Few studies have considered the causal relationship between psychological distress and social participation in elderly people. Here we investigated this relationship based on an initial survey and a follow-up survey. In 2016, a survey was distributed to 86 participants. A follow-up survey of 80 of those participants was performed in 2017. We adopted the following variables: psychological distress and social participation as represented by the Kessler psychological distress scale and social participation scores, respectively. By using cross-lagged and synchronous effects models, we found that the 2016 Kessler psychological distress scale had a significant influence on the 2017 social participation scores (standardization factor=−0.221, p=0.020) and the 2017 Kessler psychological distress scale significantly influenced the 2017 social participation scores (standardization factor=−0.345, p=0.039). The results suggest that psychological distress may affect social participation one year later.