Social participation patterns are associated with distinct salutogenic and mental health profiles in older Japanese adults

Abstract Social participation is widely promoted as a key factor in healthy aging, but its configuration may matter beyond participation volume. This cross-sectional web-based study examined social participation patterns and their associations with psychosocial resources and mental health among 998 older adults in Japan. Latent class analysis identified three patterns: Low-engagement ( n = 550, 55.1%), Leisure-oriented engagement ( n = 408, 40.9%), and Broad multi-domain engagement ( n = 40, 4.0%). Covariate-adjusted BCH analyses showed that the Leisure-oriented class had a favorable psychosocial profile. The multi-domain class had the highest adjusted means for positive mental health and social well-being, although neither differed significantly from the Leisure-oriented class. Compared with the Leisure-oriented class, the multi-domain class showed lower sense of coherence, particularly comprehensibility and manageability, and higher psychological distress (|d| = 0.48). Sensitivity analyses provided partial support for this mixed profile, although class proportions and some distal-outcome contrasts varied across model specifications. These findings highlight the importance of social participation configurations beyond participation volume, revealing that favorable positive mental health can coexist with lower salutogenic orientation and elevated psychological distress relative to the Leisure-oriented profile. A person-centered approach may therefore provide a nuanced understanding of social participation and mental health in later life.