Psychosocial benefits and positive mood related to habitual bicycle use

Sigal Kaplan, Dagmara K. Wrzesinska, Carlo G. Prato*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study explores the relations between cycling habits, eudaimonic well-being and positive mood. Specifically, this study investigates whether cycling contributes to the formation of positive physical, social, and self-actualisation concepts, which in turn could affect the mood and well-being of travellers. A survey was administered to 1131 inhabitants of the Brisbane area in Australia to elicit their socioeconomic traits and travel habits, as well as to measure self-concepts related to self-actualisation and the relation between cycling and mood. Structural equation modelling explored the system of relations between socioeconomic characteristics, observed travel habits, and latent self-concepts. The results of this study highlight that there exists a positive relation between bicycle use, self-actualisation on physical, psychological, social and self-efficacy dimensions and positive mood. Also, the findings of this study suggest that policy implications follow: (i) active travel to school and work should be promoted as a mean to increase the eudaimonic capacity through cycling, as this is one of the most important capacities for both children and adults; (ii) improvements in cycling infrastructure would not only foster higher cycling rates, but also reduce stress for commuter cyclists; (iii) eudaimonic benefits should be included in multi-criteria and cost-benefit analyses to better grasp cycling benefits.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)342-352
Number of pages11
JournalTransportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
Volume64
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Cycling
  • Habitual bicycle use
  • Psychosocial benefits
  • Self-concepts
  • Sustainable travel modes

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