Percezione dello stress dapendolarismo negli studentiuniversitari: uno studio osservativo

The commuter’s routine is characterised by a series of discomforts and inconveniences, which in thelong term can have a negative impact on health and the quality of life. To-date, particular attentionhas been devoted to the objective stressors associated with commuting (distance travelled, journeytime); nevertheless, the crucial role played by subjective stressors, which depend on how thecommuter perceives his/her condition, is undeniable.This paper aims to describe the features of commuting in the population of University students byconsidering both objective and subjective stressor factors. An ad-hoc questionnaire was compiledonline by 2.643 commuting students registered at the University of Palermo. Four factors were assessed: Distress associated with public transport, Psycho-physical state, Perception of his/hercommuter status and Distress associated with road transport. The younger students declared thatthey perceived their commuter status more positively and reported less distress associated with roadtransport compared to the older students. No gender differences were found. Despite the fact thatthe results which emerged cannot be generalized on a national scale, this study represents the firstattempt to assess commuting stress among University students.