Fear of COVID-19, resilience, urban farming motivation, and life satisfaction among urban poor post-COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

The implementation of social restrictions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia significantly impacted the urban poor, exacerbated the existing challenges, and created new ones. Moreover, the psychosocial impact of these restrictions led to increased energy poverty, an adverse effect on mental health, and exacerbated the social and economic inequalities. This study identifies and analyses the influence of fear of COVID-19, resilience, urban farming motivation, and life satisfaction among the urban poor in the post-pandemic period. A total of 524 urban poor in four People’s Housing Projects in Kuala Lumpur and two in the state of Pulau Pinang were invited to participate in this study. Data were collected using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, the Urban Farming Motivation Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale and analysed using bivariate correlation, multiple regression analysis, and PROCESS macro. The findings indicate that there are correlations between fear of COVID-19, resilience, and life satisfaction, while urban farming motivation is directly related to resilience and life satisfaction. Therefore, policymakers are encouraged to review and redefine their urban farming programmes and policies to include fear of COVID-19, urban farming motivation, resilience, and life satisfaction when working with Malaysian urban poor communities.

Keywords:

• Fear of COVID-19
• urban farming motivation
• resilience
• life satisfaction
• urban poor

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Daryl O’Connor, University of Leeds, United Kingdom

SUBJECTS:

• Educational Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Education–Social Sciences

Introduction

In May 2023, more than three years after the start of the pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO, https://www.who.int/) declared that COVID-19 was no longer considered to be a global emergency and advised nations to handle it in the same way that other infectious illnesses are dealt with. The virus killed more than 6.9 million people (20230810-weekly_epi_update_155.pdf), and the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social (Patterson et al., 2021), economic (Sharma et al., 2021), and psychological spheres (Prati & Mancini, 2021), are still being felt today (Izzeldin et al., 2023; Rabbi et al., 2023). Previous research examined a variety of topics concerning individuals with low incomes in the context of COVID-19 and urban farming; for instance, during the COVID-19 epidemic, urban farming was found to be effective because it helped improve the economic situation and level of food security of low-income communities (Istiqomah et al., 2023). The COVID-19 epidemic posed serious issues for those with low incomes as it affected them financially in a variety of ways—job loss, reduced working hours, and lost benefits associated with employment (Sukmaningrum et al., 2023). Kusumawati et al. (2022) reported that urban farming in Indonesia was successful in promoting food security in urban areas during the COVID-19 epidemic because of the active and effective community involvement in its implementation.

There has been discussion about research on urban farming and its advantages for justice, sustainability, and community resilience in several places, including Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US. In the US for instance, urban farming has been a focus of planning for urban regeneration, as it has the potential for diverse economic development objectives, such as social enterprise, supplementing incomes, developing human and social capital, and promoting food security (Vitiello & Wolf-Powers, 2014). Research indicates that urban agriculture improves community resilience and well-being; hence, effective identification and support from urban authorities are necessary to encourage the practice of urban farming (Nafisi et al., 2020). Furthermore, studies conducted in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, have demonstrated the numerous advantages that community-based urban farming has brought about for family socioeconomic resilience and empowerment, and highlighted the use of social capital and its potential for sustainability (Perdana, 2020).

There are four issues related to the pandemic that warrant the study of urban farming—food security (Murdad et al., 2022; Rizal et al., 2023), economic resilience (Apriantoro et al., 2022; Putri et al., 2023), socio-economic impact (Apriantoro et al., 2022; Istiqomah et al., 2023), and local food production (Murdad et al., 2022). The COVID-19 epidemic raised attention concerning how critical it is to guarantee food security, particularly in cities where the availability of healthy food at reasonable prices is limited. Due to the economic uncertainty brought about by the epidemic, there have been job losses and a reduction in income. Furthermore, food security has been compromised as a result of the pandemic’s effects on communities’ socioeconomic circumstances, and by providing a sustainable source of food and maybe revenue, urban farming can help communities become more resilient economically and assist in addressing these issues. The epidemic has caused disruptions in the global food supply system, which has highlighted the need for local food production, as urban farming can help produce food locally and reduce the dependency on distant food sources. These issues demonstrate the relevance of studying urban farming as a response to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the context of food security, economic resilience, and local food production. These studies offer insightful information about the many facets of urban farming, such as justice, sustainability, and resilience. They may also be used as a foundation for more study and the formulation of relevant policies. Nevertheless, these four factors by themselves are still unable to fully account for the significance of resilience, fear of COVID-19, and motivation in enhancing life satisfaction among low-income urban farmers.

The lack of food security is one of the main effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia (Tan et al., 2022), as the pandemic has caused disruptions in the local and global supply chains as well as an increase in the load on the budget and the national debt (Dorairaj & Govender, 2023). Recently, the issue of food security has been included in the national agenda in Malaysia to ensure that the staple foods are sufficient for the needs of the people (Dorairaj & Govender, 2023). For example, the lack of rice supply needs to be overcome immediately to ensure the well-being of the people. In terms of food security, urban farming was viewed as a viable means to enhance food security before the COVID-19 epidemic, particularly in developing nations and some regions of Africa and Eastern Europe (Zezza & Tasciotti, 2010). The Malaysian government has also taken further steps to develop the concept of urban farming, giving the urban poor a chance to participate in the initiative to ensure food supplies. Urban farming is supported in Malaysia by the Local Agenda 21 (LA21), which was introduced to promote sustainable development by developing and increasing collaboration among local governments, communities, and commercial groups (Othman et al., 2019). Generally, growing vegetables and rearing animals for human consumption in cities and suburbs is known as urban farming. Urban farming can be broadly defined as the production (including processing and marketing) of food, flowers, fibre, feed, and herbs on land (and water), dispersed throughout urban and peri-urban areas (FAO, 2022). Murdad et al. (2022) defined urban farming as the practice of cultivating crops, livestock, or types of food in an urban environment. Wagstaff and Wortman (2015) described urban farming as ‘all forms of agricultural production (food and non-food) occurring within or around cities’.

Fear is a reasonable reaction to an approaching threat that prepares an individual to respond quickly to potential bodily or mental harm (Pappas et al., 2009). Fear is also an important characteristic of infectious diseases compared to other diseases, as it is closely tied to transmission speed and the environment, as well as morbidity and death (Juga et al., 2021). Individuals are said to be unable to think clearly and rationally when responding fearfully to COVID-19 (Hatun et al., 2020; Koçak et al., 2021). Several studies have been reported to have psychological effects on individuals (Asgari et al., 2020; Bozdağ, 2021; Kontoangelos et al., 2020), particularly due to their focus on infected individuals and deaths from COVID-19 (Pakpour & Griffiths, 2020). Fear of COVID-19 is also associated with changes in nutritional habits due to physical and social confinement (Vandevijvere et al., 2021). Reports also indicated that COVID-19 has a negative relationship on life satisfaction (Duong, 2021; Gundogan, 2021). In contrast, one study found that fear of COVID-19 was not significantly correlated with life satisfaction (Karataş et al., 2021). In addition, Ezzeddin et al. (2022) found that food insecurity has a significant positive direct and indirect (mediated by perceived stress) correlation with fear of COVID-19. One study reported that limited financial or food resources were a major stressor during the COVID-19 pandemic with an estimated 8% of families reporting concerns about having enough money to buy food for their family in the next six months (Carroll et al., 2020). On top of that, people’s eating patterns have been altering throughout the pandemic due to fear and stress (Kowalczuk & Gębski, 2021), with more unhealthy foods consumed, eating out of control, and more snacks consumed between meals (Ammar et al., 2020).

Resilience is characterised as both a personal trait and a dynamic process that occurs in reaction to stressful or difficult conditions (Chen & Bonanno, 2020; Southwick et al., 2014). Resilience is the dynamic process through which people adjust and move on after great obstacles or failures. Resilience is described by the American Psychological Association (Palmiter et al., 2012) as ‘the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of threat’. Lupe et al. (2020, pp. 295–296) suggested that COVID-19 is a source of stress because it has the following characteristics: (1) stressors can refer to anything that evokes the stress response; usually, stressors evoke uncertainty about the impact they will have on an individual and are related to something of value to the person (e.g. health, family, finances, loss of life normalcy, and loss of life), (2) stressors are usually some combination of abnormal, sudden, severe, undesired, or sustained, (3) stressors come in many forms, including physical/environmental, natural/manmade, hassles/aggravations or life events, (4) stress can be acute, chronic, or in the case of COVID-19, both, and (5) stress is a dynamic process influenced by coping style, social support, previous experience with the stressor, the presence of underlying psychopathology, and personality characteristics (e.g. optimism vs. pessimist). As a result, resilience is activated when the individual has the capacity to adapt to stressful conditions while returning to the initial position or condition. Individuals respond to the COVID-19 epidemic by ‘living in the now’, accepting and adapting to the situation. Havnen et al. (2020), for instance, reported that those with high resilience were less affected than those with low resilience to the effect of stress exposure symptoms of depression, mediated by anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, we predict that individuals with a high resilience score would adjust well by participating in community urban farming activities.

Numerous studies have examined how resilient urban poor communities may be in the face of disasters like COVID-19, with an emphasis on preparedness (Onyango et al., 2021), adaptation (Schreiber et al., 2022), and mitigation strategies (Durizzo et al., 2021; Porio, 2022). Furthermore, studies have demonstrated the value of neighbourhood projects and community cooperation in building resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic (den Broeder et al., 2022). Moreover, the adoption of integrated urban farming has been deliberated as a strategy to enhance the economic prosperity of communities and alleviate the pandemic’s effects on food security (Dagar et al., 2023). With an emphasis on urban farming and impoverished urban areas, these studies offer insightful information on the many tactics and elements that support community resilience during a pandemic. Community resilience during a pandemic is influenced by various factors, such as social cohesion and support (Jewett et al., 2021), resource availability (Valinejad et al., 2022), institutional resilience (Rai et al., 2021), assessment frameworks (Suleimany et al., 2022), social capital and social welfare (Karami & Keshavarz, 2023), and community engagement and participation (den Broeder et al., 2022).

Urban resilience and community may greatly benefit from urban farming, as it may save food costs and increase household food supply (Maassen & Galvin, 2021). Urban farming provides a chance to overcome obstacles to food security by promoting the exchange of food items and bolstering social relationships within the community (Maassen & Galvin, 2021). Urban farming may reduce the carbon footprint, boost climate risk resilience, and support sustainable supply chains (Maassen & Galvin, 2021). It has been demonstrated that farming in walkable neighbourhoods improves the resilience of the food system and lowers carbon emissions (Iida et al., 2023), which is good for the environment and human health. Urban farming also addresses the social and ecological vulnerabilities in cities and improves urban resilience, sustainability, and multifunctionality (Langemeyer et al., 2021), and might improve public health and food security while making cities more resilient to a variety of stresses and sudden shocks (Gulyas & Edmondson, 2021).

Another consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is an appraisal of one’s own life that offers information on one’s quality of life (Diener & Diener, 1995). Kasprzak (2010) explained that life satisfaction is about emotional and reflective attitudes towards life and is a subjective process including perception and judgement of the past accompanied by affection. Some of the restrictions might have impaired an individual’s life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic (Bidzan-Bluma et al., 2020; Hu et al., 2023). Bidzan-Bluma et al. (2020) reported that in comparison to younger age groups, older people reported better levels of life satisfaction, quality of life, and well-being throughout the pandemic.

Previous studies indicated that there were relationships between urban farming motivation, resilience, and well-being during the COVID-19 epidemic (Komalawati et al., 2022; Sia et al., 2022). Family food supply, reduced expenditure, increased household income (Corrigan, 2011), and a lack of excessive pollutants and pesticides (Hallett et al., 2016) have all been cited as indicators of urban farming motivation. Motivation for urban farming may be a key factor in life satisfaction (Nabi et al., 2019), and is influenced by several variables, including previous farming experience, keeping active, ensuring access to safe and fresh food (Luehr et al., 2020), socialisation and social support (Cattivelli, 2020), training (Anwarudin & Dayat, 2019), and fear of loss of financial security (Khosravi et al., 2022). Significant correlations between urban farming motivation, resilience, and self-satisfaction (Audate et al., 2021), psychological needs satisfaction (Karimi & Sotoodeh, 2020), motivation, life satisfaction, and overall well-being (Harding et al., 2022) have also been identified in the literature. Additionally, Harding et al. (2022) discovered that motivation for urban farming greatly increased life satisfaction and served as a protective factor during the COVID-19 crisis. Only one published research (Harding et al., 2022) that included a sample of city inhabitants and looked at the relationships between motivation for urban farming and life satisfaction has been found. As a result, further research is required to comprehend these relations.

It is necessary to understand the relationship between fear of COVID-19, resilience, and motivation for urban farming as an aspect of life satisfaction. Furthermore, no study has comprehensively explored the relationship between fear of COVID-19, resilience, motivation for urban farming, and life satisfaction with urban poor in Malaysia. Furthermore, there is no in-depth investigation of the extent to which each factor is related to life satisfaction. Therefore, this study is the first investigation of its kind into possible relationships among fear of COVID-19, resilience, urban farming motivation, and life satisfaction. The following hypotheses were studied:

• H1: Fear of COVID-19 is negatively associated with life satisfaction.

• H2: Resilience is positively associated with life satisfaction.

• H3: Urban farming motivation is positively associated with life satisfaction.

• H4: A significant amount of variance in life satisfaction is explained by fear of COVID-19, resilience, and motivation for urban farming.

• H4: Urban farming motivation has a positive indirect relationship with fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction.

• H5: Urban farming motivation has a positive indirect relationship with resilience and life satisfaction.

Methods

Participants

Using the convenience sampling technique, this cross-sectional study recruited a total of 524 adults from six People’s Housing Programmes (PPRs) in Malaysia. Every PPR yielded a minimum of 75 respondents who completed the survey. Four of the six participating PPRs were located in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, whereas the other two PPRs were in the Northern Malaysian state of Penang. These PPRs were selected because their citizens actively participate in urban farming initiatives; some have recently begun such projects and consented to participate in the study. On top of that, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur has the highest population density with 8157 people per square kilometre, and has 100% of its population living in urban areas. Besides the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, the state of Pulau Pinang has the second highest population density with 1659 people per square kilometre and a very rapid urbanisation rate of 92.5% (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2022b) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Map of the study areas showing the six PPRs with four located in Kuala Lumpur and two in Pulau Pinang.

To take part in this research, individuals needed to be considered as low-income group members, residents of a PPR, and at least 18 years old. Three income groups are used to classify Malaysian households, with the cut-off determined according to the Economic Planning Unit and Department of Statistics, Malaysia: Bottom 40% (B40), Middle 40% (M40), and Top 20% (T20). The B40 group comprises 3.16 million households with a monthly income below RM5250 (USD 1121), and their average household income is RM3401 (USD 726) (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2022a). M40 households earn a monthly income between RM5250 and RM11,819 (USD 1121–2523), while the T20 group’s monthly income exceeds RM11,820 (USD 2524) (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2022a).

Table 1 indicates that almost 41.80% of the participants were adult males (n = 219) while 58.2% were adult females (n = 305). Furthermore, 44.7% (n = 234) of the participants were of non-Malay ethnicity, comprising Chinese (20.8%, n = 109), Indian (20.0%, n = 105), Indigenous (2.3%, n = 12), and other ethnicities (1.5%, n = 8), while 55.3% of the participants were Malay (n = 290). Most of the participants were married (60.3%, or 316), followed by single (22.5%, or 118), widowed (11.3%, or 59), divorced (5.3%, or 28), or separated (.6%, or 3). The majority of the participants were employed (32.1%, or n = 168), self-employed individuals (17.9%, n = 94), or employers (1.5%, n = 8). The rest of the participants, who were not seeking any employment, included housewives (18.9%, n = 99), students (5.7%, n = 30), retired individuals (16.0%, n = 84), jobless (7.4%, n = 39), and no response (.4%, n = 2).

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the participants.

Category	n	%
Gender
Male	219	41.8
Female	305	58.2
Ethnicity
Malays	290	55.3
Non-Malays	234	44.7
Marital status
Single	208	39.7
Married	316	60.3
Employment status
Employed	270	51.5
Unemployed	254	48.5
Monthly household income (MYR)
<1000	149	28.4
1000–<3000	280	53.4
3000–<5000	93	17.7

Measures

The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was used to measure the fear of COVID-19 (Ahorsu et al., 2022). A self-report questionnaire comprising seven items and a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 = ‘strongly agree’, was used to measure the FCV-19S. The FCV-19S utilised in this study was translated into Malay (Beaton et al., 2000). Some of these items were: ‘I am most afraid of COVID-19’, ‘My hands get clammy when I think about COVID-19’, and ‘I can’t sleep because I’m worried about getting COVID-19’. The total scores ranged between seven and 35, with higher values indicating higher COVID-19 fear. The Malay-translated FCV-19S had a Cronbach’s alpha of .87.

The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10; Campbell‐Sills & Stein, 2007) was used to measure perceived resilience. The primary CD-RISC consists of 25 items selected from 17 domains that reflect the characteristics of resilient individuals; such as the capacity to perceive any stress or change as a challenge or an opportunity, commitment, recognise one’s boundaries, ask for help from others, strong interpersonal ties, stress-induced growth, personal or collective objectives, earlier achievements, self-efficacy, sense of humour, patience, action-based strategy, rational grasp of control and availability of other options, accepting the negative emotions, optimism, being open to changes, and faith (Connor & Davidson, 2003). A 5-point Likert scale, with 0 = ‘not true at all’ to 4 = ‘true nearly all the time’, was used to score the 10 items that constitute the CD-RISC-10 scale. The CD-RISC-10 scale used in this investigation was translated into Malay. A few of the items included: ‘I can deal with whatever comes’, ‘I am able to adapt to change’, and ‘I can achieve goals despite obstacles’. The items were added together to provide a final score that ranged between zero and 40, with higher scores representing a perceived resilience at higher levels. The Malay-translated CD-RISC-10 scale had a Cronbach’s alpha of .90.

The Urban Farming Motivation Scale was used to measure urban farming motivation (Othman et al., 2019). The measure consisted of five items scored on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = ‘strongly agree’. A few items included in this scale were ‘My involvement in urban farming is only for food’, and ‘My involvement in urban farming is to generate monthly income’. The sum of the ratings ranged between 5 and 25, where a higher score indicated a stronger level of urban farming motivation. This present study determined that the instrument of Othman et al. (2019) for assessing urban farming motivators had a Cronbach’s alpha of .79.

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985) was used to measure overall life satisfaction. The SWLS consisted of five items evaluated using a 7-point Likert scale, with 1 = ‘totally disagree’ and 7 = ‘absolutely agree’. The Malay SWLS that was employed in this present study was translated by Swami and Chamorro-Premuzic (2009). A few examples of the items used in the scale were ‘I am satisfied with my life’, ‘The conditions of my life are excellent’, and ‘In most ways, my life is close to my ideal’. The total scores varied from five to 35, with higher scores indicating a better life satisfaction level. Diener et al. (1985) stated that respondents with total scores that ranged between 31 and 35 were extremely satisfied with their lives, whereas those with total scores ranging between five and nine were extremely dissatisfied with their lives. This present study determined that the life satisfaction of the Malay-translated SWLS had a Cronbach’s alpha of .82.

Measurement translation procedure

All the English measurements were translated into the Malay language by the researcher and verified by two independent individuals with a psychology and human development background. The measurements were cross-validated together with the researcher for consistency.

Procedures

In-person interviews were conducted with the respondents using a Malay-language questionnaire that was assisted by a team of enumerators. The data were collected between June and August 2022. The PPR community leaders were initially used to contact the participants. They received an invitation to take part in the study and the objectives were explained. When potential participants expressed interest, they were asked to give their permission for the use of their data. At this initial stage, all the participants gave their consent. Each individual spent about 45–50 min to complete the survey. The study design used a cross-sectional research design, and the data were only collected once.

Ethics consideration

The University of Malaya Research Ethics Committee granted ethical permission to this study, as demonstrated by the ethics reference number UM.TNC2/UMREC_1213. Participants were asked to offer their informed consent.

Data analysis

The distribution and descriptive analysis statistics for the current study were obtained using the IBM^® Statistical Package for Social Sciences 28.0 (SPSS 28.0). To validate the results of the statistical analysis, the data were screened for outliers and the presumptions of normality for parametric tests were evaluated. The correlation coefficients of Pearson’s product-moment (r) were used to analyse the correlation between the variables. A multiple regression analysis (MRA) was then carried out to determine the specific proportion of variance in the dependent variables that could be described using each independent variable. By assigning codes of zero and one, categorical variables, such as ethnicity, gender, marital status, and employment status, were transformed into dummy variables and made suitable for regression analysis. Thus, the categories that included a woman, Malaysian, married, and employed were assigned a code of one. Indirect relationships were investigated using Model 4 with bootstrapping via the PROCESS macro in IBM^® SPSS. Bootstrapping refers to a statistical resampling technique that prevents one from making assumptions regarding the normality of the sample distribution of the indirect impact (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). In this study, the bootstrapped confidence intervals for the indirect correlations were calculated using 5000 resamples, as suggested by Preacher and Hayes (2008).

Results

Table 2 displays the findings of the correlation analysis between the factors, such as fear of COVID-19, resilience, urban farming motivation, and life satisfaction. The Pearson’s r revealed a very small but significant positive link between fear of COVID-19 and resilience (r = .21, p < .01) and life satisfaction (r = .14, p < .01). The results showed a positive association between fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction, hence, H1 is not supported. Furthermore, urban farming motivation and resilience showed a positive relationship with life satisfaction. Therefore, both results support H2 and H3. Additionally, resilience also showed a weak but significantly positive relationship with urban farming motivation (r = .29, p < .01).

Table 2. Mean, standard deviation, and correlation coefficient of studied variables (n = 524).

Variables	1	2	3	4	M	SD
1. Fear of COVID-19	–				21.45	7.95
2. Resilience	.21**	–			39.00	6.31
3. Motivation	.27**	.29**	–		16.54	4.93
4. Life satisfaction	.14**	.34**	.21**	–	24.22	5.66

**Correlation is significant at the .01 level (2-tailed).

Table 3 presents the results of the MRA that was carried out to investigate the degree to which various factors, such as resilience, COVID-19 fear, and urban farming motivation, could influence the life satisfaction levels of adults. The analysis considered a few covariates, such as ethnicity, gender, marital status, and employment status. The results of the MRA are presented in Table 3, which indicates that factors like resilience (β = .30, p < .05) and motivation (β = .11, p < .05) significantly influenced the life satisfaction levels after considering the probable effects of ethnicity, gender, marital status, and employment status. In other words, higher life satisfaction scores were correlated with higher resilience and motivation scores. As shown in the results, resilience and motivation accounted for 15.9% of the complete variance noted in the levels of life satisfaction. It was noted that COVID-19 fear was not a significant factor that influenced life satisfaction levels. According to the findings, low-income groups showed a higher life satisfaction level if they displayed high resilience and motivation levels towards urban farming while considering the demographic factors, such as married and non-Malay housewives.

Table 3. Multiple regression analysis results of resilience and urban farming motivation as predictors of life satisfaction (n = 524).

Factors	B	β	t	Sig
Constant	.30		8.27	.000
Gender	.01	.02	.39	.700
Ethnicity	−.05	−.10	−2.30	.022
Marital status	.06	.11	2.62	.009
Employment status	−.04	−.06	−1.50	.136
Resilience	.31	.31	7.15	.000
Urban farming motivation	.12	.12	2.80	.005
Fear of COVID-19	.05	.05	1.22	.223
R^2 = .16; F(6,504) = 15.93, p < .05

Model 4 in the SPSS’ PROCESS macro was used to investigate the possibility of an indirect mediating effect of urban farming motivation on the indirect correlation between COVID-19 fear and life satisfaction as well as the resilience and life satisfaction levels. Figure 2 depicts the indirect effect of the mediation model on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction. No significant direct association was found between fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction [b = .09, t = 2.01, p = .045, CI (.002, .178)]. Notably, urban farming motivation plays a significant mediating role in the indirect effect of fear of COVID-19 on life satisfaction [b = .05, p < .001, CI (.021, .087)].

Figure 2. The regression coefficients for path (A,B) were significant, representing effects of fear of COVID-19 on urban farming motivation, and effect of urban farming motivation on life satisfaction. The regression coefficient for path C′ was also significant. *meaning significance level as follow: ***p < 0.001 (2-tailed).

Figure 3 shows that there was a significant direct relationship between resilience and life satisfaction [b = .30, t = 7.07, p < .001, CIs (.217, .384)]. Urban farming motivation also mediated the significant and indirect effect of resilience on life satisfaction levels [b = .04, p < .001, CI (.012, .069)]. The mediated relationship was seen to be statistically significant. More specifically, higher resilience was linked to high urban farming motivations, which was further associated with high life satisfaction. Consistent with H5, the mediated relationships were seen to be statistically significant and positive. The relationship between resilience and life satisfaction is stronger when urban farming motivation is taken into consideration.

Figure 3. The regression coefficients for path (A,B) were significant, representing effects of resilience on urban farming motivation, and effect of urban farming motivation on life satisfaction. The regression coefficient for path C′ was also significant. *meaning significance level as follow: ***p < 0.001 (2-tailed).

Discussion

This study investigated the role of fear of COVID-19 and resilience in influencing the life satisfaction levels of low-income people living in urban cities. This study also examined the role of urban farming motivation as potentially having an indirect association with the fear of COVID-19, resilience, and life satisfaction. This research concentrated on adults living in Malaysia’s People’s Housing Project (PPRs), a government programme designed to meet housing shortages and eradicate squatter communities for the country’s Bottom 40% (B40) income group. The findings indicate that 81.8% of the participants had incomes below MYR 3000, while 17.7% reported incomes between MYR 3001 and 5001. These figures imply that the research group is a representative sample of the B40 demographic.

Consistent with the first hypothesis, the results indicated that all variables were significantly associated with life satisfaction. Resilience was consistent with previous studies that might have both direct and indirect effects on life satisfaction through urban farming motivation. The results of our study showed that, among the urban poor communities, there was a positive correlation between life satisfaction and fear of COVID-19, defying the first hypothesis. This finding deviates from other studies’ typical conclusions that a rise in fear is associated with a decrease in life satisfaction. Unlike this study, data from other research indicated that fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction were negatively correlated, especially in the general population (Duong, 2021; Dymecka et al., 2021; Satici et al., 2021). Our results can be interpreted in light of the socioeconomic status and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental health, which may exacerbate fear and other situations of uncertainty that have a detrimental effect on life satisfaction (Kassim et al., 2021). Fear signifies a threat to an individual’s own assets (Reizer et al., 2022). However, a small amount of fear may work as a motivator (Wirawan et al., 2023), since increasing fear of COVID-19 is associated with an awareness of COVID-19, which, in turn, positively improves life satisfaction.

Fear is a basic emotion that arises when one perceives or experiences a threat. This emotion pertains to the here and now, as it entails reacting to something that is perceived as threatening (Dozois & Rnic, 2019). The data for this study were gathered in 2022 when the spread was at its lowest. It is possible that dread in this instance evolved into another unpleasant feeling. Since satisfaction with life is a universal phenomenon, abrupt adjustments might not have a noticeable impact right away. Urban farming’s resilience and motivation in this instance somewhat exacerbated the fear of COVID-19’s detrimental impact on life satisfaction. The lack of correlation between the fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction may potentially be attributed to the low number of infected persons in the area at the time the study’s data were gathered.

As expected by Harding et al. (2022), it was discovered in this study that fear of COVID-19, resilience, and urban farming motivation, had a significant and positive correlation with life satisfaction. These findings were consistent with previous studies (e.g. Komalawati et al., 2022; Perrin et al., 2020). These results seem to suggest that as the level of fear of COVID-19, resilience, and urban farming motivation increase, so does life satisfaction and vice versa. Going back to the resilience theory, this can be explained in terms of the resources and skills with more positive adaptation, in that resilience is important to other aspects of life satisfaction. In Malaysia, few studies have been conducted to examine such associations. However, previous findings have shown that the relation between resilience and urban farming motivation was mostly positive (e.g. Perrin et al., 2020). The results of this study revealed that resilience was an important factor and had a significant and positive direct association with life satisfaction. The term resilience can be explained as a process and result of overcoming tough or demanding life situations, particularly via mental, emotional, and behavioural flexibility and adaptation to internal and external challenges. As a result, it should have a meaningful impact on life satisfaction. Thus, the ability to view and engage with the community, to perform specific coping strategies, and the availability and quality of social resources may motivate them to get involved in urban farming activities. Furthermore, improving resilience may help urban poor to sustain their lives and the lives of those around them.

The findings of this study revealed that ethnicity (non-Malays) and marital status (married) were also added to the regression model. These results can be explained in terms of culture and values, where urban farming can be considered a traditional farming practice among non-Malays. Traditionally, non-Malays plant vegetables while Malays grow rice—vegetables only need a limited space and may be cultivated according to the size of land, whereas rice requires significant amounts of land and a good water system making it unsuitable for cultivation in urban settings. Married individuals are more likely to participate in urban farming since they are accountable for providing meals for their dependents. With vegetables harvested from the garden, they can at least feed their family well and save money on household expenses.

As hypothesised earlier, it was discovered that urban farming motivation was indirectly associated with resilience and life satisfaction. In particular, it appeared that the link between resilience and life satisfaction was indirectly affected by urban farming motivation. Urban farming motivation involves purpose in life (Bronk et al., 2010) and may have implications for urban poor in developing resilience. For instance, urban dwellers may build resilience when they actively search for and develop a purpose in life after they have learnt from other behaviours (Kashdan & McKnight, 2009). The formulation of short-term and long-term goals in life, for instance, may encourage urban poor to be prospective and future oriented, and goals could include securing family food, strengthening relations with neighbours, and earning extra income.

Limitations

There are several limitations in the study that need to be acknowledged. The main drawback of this study is the use of a cross-sectional design, which suggests the need for caution when attempting to determine the order or direction of the relationship between resilience, COVID-19 fear, urban farming motivation, and life satisfaction levels. Secondly, the reliance on the respondents’ self-report questionnaire responses is a weakness of this study. Despite receiving a significant number of responses, it is crucial to consider the possibility of sample bias. This is especially noted when considering the enumerators’ interpretations or influences during the questionnaire reading process and the hearing difficulties experienced by the respondents. The third drawback of this study is its limited ability to generalise its findings to the general public. This drawback is mostly attributable to the study’s predominant inclusion of economically underprivileged urban residents who live in low-income housing regions. Finally, given that the data collection took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that the results do not adequately reflect the relationships between these factors during normal circumstances.

Implications of the study

This study was conducted in collaboration with the research project Economics and Psychoeducation of Urban Farming, University Malaya, and our master’s thesis at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Our findings may have a significant impact on our understanding of what is needed to more effectively navigate the challenges posed by a pandemic. The current study was conducted with adults. Similar studies can be carried out with children and adolescents. In addition, it is deemed important to increase the training activities aimed at increasing resilience, motivation, and life satisfaction to improve the quality of family life. Furthermore, we developed an urban farming motivation questionnaire to expand the empirical research on urban farming in relation to psychological factors. To choose people who are interested in participating in an urban farming project, this questionnaire might be used as a screening tool. To stimulate a greater number of young people and adolescents to participate in this project, the Malaysian Department of Agriculture should expand the reach of its urban farming campaign. It is also suggested that the Malaysian Department of Agriculture reassess the eligibility standards for applications to urban farming development programmes in light of the changes in the family socioeconomic status following the COVID-19 epidemic. It is recommended that the Malaysian Department of Agriculture make an online application link available to PPR residents to encourage more of them to apply for urban agriculture projects. As a result, the application process would be quicker and more effective for all stakeholders.

Challenges and future direction

The sustainability of urban farming is a concern that has to be addressed since urban poor farmers not only need their complete dedication and engagement but also financial assistance from many sources. Giving them seeds and fertiliser is really quite important for them to maintain the urban farming initiative, so financial support does not always have to come in the form of cash. To show support for the recipients of financial aid and to guarantee the project’s success, it is also essential to continually monitor them. The emphasis placed on the advantages and contributions of urban farming projects to the family and community economy needs to shift the perspective of those involved in these programmes so that it is not simply considered to be a pastime, but an endeavour that may also be carried out full-time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study affirms that fear of COVID-19, resilience, and urban farming motivation are positively correlated with life satisfaction, in which life satisfaction is viewed as a key factor for encouraging urban farming. The results also highlight the importance of urban farming motivation in connection to life satisfaction. The results of this study can be used as a reference by other researchers who are interested in studying fear of COVID-19, resilience, and urban farming motivation among the Malaysian urban poor; however, more research should be conducted on this topic among children and adolescents, as this will improve the understanding of other protective factors for increasing the life satisfaction of urban poor by exploring their resilience and motivation.

Ethical approval

This present study obtained ethical approval from the University of Malaya Research Ethics Committee (Ethics reference number UM.TNC2/UMREC_1213). All the investigative methods were executed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations and informed consent was obtained from all the respondents.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Author contributions

NBAK and NAI developed the conceptual ideas. RHM and LMJ collected data. LMJ did the analysis under the supervision of NBAK, RHM, and NAI. LMJ wrote the manuscript. NBAK and RHM reviewed and edited.

Acknowledgements

We extend our gratitude to all the participants for assisting us in this research project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Long-Term Research Grant Scheme (LRGS, grant number LRGS/1/2019/UKM-UM/5/3), which is funded by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Universiti Malaya.

Notes on contributors

Ming Jie Lim

Ming Jie Lim is an MPhil candidate at the Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia under the supervision of Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir, Rusyda Helma Mohd, and Noor Azina Ismail. Her current research focuses on urban farming. This study is part of her MPhil project, which aims to understand the challenges and opportunities of urban farming initiatives postpandemic and promote psychological well-being and socio-economic resilience.

Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir

Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her research interests span the disciplines of health psychology and positive youth development. Her current research areas focus on adolescence well-being, family dynamics, women’s empowerment, vulnerability factors contributing to depression, adult attachment styles, and depression.

Rusyda Helma Mohd

Rusyda Helma Mohd is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She was awarded with a Ph.D. from The University of Western Australia in 2021 and her research interest is on proactive safety behavior among young workers. She published in indexed journals such as the Malaysian Journal of Communication, Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, Frontiers in Psychology, and many more. She also published books from renowned publishers such as Penerbit Universiti Malaya, Penerbit Universiti Malaysia Pahang, and Penerbit Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia.

Noor Azina Ismail

Noor Azina Ismail is a Professor in the Department of Decision Science at the Universiti Malaya. Her specific methodological interests are hierarchical modelling, structural equation modelling, Bayesian statistics, and mixture models.