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

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  • Xize Wang

    (National University of Singapore)

  • Tao Liu

    (Peking University)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Xize Wang & Tao Liu, 2022. "The Roads One Must Walk Down: Commute and Depression for Beijing's Residents," Papers 2207.07990, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2207.07990
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wang, Donggen & Yang, Min, 2023. "Gendered mobility and activity pattern: implications for gendered mental health," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).

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