Siow Ann Chong
Biographic Data
| ID | 142927 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Siow Ann Chong |
| GIVEN NAMES | Siow Ann |
| FAMILY NAME | Chong |
| SIGNATURE | CHONG S A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Institute of Mental Health |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8889-7980 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 57 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 57 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Age and socioeconomic disparities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality: A Seer-based analysis
Background Cervical cancer (CC) remains a significant global health challenge, with marked variations in incidence and mortality influenced by age, race, and economic status. This study examines age-related patterns in CC outcomes, focusing on racial disparities and socioeconomic factors using data from the SEER18 database. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the SEER 18 registries program from 2010 to 2015. Logistic…
A nationwide study exploring the factors associated with psychological resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a global adverse event that affected many individuals' well-being. Resilience is an essential component that allows one to cope during stressful events such as the pandemic. Not many studies have longitudinally explored changes in resilience across time during the pandemic in the Southeast Asia region. The current article investigates resilience and the sociodemographic and psychological factors associated wit…
Factor structure and predictors of causal beliefs about seven mental illnesses among the Singapore general population
Introduction: Knowledge about the causes of mental illness is a crucial component of mental health literacy. Poor understanding of the etiology of mental illness can lead to stigmatizing behaviors and hinder access to appropriate help. The current cross-sectional study examined the general population's causal beliefs about seven mental illnesses and explored the factor structure of the revised causal beliefs scale. Methods: Four thousand one hund…
Personal Well-Being Index (PWI) and its Association with Physical Health, Mental Health and Leisure Activities: Results from the Health and Lifestyle Survey
Does place matter? Investigating the association of neighbourhood and town features with psychological distress and well-being in a multi-ethnic urban Asian youth population
In Singapore, a city-state lauded for its urban liveability, high rates of youth psychological distress present a critical paradox. This study investigates this disconnect by examining the role of neighbourhood satisfaction in relation to two distinct mental health dimensions: psychological distress (anxiety, stress, depression) and positive well-being (resilience, life satisfaction). Drawing on data from a national survey of 2600 youths aged 15–…
Changes in body mass index and its association with socio-demographic characteristics between 2010 and 2016 in Singapore
Background: Epidemiological studies have observed an increase in the prevalence of obesity in both western and Asian countries. This study aims to compare the distribution of body mass index (BMI) in the general population of Singapore between 2010 and 2016, and to explore the socio-demographic risk factors associated with it. Methods: Data for this study were extracted from two national-wise studies in 2010 and 2016, two population-based, cross-…
Exploring the Singapore general population’s trust in Covid-19 information from different sources and its association with perceived risk of infection during the pandemic
Background: The degree of public trust in the government's competence is crucial in preventing the spread of misinformation and reducing psychological distress during a pandemic. The study aimed to (i) explore the trust in COVID-19 information from different sources and trust in the ability of the World Health Organization (WHO), government departments and related institutions in handling the epidemic in Singapore and (ii) its association with pe…
A qualitative study exploring psychotherapy recipients’ perspectives on positive mental health
Traditionally, psychotherapy aims to address distressing emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in individuals, but it can also foster positive mental health (PMH) and earlier recovery by including salutogenic approaches in clinical practice. This study aimed to understand psychotherapy recipients’ perspectives on the meaning of PMH and how therapy could help them achieve it. A qualitative study was conducted among fifteen psychotherapy recipients se…
Health care utilization, productivity losses, and burden of adverse childhood experiences in Singapore: Findings from a national survey
The health and economic burden of ACEs is substantial in Singapore. Our results highlight the importance of investing in novel, population-based ACEs interventions, and the potential return on investment through preventive care and alleviation of the health care burden. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Alcohol’s Harm to Others: Victim Data on Prevalence and Risk Factors in a Nationwide Population Survey
Alcohol’s harm to others (AHTO) is a growing concern globally. Yet research in Asia, especially among multi-ethnic populations, remains scarce. This cross-sectional study utilized national population data from the Health and Lifestyle Survey, and aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors associated with AHTO in Singapore. Among 6465 respondents, findings revealed a lower prevalence of reported harm from others’ drinking (9.6%) compared to W…
Excess costs of depression among a population-based older adults with chronic diseases in Singapore
Depression was found to inflate the total healthcare expenditure among older adults with chronic disease by two-fold. This study provides evidence that there are significant incremental costs associated with depression among the older adults with chronic diseases, demonstrating a need for more resources to improve systematic and clinical care for depressed older adults with chronic diseases
Exploring views and experiences of the general public’s adoption of digital technologies for healthy lifestyle in Singapore: A qualitative study
Objective: Little is known about the general adult population's adoption of digital technology to support healthy lifestyle, especially when they are expected to take greater personal responsibility for managing their health and well-being today. The current qualitative study intended to gain an in-depth understanding of determinants of digital technology adoption for healthy lifestyle among community-dwelling adults in Singapore. Design: A quali…
Food insufficiency, adverse childhood experiences and mental health: Results of the Singapore Mental Health Study 2016
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and correlates of food insufficiency and its association with mental disorders and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) in Singapore. Design: This analysis utilised data from the Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS 2016). Setting: SMHS 2016 was a population-based, psychiatric epidemiological study conducted among Singapore residents. Participants: Interviews were conducted with 6126 respond…
Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia
Sources of information on diabetes and its demographic correlates: A nationwide survey among Singapore residents
Diabetes is a major public health concern in Singapore, and the Singapore Government declared a ‘War on Diabetes’, which included a nationwide public health campaign. It is important to identify what sources of diabetes information reach the general population, whether this differs by socio-demographic characteristics and if the sources of information influence knowledge of diabetes to aid the successful dissemination of health information. Two t…
Religiosity, Religious Coping and Distress Among Outpatients with Psychosis in Singapore
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of religious coping and explore the association between religious coping, religiosity, and distress symptoms amongst 364 outpatients diagnosed with psychosis in Singapore. Positive and Negative Religious Coping (PRC and NRC), religiosity (measuring the constructs of Organised Religious Activity (ORA), Non-Organised Religious Activity (NORA), and Intrinsic Religiosity (IR)) and severity of distress sy…
Aggression Amongst Outpatients With Schizophrenia and Related Psychoses in a Tertiary Mental Health Institution
Aims: Aggression is defined as "any behavior intended to cause physical, emotional, or psychological harm to another." The aims of the current study were to (i) examine underlying factor structure of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) and (ii) explore socio-demographic and clinical correlates (symptom severity, substance use and alcohol use) among patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses in a multi-ethnic Asian population. Me…
Strategies to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma: Perspectives of People with Lived Experience and Caregivers
These strategies were in line with approaches that have been used internationally to disrupt the process of stigma. Our study has further identified nuanced details on how these strategies can be carried out as well as possible areas of priority in the Singapore landscape
Differences in the Prevalence and Profile of DSM-IV and DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorders—Results from the Singapore Mental Health Study 2016
While using the DSM-5 criteria would result in a lower prevalence of AUD in Singapore, it remains a highly comorbid condition associated with a poor health-related quality of life that is largely untreated, which makes it a significant public health concern
Gender Differences in Alcohol Use: A Nationwide Study in a Multiethnic Population
The increase in alcohol consumption, and the greater consequences of chronic alcohol use among females, as well as the convergence of the gender gap warrants investigation. This paper aims to uncover gender differences in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) in Singapore. The SMHS 2016 was a population-based, cross-sectional, epidemiological study. Recruitment spanned from August 2016 to March 2018, where 6126 respondents were recruited. S…
Acceptance of healthy lifestyle nudges in the general population of Singapore
Individuals prefer less intrusive approaches for promoting healthy lifestyle. Ethnicity and lifestyle behaviours are associated with acceptance of nudges and should be taken into consideration during the formulation and implementation of behaviourally informed health policies
A cross-sectional study on the perceived barriers to physical activity and their associations with domain-specific physical activity and sedentary behaviour
Individuals can be motivated to overcome internal barriers (fatigue, lack of time, cost and age) through social support and emphasis on exercise benefits. External barriers (weather and lack of pavements or parks) can be reduced by raising awareness of existing infrastructure. Sedentary behaviour can be improved by implementing workplace measures, such as reducing the time spent sitting
Caregivers’ hopes, expectations and concerns surrounding the employment and future of young people with mental health conditions
OBJECTIVE: Informal caregivers are often placed in a better position to understand and advocate for the vocational needs of young persons with mental health conditions. However, their opinions are largely ignored in the planning of vocational outcomes. This qualitative study had two broad aims: to explore (1) the perceptions of caregivers of young adults with mental health conditions on issues of paid employment and (2) their views and expectatio…
Preliminary development of a bystander intervention scale for depression and the examination of socio-demographic correlates amongst Singapore university students
This study provides a preliminary tool to assess bystander intervention in depression amongst university students. This study identifies sub-groups of the student population that require more education to intervene with depressed peers and also informs the development of future strategies
Lifetime Prevalence and Correlates of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders in Singapore
Introduction: The current study aimed to establish the lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, its sociodemographic correlates and association with physical disorders using data from the Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS 2016). Methods: A two-phase design comprising population-level screening of psychotic symptoms using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview version 3.0 psychosis s…
Resilience and stress in frontline social workers during the Covid‐19 pandemic in Singapore
As social work under normal circumstances is already a stress-laden helping profession, this study intended to examine the level of psychological distress among the frontline social workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether resilience and organizational support played a part in mitigating their psychological distress. Frontline social workers from various social service sectors across Singapore were surveyed using two standardized measurem…
Medical Compliance in the East
From well-being to positive mental health: Conceptualization and qualitative development of an instrument in Singapore
Lifetime and twelve-month prevalence of heavy-drinking in Singapore: Results from a representative cross-sectional study
Singapore has a relatively high prevalence of 12-month heavy drinking of 12.6%, and lifetime heavy drinking of 15.9%. Heavy drinking was positively associated with both physical and mental health conditions, and with declines in quality of life. Continued monitoring of heavy drinking behavior and sustained efforts to mitigate the risks associated with heavy drinking is needed
Measuring health-related quality of life among adults in Singapore: Population norms for the EQ-5D
Development, validity and reliability of the short multidimensional positive mental health instrument
Population norms for the EQ-5D index scores using Singapore preference weights
Smoking and Socio-demographic correlates of BMI
The study identified certain subgroups and risk factors that are associated with obesity. There is a need for further research to explore and identify genetic, metabolic and ethnic differences that underlie the interaction between ethnicity and smoking status which affects BMI
Qualitative study of Singaporean youths’ perception of antismoking campaigns: What works and what does not
Participants expressed a preference towards antismoking messages that were less authoritative, and perceived a distinct lack of support for their intentions to quit smoking. There is room for incorporating suggestions by participants in future antismoking campaigns. Future research is needed to identify barriers to accessing available support
The importance of considering differential item functioning in investigating the impact of chronic conditions on health-related quality of life in a multi-ethnic Asian population
Pathways to care among psychiatric outpatients in a tertiary mental health institution in Singapore
BACKGROUND: Pathways to care studies in Singapore are of high interest given the cultural diversity and various sources of help available for those with mental illnesses, ranging from the more traditional to tertiary-level mental health care services. AIM: The current study aimed to explore the associations of patients' socio-demographic characteristics with pathways to first contact and duration of untreated mental illness. METHOD: A total of 40…
Mapping the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores to EQ-5D-5L and SF-6D utility scores in patients with schizophrenia
The current study provides important evidence to clinicians and researchers on mapping algorithms for converting PANSS scores into utility scores that can be easily applicable for cost-utility analysis when EQ-5D-5L and SF-6D data are not available for patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder in Singapore
A systematic examination of cognitive emotion regulation strategies, global emotion dysregulation, and cognitive insight in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among trauma exposed pati…
Our findings suggest that addressing emotion dysregulation and cognitive insight may improve intrusive symptoms, and this may prevent the development of full PTSD in patients with early nonaffective psychosis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Trends in Subjective Quality of Life Among Patients With First Episode Psychosis—A 1 Year Longitudinal Study
Quality of life (QoL) is often used as an outcome assessment in programs treating patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal trend of subjective QoL among patients with FEP and identify the potential influence of patients' social-demographic/lifestyle factors on the trend of QoL. Two hundred and eighty subjects participated in the study. Patient's demographics and subjective QoL were collect…
The Relative Associations of Body Image Dissatisfaction among Psychiatric Out-Patients in Singapore
Background : Adults with body image dissatisfaction (BID) are more likely to be depressed, anxious, and suicidal when compared to those without intense dissatisfaction over their appearance. The current study aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with BID among out-patients with mental illness in Singapore. Methods : Data was collected from 310 psychiatric out-patients using a self-administered questionnaire. Measurements used w…
Subjective Quality of Life and Its Associations among First Episode Psychosis Patients in Singapore
Background -Mental disorders have been found to affect quality of life (QOL) in patients. The current study aimed to determine QOL among first episode psychosis (FEP) patients and explore its associations with sociodemographic as well as clinical factors. Methods -Data for this study were collected as a part of an Early Psychosis Intervention Program (EPIP)-Smoking and Alcohol use survey. At baseline, 280 outpatients aged 15-40 years old diagnose…
Estimation of Prevalence of Osteoporosis Using Osta and Its Correlation with Sociodemographic Factors, Disability and Comorbidities
Osteoporosis is a growing concern for an aging society. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of older adults who were at risk of osteoporosis and explore factors associated with osteoporosis. The relationship between the risk of osteoporosis, chronic conditions and disability was also explored. We hypothesized that respondents with high risk index of osteoporosis would be associated with greater disability. Participants aged 60 years and ab…
Happiness and Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults: Investigating the Mediational Roles of Disability, Depression, Social Contact Frequency, and Loneliness
Background: Understanding the lower level of happiness among older adults with cognitive impairment has been a largely neglected issue. This study (1) reports on the level of happiness among older adults in Singapore and (2) examines the potential mediating roles of depression, disability, social contact frequency, and loneliness in the relationship between cognitive scores and happiness. Methods: Data for this study were extracted from the Well-…
Patterns of physical activity and health-related quality of life amongst patients with multimorbidity in a multi-ethnic Asian population
The low levels of physical activity among patients with multimorbidity, and its association with overweight status and poorer HRQoL emphasizes the importance of increasing physical activity in this population. Family physicians treating patients with chronic diseases need to continue encouraging and helping individuals to initiate and maintain appropriate physical activity levels
An exploratory study on the lived experiences of hoarding in Singapore
Research studies have revealed that people with hoarding typically collect and keep items due to their aesthetic appeal, utility and strong emotional attachment to the items resulting in clutter and limiting living spaces. This study aims to explore the experiences of individuals with hoarding disorder to understand and describe-the patterns and reasons for hoarding, experiences with decluttering and the impact of hoarding disorder on significant…
Sleep Duration, Sleep Quality and Physical Activity, but Not Sedentary Behaviour, Are Associated with Positive Mental Health in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation
Duration and quality of sleep and physical activity were directly associated with PMH in an urban Asian population. These findings support incorporating sleep and physical activity interventions to improve population mental health
An Exploration of Differences Between Deliberate Self-Harm with and without Suicidal Intent Amongst a Clinical Sample of Young People in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study
This study examined differences between young people with mental illness who engage in deliberate self-harm with and without suicidal intent, as well as socio-demographic and clinical factors that are related to the increased likelihood of suicide attempt amongst self-harming young people. A total of 235 outpatients with mental illness who had engaged in deliberate self-harm were recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Singapore. Partic…
Smoking and Mental Illness: Prevalence, Patterns and Correlates of Smoking and Smoking Cessation among Psychiatric Patients
This study aims to understand (a) the prevalence and correlates of smoking in a psychiatric population, (b) factors that encourage smoking cessation, and (c) awareness towards cessation programmes. This study captured data ( n = 380) through a modified version of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). A descriptive analysis of the data was performed. The prevalence of smoking was 39.5% ( n = 150) and 52.3% of the smokers were dependent on nicoti…
Development and validation of the Rapid Positive Mental Health Instrument (R-PMHI) for measuring mental health outcomes in the population
The unidimensional 6-item R-PMHI offers brevity over the original multidimensional measure while appropriately representing the positive mental health construct. Prospective studies are needed to assess its responsiveness and test-retest reliability
Caregivers' causal attributions of their relatives' mental illness and the association with stigma
Causal attributions of mental illness have received substantial attention given their influence on help-seeking patterns of individuals and the level of engagement with health services. Few studies, however, have examined caregivers' perspectives of their relatives' illness. The current study aimed to examine caregivers' causal attributions of their relatives' mental illness and its association with perceived stigma in a multi-ethnic Asian sample…
Caregivers’ hopes, expectations and concerns surrounding the employment and future of young people with mental health conditions
OBJECTIVE: Informal caregivers are often placed in a better position to understand and advocate for the vocational needs of young persons with mental health conditions. However, their opinions are largely ignored in the planning of vocational outcomes. This qualitative study had two broad aims: to explore (1) the perceptions of caregivers of young adults with mental health conditions on issues of paid employment and (2) their views and expectatio…
Medicine (46 works) · Psychology (39 works) · Psychiatry (37 works) · Mental health (29 works) · Clinical Psychology (27 works) · Population (27 works) · Environmental health (26 works) · Clinical Psychology (21 works) · Public health (19 works) · Social Psychology (17 works)