Conclusions
The present research investigated behavioral changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic among Japanese people using a free-response survey, in which participants described their frequently performed behaviors. The results revealed that the pandemic altered various daily behaviors, but people’s demography, which in part determines their lifestyles, moderated the impact. It also highlighted some behaviors that are not yet scrutinized by past research (e.g., housework and leisure activities) and suggested that changes in those activities could negatively influence people’s mental health. The current results demonstrated that detailed examinations of the behavior change by different demographics effectively reveal how the pandemic impacts people’s mental health in different backgrounds.