The Development of the Sense of Coherence: A Retrospective Study of Early Life Experiences in the Family

Abstract

This is an exploratory study of the relationship between three sociodemographic variables, four types of life experiences, and the development of the Sense of Coherence (SOC). The study was carried out using semi-structured life-history interviews of eighty-nine retirees whose SOC scores had been obtained in a previous study. The central research question was what kind of experiences within the family context during childhood are related to the development of the SOC. The interviews were scored on ten pre-coded variables derived from four types of life experiences which were hypothesized to shape the SOC: consistency, load balance, participation in shaping outcome, and emotional closeness. In addition, three sociodemographic variables, which were hypothesized to influence the family context by setting limits and offering opportunity for the kinds of interactions which might occur within the family, were measured: family education level, socioeconomic status, and gender. Results of the statistical analysis indicate that the most relevant childhood experience related to the adult SOC was participation in shaping outcomes. Both family education level and gender were related to SOC, directly and indirectly. Findings are discussed in terms of the salutogenic model and the historical and social context in which the interviewees grew up.

Disability and social ties: comparative findings of the CLESA study

“…The sense or meaning of life may be a mediator between active engagement (through friends and community activities) and disability (Sagy and Antonovsky 2000). In addition, embeddedness in the community may increase subjects' confidence regarding what they are able to manage in their daily life, through an increased sense of control over their lives .…”

Basal forebrain integrity and cognitive memory profile in healthy aging

“…1, Table 2). Sense of coherence is regarded as a stable disposition of personality (Antonovsky and Sagy, 1986;Sagy and Antonovsky, 2000) that serves as a major coping resource for the preservation of health. Together, these data suggest that education and economic success and low BMI are related to an improved sense of control over one's environment but have no direct impact on standard neuropsychological test scores.…”

“…As a multidimensional inventory of introspection, it assesses individual coping tendencies and distinguishes between stress-reducing (positive coping style) or stress-increasing (negative coping style) as well as mediating strategies (see Supplementary material, paragraph 2). We also acquired another individual coping resource labeled the "Sense of Coherence" (SOC) (Antonovsky, 1993), which is known to indicate a stable personality disposition that serves as a major coping resource for the preservation of health (Antonovsky and Sagy, 1986;Sagy and Antonovsky, 2000). The individual benefits of a high SOC should be the successful maintenance of personal balance and health in spite of stressful events, environmental demands, and threats (Antonovsky, 1987).…”

The Relevance of Salutogenesis to Social Issues Besides Health: The Case of Sense of Coherence and Intergroup Relations

“…In his dealing with this special issuethe origins of SOC-he expressed an interdisciplinary approach by relating to broad ranging factors like culture, social forces, social position, gender, ethnicity, genetics, or even plain luck (Benz, Bull, Mittelmark, & Vaandrager, 2014). Indeed, social factors have seldom been studied as predictors of SOC (e.g., Sagy & Antonovsky, 2000;Lam, 2007 and others). Two aspects in particular have mainly been studied: the experience of cultural integration vs. discrimination due to being part of a minority group (Ying et al, 2001), and the experience of cultural stability vs. instability (e.g., Antonovsky & Sagy, 1986).…”