Commuting Stress: Causes, Effects, and Methods of Coping

241 Pages·1995·25.39 MB·English

by  Meni Koslowsky

Commuting Stress
Causes, Effects, and Methods of Coping
The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping
Series Editor:
Donald Meichenbaum, University of Waterloo. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Editorial Board: Bruce P. Dohrenwend, Columbia University • Marianne Frankenhauser,
University of Stockholm· Norman Garmezy, University of Minnesota· Mardi]. Horowitz,
University of California Medical Schoo~ San Francisco • Richard S. Lazarus, University of
California, Berkeley. Michael Rutter, University of London· Dennis C. Turk, University of
Pittsburgh. John P. Wilson, Cleveland State University. Camille Wortman, University of
Michigan
Current Volumes in the Series:
BEYOND TRAUMA
Cultural and Societal Dynamics
Edited by Rolf]. Kleber, Charles R. Figley, and Berthold P. R. Gersons
COMBAT STRESS REACTION
The Enduring Toll of War
Zahava Solomon
COMMUTING STRESS
Causes, Effects, and Methods of Coping
Meni Koslowsky, Avraham N. Kluger. and Mordechai Reich
COPING WITH WAR-INDUCED STRESS
The Gulf War and the Israeli Response
Zahava Solomon
INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF TRAUMATIC STRESS SYNDROMES
Edited by John P. Wilson and Beverley Raphael
PSYCHOTRAUMATOLOGY
Key Papers and Core Concepts in Post-Traumatic Stress
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STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH
Contemporary Issues and Prospects for the Future
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TRAUMATIC STRESS
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Cotnmuting Stress
Causes, Effects, and Methods of Coping
Meni Koslowsky
Bar-Ilan University
Ramat Can, Israel
Avraham N. Kluger
The Hebrew University ofj erusalem
jerusalem, Israel
and
Mordechai Reich
Private Practice
Efrat. Israel
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
On file
ISBN 978-1-4757-9767-1 ISBN 978-1-4757-9765-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-9765-7
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1995
Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1995
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1995
109 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or
otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
To my wife Sandy, a woman of valor in deed and in
time of need
-MK
To my late aunt Anna Forster
-ANK
To my wife Serna, navigator par excellence, and our beloved
backseat drivers Betzalel, Nechama, Shalom, and Meira
-MR
Preface
Several people have asked what motivated us to write a book about commut
ing, something that we all do but over which we have very little control. As a
matter of fact, the general reaction from professional colleagues and friends
alike was first a sort of knowing smile followed by some story. Everyone has a
story about a personal commuting experience. Whether it was a problem with
a delayed bus, a late arrival, broken-down automobiles, hot trains or subways,
during the past year we have heard it all. Many of these stories must be
apocryphal because, if they were all true, it is amazing that anyone ever
arrived at work on time, at home, or at some other destination.
The interest for us likely stems from many factors that over the years
have probably influenced our thinking. All of the authors studied and/or
grew up in the New York City metropolitan area. For illustration, let's
devote a few paragraphs to describing some of the senior author's
(Koslowsky's) life experiences. As a young man in New York City, he was a
constant user of the New York City subway system. The whole network was
and still is quite impressive. For a relatively small sum, one can spend the
whole day and night in an underground world (growing up in New York
often makes one think that the whole world is contained in its five
boroughs). It is not unusual to wonder who are those passengers who get
on only after 2:00 in the morning, or appear to be constantly rushing
hither and yon on the subway platform. However, when the subway
stopped being a diversion and was needed to get to class on time or to
work by 9:00 in the morning, the stressor stimuli and strain responses were
suddenly there. The rider's romance with the subways waned, disappeared,
and finally turned to frustration; a move away from the city to the suburbs
was a relief. The change in living areas was, at least, partially motivated by
the desire to say "good riddance" to the subways.
vii
viii PREFACE
At first, the new mode of transportation, the Long Island Rail Road
(LIRR), seemed a welcome change. The LIRR was cleaner, less crowded,
and certainly provided a smoother ride; it appeared that a solution to the
hassled commuter's traveling requirements was now available. However,
frequency of service and, most important of all, punctuality left much to
be desired. As a matter of fact, the governor of the state once made an
announcement that things would improve and the trains would begin
arriving on time. To tell the truth, they did change, and the image of the
railroad, although never wonderful, did become much better over the
years. Although the blizzards in the Northeast during the winter of 1994
were somewhat of a setback contributing to a new set of stories, there is
little doubt that the LIRR affords a more pleasant commute than the
subways. By the time the stormy weather of 1994 was at its peak, of course,
all three authors were living in Israel.
For comparison purposes, it is interesting to examine the situation in
Israel over the past two decades. When the senior author moved to Jerusalem
in the early 1980s, everything was, at first, much calmer and slower paced than
in New York. Less honking, more smoothly flowing traffic, even parking not
far from the center of the city was possible. But slowly, the situation began to
change in Jerusalem too. By the early 1990s, it looked and sounded very much
like New York. Even the pride and joy of the country, the bus system, was
starting to deteriorate on several objective measures.
For all three authors, the message from somewhat overlapping life
experiences was pretty much the same. Commuting in urban areas is one
of life's daily hassles and is likely to have some type of negative
consequence-immediate, intermediate, or long-term. Combining life
experiences, formal education, and professional practices as lecturers,
consultants, and clinicians, we conceived the idea of writing this book as
an outgrowth of discussions between the senior author and each of his
coauthors over several years. The two junior authors worked hard on
different parts of the book, particularly the chapters describing demo
graphics, individual coping, and the physical consequences of commuting.
The senior author integrated much of the material from the various
sources and used this material for developing the model describing the
links between stressor and strain.
The varied industrial and clinical backgrounds of the authors give the
book a unique perspective. We have tried to adequately cover the rather
limited research, especially as compared to other topics in the stress
literature. In addition, a model using structural equation techniques to
represent the various stages that lead from the antecedent variables to
consequences was presented. Finally, a substantial part of the book is
devoted to a discussion of coping techniques that may help to make the
commute a more tolerable experience.
Contents
Chapter 1. The Commuting Experience ................................ 1
Professionals in the Field ............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2
The Commuting Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4
Defining the Main Variables .............................................. 6
Mediator and Moderator Variables ....................................... 8
Stressors, Strain, and Organizational Behavior ......................... 11
Selye's Theory of Stress ........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11
Psychosocial Factors and Stress ....................................... 12
Coping with Stress ..................................................... 13
Back to Commuting and Stress ....................................... 14
Commuting and Organizational Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 14
Summary ................................................................. 16
Chapter 2. Travel and Mobility .....•........•..•..•.•....•••..••••••.. 17
The GAO Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 18
The Roads That Take Us Home ......................................... 19
The JCPS Report: The Journey to Work ................................ 20
Workers in the Central City ........................................... 21
How Long Does It Take to Get to Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21
Commuter Flows and Transportation Modes ................. . . . . . .. 23
Household Demographics and Mode of Transportation ............ 24
The Transportation Disadvantaged ................................... 26
Age and the Work Trip ................................................ 29
Gender and the Work Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 29
ix
x CONTENTS
The Pisarski Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 31
A Case Study: Seattle Commuting Behavior ............................ 33
European Travel Behavior ............................................... 35
Chapter 3. Environmental Factors and Commuting Stress •..•...•... 37
Commuting as an Environmental Stressor ............................. 38
Responsivity to Chronic Environmental Stress ......................... 39
Noise ................................................................... 40
Crowding ............................................................... 45
Other Environmental Variables ....................................... 49
Stress, Commuting, and Burnout ....................................... 53
Combining the Effects of Stressors ...................................... 56
A Stressor Is Not Always a Stressor ...................................... 57
Summary ................................................................. 58
Chapter 4. Commuting and Physical Symptoms •.....•............... 61
Research on the Effects of Commuting on Physical Well-Being ....... 62
Commuting and General Physiological Indicators ................... 62
Car Driving and Back Problems ................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 63
Commuting and Cardiovascular Risks ................................ 66
Commuting and Cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 69
Health Implications of Commuting ..................................... 71
Special Problems of People Working in Transportation ............... 71
Long-Distance Truckers ............................................... 73
Railroad Engineers .................................................... 73
Solutions for Various Physical Problems ................................ 74
A Methodological Note .................................................. 76
Chapter 5. Behavioral, Emotional, and Attitudinal Effects
of Commuting ...•........•......•..........•..........•.•• 79
Commuting and Organizational Behavior .............................. 81
Absenteeism ........................................................... 81
Lateness ................................................................ 82
Turnover ............................................................... 83
Performance ........................................................... 84
Attitudinal and Emotional Behavior .................................... 84
Moderators and Intervening Variables .................................. 88