Running head: THE EFFECTS OF COMMUTE TIMES

The Effects of Commute Times to School on Stress Levels in Graduate Students

Nick Druzinski, Galileo Basilio, Peter Wallace, and Jesse Vallera
Touro University Nevada

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Introduction

In this study, we examined commute times to school and its effect on graduate students
stress levels. We hypothesized that longer commute times would increase students stress levels.
University students identify perceived stressors as those relating to lack of sleep, demands of
school, finances, social demands and commute to school (Zajacova, 2005). By gaining
knowledge of each of these stressors, specifically commute time, will allow researchers to
identify why commute times affect stress levels. This is significant to the field of research
because it would reduce individuals stress levels and commute times impact on stress. There is
growing evidence to suggest that driver stress is influenced by stressors experienced in other life
contexts that accumulate and transfer over to the driving environment (Burns & Rotton, 2004).
Stress can lead to many negative factors including heart disease, depression, diabetes, and
obesity. This study is the first to look at commute times and stress levels in graduate students at
Touro University.
Methods
For this statistical study, we obtained a convenience sample through the distribution of
two surveys at Touro University. The graduate students at Touro University were selected with a
sample of n=32, however, 3 participants dropped out due to several projects being conducted
simultaneously. We chose a non-experimental correlational design to determine the relationship
between commute times to school and perceived stress. Additionally, in order to determine stress
scores, the Perceived Stress Scale was used (See Appendix 2). In order to track the participants
commute times to school, we created a log sheet for the participants that allowed for
documentation of times (See Appendix 1).

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Results
The information of participants encompassed a total of thirty-two 2016 Touro Graduate
students (2 Males, 30 Females, age: M = 26.1, range: 21-47 years). Students were recruited via
verbal announcement in the MSL classroom during Dr. Costas Introduction to Research and
Quantitative Statistics class. Participants were recruited for a period of one week, beginning
September 17th and ending September 24th. We recruited participants using a convenience
sample. This method was selected because of the participants convenient accessibility and
proximity to the researchers. Using this sample allowed for faster gathering of data. All
participants involved in this study consented to complete the Perceived Stress Scale, as well as
the commute log to the best of their possible.
The mean commute time (in minutes) of all the participants was 17.1, and the mean score
of all the participants was 19.8. The two groups were created based on how long their commute
time was. The first group of individuals consisted of those who commuted for 20 minutes or
more (group 1), and the other group consisted of those whose commuted less than 20 minutes
(group 2). Group 1 consisted of nine people, and group 2 consisted of 20 people. Three subjects
dropped out of the study due to the vast amount of research projects being conducted. Group 1
had a mean score of 22.2 and a mean time of 33.1. Group 2 had a mean score of 18.7 and a mean
time of 9.95. Group 1 participants exhibited higher stress levels than participants in Group 2.
Figure 1 shows the mean statistical significance of stress scores between the two groups. A twosample t-test for unequal variance was conducted to compare perceived stress in commute times
under twenty minutes and commute times of over twenty minutes conditions. Refer to table 1 for
more results of the two-sample t-test. There was no significant difference in the under twenty

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minute commute (M=18.74, SD=6.72) and over twenty minute commute (M=22.22, SD=0.84)
conditions; t (8) =1.86, p = 0.14. These results suggest that commute time does not have a
significant effect on perceived stress. Our hypothesis that longer commute times to school would
increase stress levels in graduate students at Touro University was inadequate. Even though the
students who drove the longest periods of time reported higher stress scores (scores of 20 or
more), our data was inconclusive. However, students who had commute times of 15 minutes or
less reported lower scores (average of 13), which we expected. Stress scores were calculated by
using the Perceived Stress Scale.
The Perceived Stress Scale is a 10 item list rated on a 5-point scale. This scale is used to
measure the degree to which a person feels stressed. The minimum score a person can have is
zero, and the maximum is 40. Scores around 13 are considered average. Scores of 20 or higher
are considered high stress (Cohen, 1983).
Discussion
We wanted to see the relationship between commute time and perceived stress in a
population of graduate students. In order to closely examine the two constructs we measured,
our group used the Perceived Stress Scale to measure the 32 students amount of stress with
respect to commute time. This measure allowed us to explore in further detail the degree to
which situations in ones life are appraised as stressful (i.e. commute time). When looking at
previous studies, there have been significant correlations between commute time and perceived
stress. According to the Gottholmseder study, they used many other variables as well in regards
to commuting time, stress, health problems, and economic costs, We find that several
dimensions of the commuting situation such as impedance, control and predictability of
commuting significantly influence the perceived stress level (Gottholmseder, 2008). This has

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interesting implications to understand how stressors interact with the time used when
driving. According to Hennessy (2008), the environment of commuting is a context that has
shown to raise stress levels in drivers. Some conditions or stimuli that may be associated with
driving include bad weather, slow moving vehicles, and traffic congestion. Reducing stress is
crucial because having increased levels of stress can cause cardiovascular disease and obesity
(Lambiase, 2010). The evidence was not significant to determine a precise correlation. Even
though there was a significant difference in mean scores between groups, we cannot determine
whether stress levels are affected by commute times.
Recommendations for Future Research
Further work is required to gain a better understanding of commute times and their effect
on stress levels. Studies that are looking to examine commute times effects on stress levels
should consider recruiting a larger number of participants. With a larger sample size, future
research will be able to produce more accurate results, as compared to ours. In addition, when
deciding to recruit participants, researchers should try to recruit men and women equally. With
an equal gender number, researchers will be able to see differences in stress levels between men
and women.
Limitations
We were limited during this study because we were only allowed to work within the 2015
and 2016 Occupational Therapy cohorts at Touro University. Another limitation that affected our
study was gender. Out of the 32 participants in our sample, 30 were women. According to the
stress scale, women have a higher perceived stress score than men with a score of 13.7 compared
to 12.1 (Cohen, 1983). Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain affected by major events,

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such as social and environmental factors. Taking this information into consideration, this could
have skewed our participants stress scores as well.

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References

Burns, T., & Rotton, J. (2004). Development of the Sphere Overlap Scale (SOS). Paper presented
at the annual convention of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
Chicago, IL.
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress.
Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 386-396.
Gottholmseder, G., Nowotny, K., Pruckner, G. J., & Theurl, E. (2009). Stress perception and
commuting.Health Economics, 18(5), 559-576. doi: 10.1002/hec.1389.
Hennessy, D. A. (2008). The Impact of Commuter Stress on Workplace Aggression. Journal of
Applied Social Psychology, 38(9), 2315-2335. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00393.x.
Lambiase, M. J., Barry, H. M., & Roemmich, J. N. (2010). Effect of a simulated active commute
to school on cardiovascular stress reactivity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise,
42(8), 1609-1616. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181d0c77b.
Zajacova, A., Lynch, S. M., & Espenshade, T. J. (2005). Self-Efficacy, Stress, and Academic
Success in College. Research in Higher Education, 46(6), 677-706. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-4139-z.

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Figure 1. Mean stress score differences between group 1 and group 2.

Table 1. Results of the two-sample t-test.

<20
>20
minut minut
es
es
Mean
18.74
22.22
Variance
9.32
47.98
Observations
20.00
9.00
df
8.00
t Stat
-1.13
P(T<=t) one-tail
0.14
t Critical one-tail
1.86
P(T<=t) two-tail
0.29
t Critical two-tail
2.31
t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Unequal Variances

Appendix 1

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Log of Commute Time to School

Name:
Date

Amount of Time (minutes)

Appendix 2

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