Survey of rural and urban happiness in Indonesia during the corona crisis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed urban life, and it can be said that the time is at hand when cities and rural areas should promote symbiotic projects. These projects are diverse and include medical conditions, socioeconomic activities, working conditions, information technology, food conditions, culture as well as education. According to previous studies, medical conditions are excellent, but well-being of the mental health of people in developed countries is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Meanwhile, developing countries tend to have higher levels of well-being in urban life, while rural areas have lower levels of well-being and mental health, because of a focus on lagging economic activities and vulnerability in medical care. Preliminary interviews in Bali, Indonesia, the author's study area, revealed no livelihood change in subsistence farming villages during the COVID-19 disaster indicating no effects by the pandemic. Meanwhile, urban residents faced difficulties obtaining food due to the government curfew and halt in economic activities. Most workers lost their jobs and suffered hardships in the tourism industry. With this situation, the conditions are slightly different from the previous studies in developing countries mentioned above. Previous studies did not reveal any mental health and well-being assessment for life in the rural areas of developing countries during the corona disaster. This study aimed to clarify the reality of urban and rural well-being during the Corona Disaster in a developing country, namely Bali. The hypothesis is that in Bali, Indonesia, a developing country, the level of well-being under the corona disaster is higher for rural residents than for urban residents. Six groups were surveyed with 71 questions from the survey items of previous studies including the World Happiness Report conducted worldwide, WHR2020, AHI and The Oxford Happiness Survey. Face Sheet, Mental Health, Anxiety, Happiness, Good things due to corona, and Corona infection control behaviors were included. The questionnaire was categorical to allow for a quantitative analysis and began in September 2021. I collected 280 samples from two villages, each in rural and urban areas of Bali, and analyzed the results with simple cross-tabulations and a difference of means, factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and structural analysis of covariance. The analyses revealed a tendency toward inward self-loneliness in the urban areas and outward anxiety about one's surroundings in the rural areas. Under the corona disaster, subjects in rural areas stayed optimistic about external stress, in contrast to those in urban areas, who became inwardly oriented and negative. This point does not imply that well-being is higher among rural people, but it suggests that they are more mentally stress-tolerant because they are more likely to positively view the situation. Although the hypothesis was not proven, life in rural areas, where people have optimistic feelings and are not lonely, can be considered relatively humane and mentally healthy. This may indicate that the level of well-being of people living in rural areas is higher than people living in urban areas. The results of this study differ from previous studies in which people in rural areas of developing countries had lower levels of happiness and mental health. However, this study provides new knowledge about the situation of the corona disaster in developing countries by surveying the well-being of both rural and urban residents.