It is clear from this portrait of commuting behavior that Southern Californians have created a commuting culture in which spending an hour or more per day on the road is accepted as a fact of life. Furthermore, the rising trend of commuters driving alone suggests that this characteristic of Southern California life is unlikely to change any time soon. Commuters in Southern California generally indicate satisfaction with their commute, giving an average satisfaction rating of 6.6 on a scale from one (low satisfaction) to nine (high satisfaction). In fact, 38% of the respondents rate their satisfaction level as either eight or nine.   Only 5% offer a rating of one or two (Rossetti & Eversole, 1993).

Commuting Behavior in Los Angeles County and Ventura County

            The nature of commuting behavior in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties can be appreciated against the backdrop of national trends. In 1985, the Joint Center for Political Studies reported that the national average travel time for workers in and near cities was 22.5 minutes (JCPS, 1985; Koslowsky, Kluger, & Reich, 1995). Workers with private vehicles spent about half as much time on a one way work trip (21.1 minutes) as compared to workers using public transportation (42.2 minutes).

In contrast, the average one-way commute time for workers in Los Angeles County was 32 minutes. The average for the entire Los Angeles region is slightly higher at 33.5 minutes. Ventura County commuters spend 29.5 minutes in one way commutes. The vast majority of commuters drive alone in private automobiles. Nearly a fourth of these commuters make stops on their way to work and a third of them make stops on the way home. These stops add to average times just stated. Women drive an average of 14 miles one-way and spend an average of 60 minutes for their total round trip commute, not including stops along the way. Men drive an average of 18.5 miles one-way and spend an average of 72 minutes for their round trip commute, not including stops to or from work.

            Commuter Transportation Services (1994) found that in Los Angles County commuters spend an average of 64 minutes per day driving. In adjacent Ventura County, commuters spend an average of 59 minutes in their travel to and from work.   Because most drivers are alone in their cars during their commute, it is reasonable to assume that the daily commute adds to the hours of the day in which they are separated from their children. How should the emotional consequences of commuting be conceptualized?

The Nature and Effects of Commuting Stress

Stress Versus Strain

Analysis and review of studies pertaining to the nature and effects of the commuting experience are subject to less confusion if a distinction is made between stress and strain (Koslowsky et al., 1995). Under the influential stress model of Selye (1976), the term stress refered to a syndrome of human responses, thus blurring the distinction between external or situational stressors and the subjective or physiological response of the organism. To enhance conceptual clarity, we refer to commuting stress as the environmental variables which are presumed to cause strain on the commuter. Stress is the stimulus while strain is the response side of the commuting experience. Both have objective and subjective components (Koslowsky et al., 1995).

More specifically, the long commute of parents may be measured in terms of time spent on the road or distance traveled. This is an objective stressor for the parents. How this affects them emotionally and behaviorally is the strain of the commuting experience. Situational and environmental stressors (i.e., “stress”) are the source of the effects on the person (i.e., “strain”). For example, a 90 mile commute is a stressor which may produce in the parent the strains of irritability, fatigue, or a decrease in responsiveness to children’s needs. In the present study, “stress” is used to encompass the objective stressors which are conceptualized as producing an effect of strain.

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