The Role of Cultural Worldview on COVID-19 Risk Perception among College Students in Indonesia

MAYDIRA CHAIRANA A, Yopina Galih Pertiwi, S. Psi., M.A., Ph.D.

2021 | Skripsi | S1 PSIKOLOGI

Di Indonesia, jumlah kasus COVID-19 dari Januari 2020 - Februari 2021 telah mencapai 112.209.815 termasuk 2.490.776 kematian. Meski berbagai intervensi telah dilakukan untuk menekan jumlah kasus COVID-19, masalah ini tetap menjadi isu yang kontroversial dan belum kunjung membaik. Sejumlah penelitian menemukan bahwa cultural worldview dapat mempengaruhi persepsi risiko. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif, studi ini mengkaji peran cultural worldview (yaitu hierarkis, individualis, egaliter, dan fatalis) terhadap persepsi risiko COVID-19 di kalangan mahasiswa Indonesia dengan mendistribusikan survei melalui platform online. Penelitian ini menggunakan skala cultural worldview (Arini, 2019) dan skala persepsi risiko COVID-19 yang diadaptasi (Dyhurst, Schneider, Kerr, Freeman, Recchia, Bles, & Linden, 2020). Penelitian ini diikuti oleh dua ratus tujuh puluh mahasiswa Indonesia (perempuan = 177, laki-laki = 93, rentang usia = 18-23 tahun). Studi ini menemukan bahwa mahasiswa Indonesia cenderung mengadopsi cultural worldview hierarkis, individualis, dan egaliter. Mereka juga cenderung melaporkan tingkat persepsi risiko yang moderat. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa empat jenis cultural worldview secara bersamaan tidak dapat memprediksi persepsi risiko COVID-19, tetapi cultural worldview hierarkis sendiri dapat memprediksi persepsi risiko COVID-19. Temuan ini menekankan sifat masyarakat Indonesia yang kolektif serta memiliki jarak kekuasaan yang tinggi dalam menilai risiko COVID-19.

In Indonesia, the number of reported COVID-19 cases from January 2020 - February 2021 has reached 112,209,815 including 2,490,776 deaths. Although numerous interventions have been conducted to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, this problem remains controversial and has not yet improved to this date. A convincing amount of prior studies have found that cultural worldview is able to influence one's risk perception. Using a quantitative approach, this study examined the role of cultural worldview (i.e., hierarchist, individualist, egalitarian, and fatalist) on COVID-19 risk perception among college students in Indonesia by distributing surveys through an online platform. This study used the cultural worldview scale (Arini, 2019) and the adapted version of COVID-19 risk perception scale (Dryhurst, Schneider, Kerr, Freeman, Recchia, Bles, & Linden, 2020). Two hundreds and seventy Indonesian college students (female = 177, male = 93, age range = 18 - 23 years old) participated in this study. This study found that college students of Indonesia tend to adopt hierarchist, individualist, and egalitarian worldview. They also tend to report moderate levels of risk perception. Results showed that the four types of cultural worldview did not simultaneously predict COVID-19 risk perception, but the hierarchist cultural worldview did. This finding emphasizes the collectivistic and high power distance nature of the Indonesian people in perceiving the risk of COVID-19.

Kata Kunci : cultural theory of risk, cultural worldview, risk perception