Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (3): 713-719.

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The Effect of Commuting Time on Mental Health: The Perspective of Better Life

1,Jun-Xiu WANG2   

  1. 1. University of Chinese Academy of Social Science(Graduate Shcool)
    2.
  • Received:2019-11-13 Revised:2020-04-23 Online:2021-05-20 Published:2021-05-20
  • Contact: Jun-Xiu WANG

通勤时间对心理健康的影响:基于美好生活的视角

苗瑞凯1,王俊秀2   

  1. 1. 中国社会科学院大学(研究生院)
    2. 中国社会科学院
  • 通讯作者: 王俊秀

Abstract: As the city expanding, commuting time is getting longer. According to the "2018 China Urban Commuting Research Report", the commuting time in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have exceeded one hour. As a limited resource, the shortage of time inevitably makes people feel pressure, which adversely affect the psychosocial adaptation. The effect of commuting time on mental health has become a growing focus for researchers. However, the underlying mechanism has not been studied systematically. In recent years, the Party and the government have paid more and more attention to the better life of people. Better life is closely related to people's mental health. The current assessment of better life is, on the one hand, better life experience of the current living conditions, and on the other hand, the needs for better life in people's ideals. As a daily activity that connects family and work, Changes in commuting time are often accompanied by changes in leisure time, which are closely related to the better life experience and needs of the people. Therefore, this study intended to explore the internal effect of commuting time on mental health from the perspective of better life. This study not only helped to understand the better life of people, but also provided a reference for the government to formulate plans and policies to safeguard the physical and mental health of the people. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence mechanism of commuting time on mental health. Totally 4,199 people (2923men, mean age=30.24 years, SD=7.40) were surveyed using the questionnaire survey APP “Survey Baby”. Participants anonymously completed Commuting Time Scale, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales(DASS-21; 21items,three factors: Depression, Anxiety and Stress; α=.96), Better Life Experience Scale(BLES; 28items, three factors: National society, Personal material and Family relations; α=.96) and Better Life Needs Scale(BLNS; 28items, three factors: National society, Personal material and Family relations; α=.98). All the measures showed good reliability and validity in the present study. The results indicated that: (1) Commuting time, mental health, better life experience and better life needs were significantly correlated with each other; (2) Better life experience played a mediating role between commuting time and mental health; (3) Better life needs could not only significantly moderate the relationship between commuting time and better life experience, but also significantly moderate the relationship between better life experience and mental health. These findings revealed the relationship between commuting time and mental health from the perspective of better life. In addition, the research findings could provide some available suggestions for improving people's better life experience and mental health. Firstly, it is beneficial to reduce commuting time. The government and transportation departments should take effective measures to solve the traffic problems. Secondly, it is important to help people improve the level of better life needs. The hope of better life in the future will provide individuals with strong motivation to adopt more healthy behaviors to maintain their physical and mental health.

Key words: commuting time, mental health, better life experience, better life needs

摘要: 为探讨通勤时间对民众心理健康的影响,以及美好生活体验的中介作用与美好生活需要的调节作用,对4199名居民进行问卷调查,结果显示:(1)通勤时间、心理健康、美好生活体验、美好生活需要等两两显著相关;(2)美好生活体验在通勤时间与心理健康间起中介作用;(3)美好生活需要对通勤时间与美好生活体验的关系以及美好生活体验与心理健康的关系均起调节作用,具体来说,高美好生活需要不仅可以降低通勤时间对美好生活体验的负向影响,还可以增强美好生活体验对心理健康的正向影响。

关键词: 通勤时间, 心理健康, 美好生活体验, 美好生活需要