Several studies have focused on the effects of social capital on mental health. In recent years, systematic reviews using cross-sectional data have revealed that social capital is an important factor in the prevention of mental illness [1,2]. Additionally, a prospective study showed that a low level of social capital increases the prevalence of depression [3,4]. Social capital is thought to positively affect mental health by strengthening social ties and networks in the community [5]. Based on our previous studies in Japanese rural communities, we hypothesize that festivals have a positive effect on the mental health of residents by strengthening social ties within their community [6-8]. In festivals of Japan, one can always find booths selling souvenirs and food such as takoyaki, and games, such as Goldfish scooping and other forms of entertainments often organized in conjunction with festival.

There are also several studies that examine the sociological aspects of festivals. Festivals have significant economic, socio-cultural, and political impacts on the community [9]. By increasing revenue and providing employment, festivals have brought positive economic effects to the communities that celebrate them [10,11]. By encouraging citizens to participate in the development and execution of festival activities as a part of the shared life of the community, festivals have a positive impact on the local social and cultural climate [12]. However, the traffic congestion, vandalism, overcrowding, and increased crime that accompany the events may confer negative sociocultural influences in the community [10].

Two effects are to be considered when examining the effects of festivals on mental health: the effect of festival attendance, and the effect of people’s acknowledgement of the festival. First, festival attendance may increase both physical and mental exertion at the time of the festival, leading to decreased psychological distress. Second, the cognitive aspect of festivals, i.e., how people integrate festivals in their daily lives, may mitigate psychological distress by reminding them of the excitement of previous events. In this study, we focused on the cognitive effects of festivals, how people integrate festival in their daily lives, because people’s acknowledgement that a festival is taking place seems to be more associated with mental health than attending in the festival. However, the association between festivals and mental health has not yet been investigated from a public health perspective. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether people’s observance of festivals was associated with psychological distress in a rural Japanese community.

Table 1 displays the demographic characteristics of the participants. Of the 11,649 residents who returned questionnaires, 8729 (74.9%) gave complete answers for all variables included in the logistic regression analysis. The mean age was 59.4 years (SD = 10.0), and 11.9% of respondents were classified as having high psychological distress. Most of the respondents felt a sense of reciprocity and trust (30.2% selecting “Always”, and 52.3% selecting “Often”) and had a sense of attachment to their community (33.8% selecting “Always”, and 51.8% selecting “Often”).

There was a positive correlation between a sense of reciprocity and trust and a sense of attachment to the community (Spearman’s ρ = 0.49). There was a positive correlation between sense of reciprocity and trust and festival observance (Spearman’s ρ = 0.20). There was a positive correlation between sense of attachment to the community and festival observance (Spearman’s ρ = 0.17).

Table 2 shows the distributions of psychological distress by demographic characteristics and social capital. Women, younger age, lower education levels, respondents who reported less social capital, and respondents who reported that their communities do not hold festivals