Sense of coherence, life stress, and psychological distress: a prospective methodological inquiry.
Antonovsky (1987) has proposed the Sense of Coherence (SOC) as a global perceptual predisposition in responding to life stress. Composed of comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness, this construct has been associated with more adaptive coping in previous cross-sectional studies. This prospective study (N = 95) investigated the association of SOC (assessed by Antonovsky's measure) with life stress and symptoms. SOC was correlated negatively with life stress and symptoms and appeared to mitigate the impact of life stress. SOC was not found to be a buffer variable. Implications of these findings are presented, as are methodological issues that concern Antonovsky's measure.
Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, MA 02139.
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Flannery
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GJ
Flannery
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011340:Problem Solving; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values