The Roads One Must Walk Down: Commute and Depression for Beijing's Residents

TL;DR

This study investigates how commute duration and mode affect depression among Beijing residents, revealing that longer commutes, especially on motorcycles, increase depression risk, with implications for policy interventions.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence linking commute time and mode to depression, highlighting direct stress effects and identifying vulnerable groups.

Findings

Every 10-minute increase in commute raises depression likelihood by 1.1%.

Motorcycle commute time has the strongest association with depression.

Older and blue-collar workers are more affected by commute-related depression.

Abstract

As a vital aspect of individual's quality of life, mental health has been included as an important component of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. This study focuses on a specific aspect of mental health: depression, and examines its relationship with commute patterns. Using survey data from 1,528 residents in Beijing, China, we find that every 10 additional minutes of commute time is associated with 1.1% higher likelihood of depression. We test for the mechanisms of the commute-depression link and find that commute is associated with depression as a direct stressor rather than triggering higher work stress. When decomposing commute time into mode-specific time, we found that time on mopeds/motorcycles has the strongest association with depression. Moreover, the commute-depression associations are stronger for older workers and blue-collar workers. Hence, policies that could reduce commute time, encourage work from home, improve job-housing balance or increase motorcyclists' safety would help promote mental health.