Objectives Driving cessation is a major life transition for older adults with practical and psychological impacts. The core question of this review was: What are mental health outcomes of driving cessation for older people?

Design This systematic review is reported according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane, Scopus and EMBASE databases were searched systematically. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies were included. Setting, Participants, Measures for included studies were extracted and reported.

Results Over 6000 papers were identified and 42 included in the review. Driving cessation was significantly related to a range of mental health outcomes including depression and depressive symptoms, anxiety and anxiety symptoms, general mental health, and stress and distress. Moderators of mental health outcomes in quantitative studies reviewed included social engagement, sense of control, available transportation and time since cessation. Findings from qualitative studies indicated that driving cessation involved experiences of loss and grief, a process rather than a single event, acute adjustments and intense emotions, and potential for becoming stuck. Synthesized findings suggested that providing support for preparation and adjustment, as well as monitoring mental health outcomes, is essential, with successful adjustment being possible.

Conclusions Driving cessation is a very individual process; mental health outcomes appear influenced by person-related factors, their resources, and their community setting (including transportation availability and social networks). Future research focusing on expanded depth and breadth of measurement of mental health outcomes following driving cessation, with greater focus on mechanisms, is needed.