Public Transportation Use, Sexual Harassment, and Mental Health in Adults from the General Population: A Bayesian Network Analysis

Background: Public transportation is one of the primary modes of mobility in urban environments, but it has also become a setting where sexual harassment frequently occurs. This situation not only compromises users’ safety but also has a significant impact on mental health. The objective of the study is to analyze the relationship between public transportation use, sexual harassment, and mental health through directed and undirected network analyses. Methods: This was an associative, basic, quantitative, and cross-sectional study. A total of 507 Peruvian adults (66.7% women) participated by completing a sociodemographic questionnaire and using psychological instruments. A Gaussian graphical model and a directed acyclic graph were used to estimate the networks, including assessments of precision and stability. Results: Results indicated that in the undirected network, public transportation use was associated with sexual harassment and anger. The central symptoms were generalized anxiety and depression. In the directed network, public transportation use influenced both sexual harassment and generalized anxiety. Furthermore, distress and sexual harassment emerged as conditionally dependent on multiple psychological factors. Conclusions: The findings suggest that implementing preventive and psychosocial intervention strategies in the context of public transportation may reduce experiences of sexual harassment and the manifestation of other mental health problems among adults in the general population, thereby promoting safer and healthier public environments.