Title: Impact of long commute on mental health of students in mumbai
Authors: Prajwal Devadiga (0225009)
Mrigank Yadav (0225054)
Ankita Darade (0225006)
Introduction:
This research examines the impact of long commute on mental health of students. It explores the, emotional and mental challenges students face, including stress, over-crowding concerns, and effects of long commute on student’s mind. By analysing these factors, the study aims to highlight the broader effects of long commute on student’s well-being and mental health.
Objective:
To understand the phenomenon of long commute and its impact on students’ mental health and well-being.
Literature Review
1.A study by Xize Wang and Tao Liu (2022) examined the relationship between commuting time and depression among urban residents. The research used survey data from 1,528 residents in Beijing to analyze how daily commuting affects mental health. The results showed that every additional 10 minutes of commuting time increased the likelihood of depression by about 1.1%. The study concluded that commuting acts as a direct psychological stressor, leading to negative mental health outcomes such as depression and reduced well-being. The authors also suggested that reducing commuting time, improving job-housing balance, and promoting remote work could help improve mental health among workers.
2. Another study by Dayana Hazwani Mohd Suadi Nata and colleagues investigated the effects of commuting stress on workers’ mental health. The study surveyed 212 commuters in Malaysia and used the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) to measure psychological outcomes. The findings revealed that 74.5% of respondents reported that commuting negatively affected their mental health, while 82.1% experienced mental fatigue due to long commuting routines. The study also found a significant relationship between long commuting distance and higher levels of anxiety, stress, and fatigue, which can reduce work productivity and concentration.
Questions:
1. My daily commute is very long.
2. Long commuting makes me feel mentally tired.
3. Crowded transport increases my stress levels.
4. Long travel affects my mood during the day.
5. Reducing commute time would improve my mental well-being.
Data Collection:
To understand the underline issues following 5 questions where framed to be answered on likert scale. A google form was prepared and our friends from KBS where requested to fill the form which had linear scale 1 for strongly disagree and 5 for strongly agree. The data was downloaded in excel sheet 100 persons where survey for every question Mean, Standard Deviation(SD), Standard Error(SE) and T-stat were calculated.
|
Data Analysis |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Q5 |
|
Mean |
3.27 |
3.35 |
3.72 |
3.70 |
3.87 |
|
Std deviation |
1.23 |
1.21 |
1.12 |
1.14 |
0.99 |
|
SE |
0.22 |
0.22 |
0.20 |
0.20 |
0.18 |
|
T-stat |
1.23 |
1.61 |
3.59 |
3.43 |
4.93 |
|
Result |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Positive |
Positive |
Positive |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conclusion:
People are neutral towards their daily commute being long.
People are neutral towards being mentally tired from a long commute.
People are positive that long commute increases their stress levels.
People are positive that long travel affects their mood during the day.
People are positive that reducing commute time would improve their mental well-being.
Reference
1. Wang, X., & Liu, T. (2022). The Roads One Must Walk Down: Commute and Depression for Beijing’s Residents.
2. Nata, D. H. M. S., Jamil, P. A. S. M., et al. (2023). Long Commutes and Mental Fatigue Among Workers. Makara Journal of Health Research.