Does mental health influence commuters’ mode choice? A cross-sectional assessment from the Netherlands

J Liu*, D Ettema, M Helbich

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Background
People's mental health may play a role in influencing their travel behaviors; however, few studies have quantified the association between mental health and commuting mode choice.
Objective
This study examined 1) how mental health is associated with commute mode choice and 2) whether gender differences exist.
Data and methods
We used cross-sectional data from a population-representative sample of 7,280 adults aged 18–65 from the Netherlands. We applied multilevel multinomial logit regression models to investigate the associations between commuting mode choice and self-perceived mental health controlled for multiple person-level and built environmental characteristics. We also assessed possible effect modification by gender.
Results
Our covariate-adjusted regression results based on the entire sample showed no compelling evidence for an association between self-perceived mental health and commute mode choice. While we found null associations between mental health and commute mode choice for women, stratified analyses showed that men with relatively poorer mental health were likelier to commute via bus/tram.
Conclusion
Our cross-sectional findings weakly support the notion that men's mental health may be related to commute mode choice and no such relationship was found for women. However, we advocate more research before ruling out the possibility of complex interactions between mental health and commuting behavior.
Original languageEnglish
Article number101964
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Transport and Health
Volume40
Early online date1 Dec 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors

Keywords

  • Built environment
  • Commute mode choice
  • Gender differences
  • Mental health

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