Salutogenesis: Sense of Coherence in Childhood and Families

Abstract

In this chapter on salutogenesis and sense of coherence (SOC) in families and children, the authors deal with the contributions of children’s environments to the adjustment of children with typical development, and the development of children with special needs. The authors report on their comprehensive literature review covering 20 years of research and 44 studies from 15 countries, including children from infants and toddlers through preschool to school-aged children up to 12 years of age.

Kindergarten children’s reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic: Creating a sense of coherence

“…Therefore, instead of the usual result of emotional resources being processed to arrive at some positive meaning, the children are being blocked from locating their sources of strength in dealing with the unique crisis of the pandemic. This corresponds to findings of previous research regarding the emotional state of children at the time of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Imran et al, 2020 ; Jiao et al, 2020 ) and to a previous finding on children and SOC ( Idan et al, 2022 : 123–139).…”

“…As such, our breakdown of the children’s reaction to the pandemic into their sense of its manageability, comprehensibility, and meaning aligns with a strand of research that uses the salutogenic approach ( Bauer et al, 2020 ; Mana and Sagy, 2020 ). The salutogenic approach has been found to be a useful tool in analyzing children’s reactions as well ( Einberg et al., 2015 ; Idan et al., 2022 : 123–139; Mittelmark et al, 2017 ). The novelty of the current research is that its content analysis of children’s interviews reveals that the salutogenic approach is also useful for kindergarten children in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…The research population consisted of 130 children ranging in age from 5 to 6 years old (M = 5.6), with an equal number of boys and girls, as these are the ages of the older children in the kindergartens and the youngest suitable age for SOC research ( Idan et al., 2022 : 123–139). All of the participants were born in Israel, speak Hebrew as their native language (the main language in Israel), and belong to families with two to three children (M = 2.6).…”

“…Conducting research with children as subjects entails a host of methodological and ethical barriers. Children have difficulty sharing their feelings in a clear way and understanding that they can stop the interview at any point in time ( Alter, 2022 ; Christensen and James, 2017 ; Flewitt, 2005 ; Idan et al., 2022 : 123–139; Pascal and Bertram, 2009 ; Smith, 2011 ). Idan et al (2022 : 123–139) found, based on a systematic internet search of young children and SOC, 37 studies from 14 countries in which kindergarten children were interviewed regarding their SOC.…”

“…Children have difficulty sharing their feelings in a clear way and understanding that they can stop the interview at any point in time ( Alter, 2022 ; Christensen and James, 2017 ; Flewitt, 2005 ; Idan et al., 2022 : 123–139; Pascal and Bertram, 2009 ; Smith, 2011 ). Idan et al (2022 : 123–139) found, based on a systematic internet search of young children and SOC, 37 studies from 14 countries in which kindergarten children were interviewed regarding their SOC. The studies demonstrated that for those kindergarten children with a sufficient SOC, it served as a substantial protective mechanism for their normal development as opposed to children who lacked such an SOC, whose development was at risk.…”