Indonesian Family Life Survey Research Articles

Optimism, debt accumulation, and business growth

Using Indonesian Family Life Survey data (2007, 2014), we investigate the role of optimism in the dynamics of debt and business growth in Indonesia. In our model, optimism is formed by aspirations and perceived influence of random factors outside the decision maker's control. Our results show that the optimism level, measured by the difference between an individual's current subjective wellbeing and her expected level of wellbeing in five years, is positively correlated with debt growth in farm business households. Furthermore, debt growth in farm households appears to increase the future reference point and the optimism level without sufficient profit growth, which in turn leads to even higher debt accumulations in farm business households. In contrast, nonfarm household heads with a higher level of optimism are more likely to effectively leverage debt toward income-generating activities. The findings of this study suggest that optimistic investment may result in a debt trap in an environment where random external factors play a bigger role in the formation of optimism.

The Determinants of Undiagnosed Hypertension Among Indonesian Adults: A Cross-sectional Study Based on the 2014-2015 Indonesia Family Life Survey.

ObjectivesThis study investigated the determinants of undiagnosed hypertension among Indonesian adults.MethodsThis study involved an analysis of secondary data from the 2014 Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) on 5914 Indonesian adults (≥40 years). The determinant variables examined in this cross-sectional study were education level, monthly per capita expenditures (PCE), whether the participant experienced headaches in the morning, and other general health variables. The outcome variable was undiagnosed hypertension, which was defined as participants with hypertension who had not received a hypertension diagnosis from a health professional and had never been prescribed medication for treating hypertension. The data were analyzed using logistic regression.ResultsA total of 3322 participants (56.2%) were found to have undiagnosed hypertension. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of undiagnosed hypertension were significantly higher among those who completed primary school or lower (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.29 to 1.98), had low monthly PCE (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.43), did not report experiencing headaches in the morning (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.76 to 2.21), and reported a general health status of healthy (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.82 to 2.30) than those who had a higher education level, had high monthly PCE, experienced headaches in the morning, and were unhealthy.ConclusionsEducation level, monthly PCE, the experience of headaches in the morning, and general health status were associated with undiagnosed hypertension. The monitoring system for detecting undiagnosed hypertension cases must be strengthened. Health promotion is also necessary to reduce the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension.

Impact Evaluation of Child Labor on Health in Next 7 and 14 Years in Indonesia

This study aims to determine the impact of child labor on children's health both in next 7 and 14 years. Using two health indicators, growth in height and lung capacity. Child labor indicator is using child working hours. Three waves of longitudinal data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) are used, IFLS-3, IFLS-4, and IFLS-5. In addition to the child labor variable as the focus of this study, other variables are also used as control. The technique of analysis used is the Instrumental Variable where the head of the household’s education as the instrument variable. The robustness check is also performed to ensure the model. The analysis shows that in next 7 years, child labor has less effect on health. Child labor negatively affects height growth but does not affect lung capacity. However, in next 14 years child labor negatively affects health, for both height growth and lung capacity. This is confirmed by the result of the robustness check, where child labor is preponderant in next 14 years than 7 years.

Correlation between Catch-up Growth in Early Childhood with Cognitive Ability among School-Aged Children (10–12 Years): A Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND: Children’s cognitive abilities are influenced by the nutritional condition of children in early childhood. Catch-up growth in early childhood affects cognitive abilities at school age. AIM: This study aims to analyze the effect of catch-up growth in early childhood on the cognitive abilities of school-aged children in Indonesia. METHODS: This study was a cohort study incorporating 10 years of follow-up using three waves of secondary data (1997, 2000, and 2007) from the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Research studies and data analysis were carried out from April to September 2021. The initial data collection of the study was conducted in 1997 when the children were 0–23 months old, then followed in 2000 (age 3–5 years) and 2007 (age 10–12 years). The study subjects were 537 children aged 0–23 months in 1997. Cognitive ability was measured using the Raven Progressive Matrices method. Statistical analysis for cognitive ability scores with catch-up growth was carried out using one-way analysis of variance and multivariate analysis using the generalized linear model. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in the cognitive ability scores of normal children and stunted children who did not experience catch-up growth (p<0.001), but the cognitive scores of normal children are not significantly different from the stunting catch-up growth group. Other factors that affect the cognitive ability score were as follows: (1) Child factors consist of child stunting status, head circumference, hemoglobin levels, duration of breastfeeding, and complete basic immunization history; (2) parental factors such as father’s occupation, parental education, and number of parity; (3) household socioeconomic factors (household income and wealth index); and (4) environmental factors (housing area, father’s smoking habit, defecation facilities, and household drinking water sources). CONCLUSION: Cognitive abilities of school-age children were most influenced by catch-up growth, stunting status, duration of breastfeeding, number of parity, father’s education, father’s occupation, and father’s smoking habit. Children who experience catch-up growth have better cognitive abilities than stunted non-catch-up group or who experience stunting during early life.

Rapid Growth in Malnutrition Children Associated with Higher Systolic Blood Pressure in Adolescent

BACKGROUND: Several studies found that children experiencing rapid growth earlier in life might increase the risk of chronic disease. Cardiovascular disease and hypertension are common risk factors and have been the leading cause of death worldwide. However, studies investigating the effects of rapid growth in early life on blood pressure later in life are limited. AIM: This study aimed to analyze the association between rapid growth after the first 1000 days of life and blood pressure at 17−19 years old. METHODS: We analyzed 17-year follow-up cohort using secondary data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey from the second (1997), third (2000), and fifth wave (2014). The survey was conducted in 13 provinces in Indonesia. No more than 672 children under 2 years old were included in the study. Rapid growth was defined as an alteration in length or height-per-age and weight-per-age z-score, based on WHO Child Growth Standard, on 1997 and 2000 time frame which was greater than 0.67, experienced by children with malnutrition (low birth weight, stunted, underweight, and wasting). Blood pressure was measured three times by an oscillometric method in 2014. In addition, we used a one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) test to assess the association of rapid growth on systolic blood pressure. RESULTS: Malnutrition children at 0-2-year-old that grow rapidly in length or height, had higher systolic blood pressure than normal children (p = 0.029). In contrast, there was no difference observed in systolic blood pressure in children with malnutrition and children who did not experience rapid growth in weight. CONCLUSIONS: Children who had a history of malnutrition earlier in life (0−23 months) and had rapid growth in length or height after the first 1000 days of life had higher systolic blood pressure than normal children and children with malnutrition who did not grow rapidly.

Religiosity and mental health outcomes among Indonesian Moslems: evidence for different age groups

ABSTRACT The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of perceived religiosity, frequency of daily prayer, and frequency of attending Majelis taklim on depression and subjective well-being in different age groups of the young, adult, and older Moslems. We analysed the data from Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) Wave 5, with a total sample of 27,246 individuals. The results showed that perceived religiosity has a larger effect size on positive affect, negative affect, happiness, and life satisfaction in young than in adult and older Moslems. Meanwhile, the frequency of attending Majelis taklim influences happiness and life satisfaction more strongly in the older Moslems than in the young and adult Moslems. Perceived religiosity and frequency of attending Moslem forum only have a significant negative association with depression in all the age groups, and surprisingly frequency of attending Majelis taklim is positively associated with depression in the younger and older Moslems.

Association between Hypertension withthe Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in South Kalimantan (Data Analysis of Indonesia Family Life Survey 5 Year 2014)

Background: South Kalimantan is the 3rd highest prevalence in Kalimantan, which is 1.8% and thereis an increase in prevalence compared to the results of the 2013 Riskesdas study of 1, 4% (an increaseof 0.4%). The purpose of this study was to knowing the association between hypertension and theincidence of diabetes mellitus. This study used a cross sectional design. The sample was 1,423. Theanalysis carried out was univariate, bivariate and multivariate.Finding: Multivariate analysis showed hypertension is risk factor to experience diabetes mellitus(p-value 0.011). Hypertension has a 1.46 times greater risk of developing diabetes mellitus.Conclusion: It is hoped that this research will serve as input for determining policy directions to educatethe public so that they can prevent and control blood pressure levels so as not to cause hypertensionwhich can lead to diabetes mellitus.

The Effect of General and Vocational High School Quality on Labor Market Outcomes in Indonesia

To improve the quality and competitiveness of human capital and correspond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 especially target 4.3, to ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, Indonesia has been focusing on improving the quality of secondary education. However, empirical data and previous research showed that secondary school graduates in Indonesia face high unemployment and income differences, especially vocational school graduates. The quality of secondary high schools plays an important role in determining the years of schooling of the graduates and indirectly impacts labor market outcomes. Using longitudinal panel data at the individual level from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) of 2000, 2007, and 2014; and applying education production function and Mincer earning equation, this study finds that the difference in wages between graduates of general and vocational high schools is not statistically significant despite the school quality. However, analyzing within the vocational high schools shows that better quality of vocational high schools increases years of schooling of its graduates as they can access tertiary education, and subsequently increases their performance in the labor market. This finding indicates that policies to improve school quality, especially vocational high schools, should be enhanced.

OTONOMI PENGAMBILAN KEPUTUSAN PEREMPUAN MENIKAH DAN STATUS PENGGUNAAN KONTRASEPSI

Gender inequality is often cited as a barrier to improving women’s sexual and reproductive health outcomes, including contraceptive use. Indonesia is ranked at 85th place out of the 153 countries in Global Gender Gap Report 2020, which indicates gender inequality. Although positive increases in women's participation in the economy, health and education have been shown since 2014. Keeping in view this fact, we investigated the impact of women’s decision-making autonomy on contraceptive use among married women age 15–49 years in Indonesia. Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2014 data has been used for analysis by ordered logistic regression. Women’s participation in making four household decisions: food purchases, household purchases; freedom to visit family and relatives and contraceptive use have been used as women’s decision-making autonomy. The results indicated that women’s decision-making autonomy has been positively associated with contraceptive use. Women’s age, job status, education level, number of children, domicile status, internet access, and household wealth status also been found statistically significantly associated with contraceptive use. The current study suggests integrating the interventions for women’s decision-making autonomy into family planning programs.

School Starting Age and Academic Performance: An Empirical Study in Indonesia

School entry regulations in Indonesia have a specific cutoff date for enrolment and it requires children to start school at the age of seven. In practice, there were schools that allowed children to start elementary school before reaching seven years old. This might create age differences between children in the same grade at school. Some literature has been shown that older students outperform younger students in the school outcomes. For instance, higher education attainment, reduce grade repetition, and excellent academic performances. However, limited evidence exists about the school starting age and academic performances in Indonesia. In order to determine whether the school starting age rule in Indonesia affects children’s academic performance, this study utilizes the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS wave) 5 and regression discontinuity design. This study found that older entrance might get lower score compared to the children who start school at early age. Based on the results, entering school earlier might increase the average of total score by 2.687 grade points higher than older entrance.

The Impact of School Operational Assistance Program Implementation at School Level on Senior Secondary Education Enrollment by Households: Evidence from Indonesia in 2007 and 2014

Education is recognized worldwide as one of the key elements in developing the human capital of a nation for a prosperous future. Given an almost universal enrollment in primary education, many governments have shifted their focus on students’ motivation to continue to and finish their secondary education. The government of Indonesia has made extensive efforts in widening participation in education. With a growing budget for educational expenditure, various government programs have been implemented to assist students in their learning. One such program is the School Operational Assistance Program (BOS), which has been running for two decades. This paper reports on a study aimed to investigate the impact of the implementation of BOS at a school level on senior secondary school enrollment by households using data obtained from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) recorded in 2007 and 2014. By using Propensity Score Matching (PSM), it was found that students whose schools received BOS during their primary education years were more likely to continue their education to senior secondary education than those whose schools did not receive BOS. This shows that a school subsidy could encourage students to continue their education, particularly for students coming from poorer households.

Determinants of late adolescent nutritional status in Indonesia: a nation-wide cross-sectional survey

PurposeThis study aims to examine determinants of underweight and overweight nutritional status among late adolescents in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional analysis of the 2015 Indonesian Family Life Survey 5 (IFLS-5) was conducted. Respondents for this study were selected through stratified and multistage random sampling. Of all IFLS-5 respondents, 2,791 were adolescents 18–24 years old. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to identify major determinants of nutritional status among late adolescents.FindingsThe prevalence of underweight and overweight nutritional status was 19.10% and 12.79%, respectively. Underweight status among late adolescents was strongly associated with smoking (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29–2.33). Moreover, living in urban areas showed the strongest association with overweight status among the same group (AOR = 1.77, 95%CI = 1.29–2.44).Research limitations/implicationsThis study gained the advantage from the use of national data that are collected by trained enumerators. Therefore, the possibility of bias is very small, and the study results can be generalized to a late adolescent group in Indonesia. However, this study also has limitations in the types of data available, as it uses secondary data. The lack of detailed data regarding food security, frequency of food consumption in a month and sources of income of the adolescents limit the interpretation of the study. Further studies should consider using a retrospective cohort approach in all adolescent age groups using data from the IFLS-1 to IFLS-5 so that the temporal relationship of the multifactorial nutrition variables can be identified.Practical implicationsProvide input and advice to policymakers in all sectors related to adolescent health and educational curricula for consideration in making interventions that focus on improving nutrition by taking into account the characteristics of adolescents, such as smoking habits, area of residence, income and age of adolescents because nutritional problems are multifactorial.Social implicationsThis study can provide education to adolescents to create healthier consumption habits to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the adult phase, ideal body weight, reduce unhealthy lifestyles (smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs) and increase self-esteem and reduce depression.Originality/valueThis study brings significant findings on the dominant determinant of nutritional status among late adolescents in Indonesia and their vulnerability to NCDs. To address the high prevalence of underweight and overweight nutritional status in Indonesia, a collaboration between smoking cessation, community nutrition and reproductive health programs is required for preventing the underweight nutritional status in adolescents, with a focus on obesity prevention for adolescents living in urban areas. It is expected that this collaboration will support the early prevention of NCD risks.

Sport and well-being: Frequency of physical activity and life satisfaction

Living a better and happy life (well-being) is a key point for people’s daily life. Well-being integrates both of physical and psychological health namely feelings, emotions, and life satisfaction. This means that good life is when people are physically fit and they are satisfied with their life. There have been few studies investigating the relationship between physical activity and life satisfaction in Indonesia. Therefore, this quantitative study is aimed to examine the association between sport and well-being, especially the frequency of physical activity and life satisfaction. The data used are from the fifth wave of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2014, with 31,669 participants from 15,160 households and 297 districts in Indonesia. Linear regression is used for data analysis, adjusting for control variables. The results show that the more frequent people exercise, the more they are satisfied with their lives, even after controlling for a set of confounding variables. Different measures need to be taken to increase physical activity as parts of people’s daily life in order to protect their health and enjoy a better life.

DOES DIGITALIZATION AGGRANDIZE INCOME? THE INDONESIA FAMILY LIFE SURVEY FIFTH WAVE

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken Indonesia's macroeconomy. The economic growth experienced a contraction accompanied by an increase in poverty and unemployment. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic also provides an opportunity for the growth of the digital economy. Digitalization that goes well will increase economic activity due to greater accessibility. However, there has been a decline in income during the pandemic. Therefore, this research aims to learn whether digitalization can improve income levels by understanding the impact of having a cell phone and accessing the internet for economic activities towards revenues. Here, the treatment effect is conducted to estimate the magnitude of that impact and identify the factors determining digitalization (have a cell phone and access the internet for economic activities). This research uses secondary data obtained from the Indonesia family life survey fifth wave. The result shows that the income of someone who can digitize is higher than that of non-digitalization participants, indicating the digitalization significantly contributes to increased revenues. Moreover, object perception for having a cell phone and accessing the internet for economic activities supports people's interest in digitalization mainly due to happiness, subjective well-being, and marital status.

Assessing the Effects of Access to Safe Drinking Water on Children’s Nutritional Status in Indonesia

This study analyzed the effects of access to safe drinking water on the nutritional status of children under the age of 59 months in urban and rural areas in Indonesia using the Indonesian Family Life Survey 5. Both piped water and packaged water were considered safe to drink. The descriptive statistics show that children in rural areas typically had insufficient access to safe drinking water and children who consumed safe drinking water had higher short- and long-term nutrition levels. To mitigate selection bias due to the non-random distribution of access to safe drinking water, a matching estimation was used to quantitatively determine the effects of access to safe drinking water on child nutrition. The provision of safe drinking water improved the short- and long-term nutritional status of children in rural areas but had no significant effect to that of children in urban areas. A simulation of this effect on child nutrition shows that in rural areas, improved access to safe drinking water decreases the stunting ratio by 13 percentage points and the wasting ratio by 6.1 percentage points. Additionally, both household income levels and community drinking water prices are important determinants of access to safe drinking water. Therefore, access to safe drinking water is necessary to improve the nutritional status of children in rural Indonesia, and community characteristics contribute to access.

Examining the Effect of Short-Term Affect on Farmers’ Risk and Time Preferences in Financial Decision-Making

Farmers regularly make intertemporal decisions under risk or uncertainty. To improve how farmers behave when faced with decisions that have financial consequences, there is a need for a deeper understanding of farmers’ risk and time preferences. While the relationship between individual components of affect and risk preferences is well documented, the same cannot be said for holistic measures of affect on one hand, and for affect and time preferences on the other hand. The data analysed in this paper is the 2014–2015 Indonesian Family Life Survey Wave 5. The survey included experimental measures designed to elicit both risk and time preferences from the same subjects. We analysed the data using limited dependent variable regression models. Our findings strengthen what is known about the affect infusion model. With increased pleasant affect, farmers’ willingness to take risks increases significantly. The results also suggest that pleasant affect is associated with increased odds that farmers will choose future rewards in the long horizon but had no statistically significant effect on the short horizon. The practical implications are that an experience of pleasant affect before decision-making may cause the decision-maker (DM) to perceive a prospect as having high benefits and low risks. Pleasant affect may also induce lower sensitivity towards losses and play the role of a buffer which reduces the immediate negative impact of information that otherwise would prevent the DM from focusing on the long-term. JEL Classifications: C93, D81, D91

Outpatient visit among elderly in Indonesia

Population aging has become an important issue mostly discussed in many countries in the world. The proportion of the older population is getting better in both developed and developing countries. Elderly tend to need more health care as they are more susceptible to chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting outpatient visit among elderly in Indonesia. This study employed a cross-sectional study design with a sample of ≥60-year-old individual with a total sample of 5,325 elderly. The data used to be analyzed were from the Indonesian Family Life Survey 2014 representing 83% of the population in Indonesia. The theory used was Andersen health service utilization model. In analyzing the data, bivariate analysis were used, with Chi-square and multivariate test using multiple logistic regression test prediction model. Elderly who utilize health service for outpatient was 18.6%. Variables that have significant relationships with outpatient utilization on elderly were female, high education, formal job, Java and Bali, urban, health insurance ownership, economic status, the perception of ill, smoking habit, history of chronic disease, fat, and obesity. Predictor for the most dominant outpatient utilization is influenced by chronic disesase after controlled by other variables. Chronic disesase greatly affect the elderly in utilizing health services for outpatient. To overcome this, the government is expected to provide policies on health facilities to better emphasize promotive and preventive efforts among the elderly.

Relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anemia Among Adolescent Indonesian Girls (Analysis of The Indonesia Family Life Survey 5th Data)

ABSTRACTBackground: Anemia is a condition characterized by low levels of hemoglobin (Hb) from normal limits. Anemia is still a public health problem. Data states that the prevalence of anemia in Indonesia in 2013 was 21.7%, with the number of sufferers known to be higher in women than men. The prevalence of anemia in the age range 15 to 24 years was 18.4%. Nutritional status shows the balance of nutrients due to the consumption, absorption, and use of nutrients that come from food in the body. A person's nutritional status can be said to be deficient if the body lacks intake of one or more essential nutrients for the body. One of the indicators for assessing a person's nutritional status is the Body Mass Index (BMI). Inadequate nutritional status will affect the nutritional status of iron in a person' s body so that it can be interpreted that nutritional status is one of the factors of anemia. Consuming foods with good nutritional value, especially foods that contain high iron will also affect the nutritional status of these adolescents so that the risk of suffering from anemia will decrease.Objective: This study aims to analyze the relationship between body mass index and anemia among young women in Indonesia.Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. The data used are secondary data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 5. The population of this study was all Indonesians who participated in IFLS 5. The sample used in this study amounted to 3,525 respondents. IInclusion criteria of this study included female, aged 10-18 years, unmarried, having complete data regarding body weight, height and hemoglobin measurement results. If data related to the measurement results of hemoglobin, body weight, height are incomplete, they will be excluded.The statistical test was used is a chi-square test.Results: There was a relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and anemia among young women in Indonesia (p = 0.034 <0.05).Based on the odd ratio analysis using the normal Body Mass Index (BMI) group as a comparison, it is known that young women with underweight BMI categories have a 1.198 greater risk of experiencing anemia than girls with normal BMI categories.Conclusion: There is a relationship between BMI and anemia in adolescent girls. It is important for young women to always pay attention to daily iron intake by eating foods that are rich in iron or taking blood-booster tablets (TTD) to avoid anemia.

Determinants of Positive and Negative Affect among Adolescents and Young Adults in Indonesia: A Population-Based Survey.

Positive and negative affect are crucial for mental health. However, the determinant factors of positive and negative affect have yet to be examined between adolescents and young adults. This study aimed to explore the determinant factors of positive and negative affect, comparing their effects among adolescents and young adults and among the two sexes in Indonesia. We undertook secondary data analyses of the Indonesia Family Life Survey for this cross-sectional study. Questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, physical and mental health-related variables, and childhood family experiences from 2014 were used as independent variables, and positive and negative affect were used as the dependent variables. Hierarchical linear regression was performed to investigate the factors associated with positive and negative affect and to compare their effects between adolescents and young adults. The hierarchical linear regression revealed that sociodemographic characteristics, perceived health, smoking, chronic condition, acute morbidity, sleep, childhood family experiences, depression, personality type, life satisfaction, happiness, and experience of disasters were associated with positive and negative affect among adolescents and young adults in Indonesia. Identification of positive and negative affect as well as their associated factors among adolescents and young adults should be considered when developing preventive programs in the community.

KREDIT MIKRO, KELOMPOK USAHA BERSAMA (KUBE) DAN PENDAPATAN USAHA RUMAH TANGGA INDONESIA

This study evaluates the impact of microcredit program intervention on the income of Indonesian households receiving the program (KUBE). Comparing two time periods, 2007 where most of the KUBE programs have just started and 2014. Using data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) and the difference in difference (DiD) model, this study obtained several important results, such as there was an increase in operating income on households who receiving the KUBE program. By controlling the activity variable of KUBE program recipient households in community activities, researchers obtained a significant positive impact on increasing their business income. The increase in business income for those who have non-farming businesses is greater, and male program recipients as well as household heads, get an increase in business income.