This conference, co-organised by PAS and IPS, brings together research and policy discussions on changing patterns of household formation and on the wellbeing of the households people are forming amid rapid demographic transition.

Across Singapore and East Asian societies, marriage and fertility rates have declined significantly, with fertility rates falling well below the replacement level. Household sizes are becoming smaller, and more people are living in non-marital atypical arrangements — alone, with friends or partners, or in multigenerational arrangements that differ from those of a generation ago. At the same time, technological changes are transforming how people meet, connect and sustain relationships. Digital connectivity has created new opportunities for interaction alongside growing concerns about loneliness and social disconnection. These shifts in household arrangements and social relationships affect individuals' wellbeing, including how satisfied people are with their lives, as well as how they weigh whether commitments — to a partner, to children, to ageing parents — are worth making and sustaining. These are becoming the predominant demographic and social issues in our world today requiring appropriate and integrated policy responses. in need of an integrated policy framework.

Against this backdrop, the conference will explore how demographic and societal changes are reshaping relationships within households and across generations, in Singapore, Asia and the world. It will examine how people form partnerships and make decisions around marriage and parenthood, alongside evolving couple and intergenerational dynamics, the pressures facing parents and caregivers, and the wellbeing of young people navigating changing expectations around relationships, including rising singlehood. These discussions will draw on new empirical work in the field, especially those from ongoing Singapore-based research on emerging patterns of household formation, presented here for discussion alongside comparative evidence from the region.

Recognising the challenges arising from these shifts, the conference will also consider how policy can respond to the changing realities of household living arrangements and individual relationships. Under what conditions do people find it possible to form and sustain commitments to others? What forms of support better equip households to navigate the demands of parenting and caregiving? And ultimately, how can we promote household wellbeing?

Bringing together researchers, practitioners, community stakeholders and policymakers, the conference seeks to deepen understanding of the relationship between population trends and household wellbeing, and the implications for population policy.