How do social activities mitigate informal caregivers’ psychological distress? Evidence from a nine-year panel survey in Japan

BACKGROUND: It is well known that informal caregiving negatively affects caregivers’ mental health, while social activities improve mental health outcomes among middle-aged and elderly individuals. The goal of the present study was to examine how participation in social activities affected the trajectory of an informal caregiver’s psychological distress. METHODS: We used the data from a nationwide nine-wave panel survey of the middle-aged individuals (aged 50–59 years at baseline) in Japan conducted in 2005–13 (N = 24,193 individuals;12,352 women and 11,841 men), mainly focusing on the respondents beginning to provide informal caregiving during the survey period. We employed linear mixed-effects models to explain how the trajectory of psychological distress, measured by Kessler 6 (K6) scores, was associated with caregiving commencement and duration, as well as social activity participation. RESULTS: Participation in social activities was associated with mitigated K6 scores at caregiving commencement by 66.2 and 58.2 % for women and men, respectively. After caregiving started, participation in social activities reduced the average rise in K6 scores, per year, by 65.6 and 89.6 % for women and men, respectively. We observed similar results when focusing on participation before caregiving commencement to avoid endogeneity problems. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that participation in social activities can alleviate caregivers’ psychological distress. Policy measures to support social activities are recommended for the health and well-being of current and potential caregivers.