largest class, for whom personal growth and well-being were central to their identity exploration. Their sense of instability was indexed by their anxiety and frustrations with how the pandemic had impacted work, achievement of personal goals, and mental well-being. These youths recognized both personal efforts (i.e., being self-focused) and structural support at work, school and the community in contributing to their mental well-being. They were optimistic about community efforts that helped them manage the pandemic and support their well-being. Go-Getters were the largest class of youths in this study. Despite the outbreak of COVID-19, the distinguishing feature of their identity exploration centered on personal achievement, personal time, finance, and security.

Go-Getters’ negotiation of emerging adulthood revealed a pragmatic life that was focused on achievements, ambitions, and a sophisticated lifestyle. Their self-focused characteristic and independent-oriented beliefs and values were similar to emerging adults in Western and contemporary Asian societies (Arnett, 2015; Nelson & Chen, 2007). Confucian ideologies, such as orientation towards social relations and interdependence, manifested less in Go-Getters’ text messaging than in Me Generation’s and Relationship-Oriented youths’ sharing. The impact of the pandemic led to Go-Getters’ sense of instability about their personal development and achievement of goals, which fueled their anxiety and frustrations.

Theoretical and Practical Implications

Taken together, our findings expand the theory of emerging adulthood in three major ways. First, our study found evidence for the saliency of four of the five emerging adulthood features, while feeling-in-between is subsumed into other features among Singapore emerging adults. The pandemic situation and socio-cultural conditions of the Singapore society presented a unique developmental context that underscored the saliency of four features of emerging adult development. These findings lend credence to the theory of emerging adulthood for understanding youth development in the Singapore cultural context during the global pandemic. In particular, macro-systemic factors involving socio-historical conditions and cultural contexts impact the developmental saliency of how individuals negotiate the five features of emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2015; Arnett et al., 2014).

Second, the study reveals culturally salient domains of development in the context of a pandemic. These developmental domains include work/studies, well-being, personal goal and finance, friends and family, and time. Research conducted before the pandemic in Western societies indicates that in knowledge-based economies, work and education are common channels through which emerging adults explore the different developmental features (Arnett, 2015). Youths from these economies face considerable stress in school and at work, which presents mental well-being as an increasingly pressing concern (Arnett et al., 2014). Our participants voiced similar sentiments, but grounded the experiences and concerns in the context of the pandemic. Their discussion of development also centered on culturally salient domains of friends and family and personal goal and finance. Although we do not have data for a pre- and post-pandemic comparison, it is plausible that navigating emerging adulthood has become more challenging during this time. Indeed, emerging adults, particularly college students, across cultures reported greater distress (e.g., Muñoz-Fernández & Rodríguez-Meirinhos, 2021; Wray-Lake et al., 2022), more academic and work difficulties after the outbreak of the pandemic (Chung et al., 2020; Shorey et al., 2020). Similar to youths from other cultures, our findings elucidated how the pandemic affected Singapore youths’ mental health, education, and work-related development.

Third, our findings unravel the complex nature and heterogeneity of emerging adulthood. Specifically, we identified four groups of Singapore emerging adults with varying experiences of the global pandemic that interacted with their negotiation of developmental features and domains of emerging adulthood. The same socio-historical event (i.e., the pandemic) appeared to provide different opportunities and present different challenges for Singapore emerging adults’ development, resonating with the theoretical notion of affordances of emerging adulthood (Nelson, 2021). While some individuals thrive, seeking support from family and friends while also serving the role as care-givers, others struggle with excessive worry and anxiety about work/studies and personal finances and goals in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study also has important practical implications. The unique strengths and challenges of each class of Singapore emerging adults provide actionable knowledge for designing interventions that address each group’s specific developmental needs that arise from and are related to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Me-Generation and Go-Getter youths, opportunities for personal growth and achievement and establishing social connections can facilitate attainment of the emerging adulthood status. In contrast, for Relationship-Oriented youths, they are particularly concerned about balancing work and relationships and supporting their families. Social policies and practices should thus focus on helping these youths manage their time and financial resources. Though a relatively small group, the Struggling youths reveal a weak and confused sense of self-identity, which presents negative mental health implications. Interventions that are aimed at identifying these youths and supporting a sense of achievement in work and education (which is central in their confused sense of self) are imperative.

Limitations and Conclusions

The study has several limitations. First, longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the long-term implications of the pandemic for these classes of emerging adults’ development. Second, Telegram text messaging captured in the study was between the participants and a particular friend. These texts did not reflect participants’ text messaging in a myriad of other conversations that might have been taking place in that very same week. For a more comprehensive understanding of emerging adulthood experiences revealed through peer text messaging, future research can consider digital conversations with a wider range of peers. Notwithstanding these limitations, this study presents valuable and rich data revealing emerging adulthood experiences at the onset of the pandemic in Singapore. Drawing on Telegram text messages with peers, this study obviates the limitations of self-report measures and reduces the impact of social desirability. The pandemic has been lingering for more than 2 years now and will likely have some long-term developmental impacts in the following years. Our findings provide important insights into youths’ growing up experiences during this time bounded by specific socio-cultural conditions, and reveal the heterogeneity of these experiences for different classes of youths. Thus, our study should join the growing literature to help researchers and practitioners better understand and support emerging adults.

Author Biographies

GeckHong Yeo, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. GeckHong Yeo’s research focuses on adolescents’ socio-emotional development during developmental transitions and the role of contextual factors. She attends to the greater social context of culture by conducting research in multi-cultural settings to understand whether and how cultural factors influence young people’s socio-emotional development.

Chia-chen Yang, School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation, Oklahoma State University. Dr. Chia-chen Yang's research focuses on the psychosocial development of young people in the digital age. Specifically, she studies the use of communication technologies by adolescents and emerging adults, and the associations between the use of technology and young people's identity development, social relationships, and socioemotional well-being.

ORCID iD

GeckHong Yeo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5817-990X