Measuring sense of coherence with only three items: a useful tool for population surveys.
OBJECTIVE
Sense of Coherence is the core construct of Antonovsky's salutogenetic model. To measure Sense of Coherence, a 29-item-questionnaire (SOC-29), a shortened 13-item version, and a simplified measure of only three items (SOC-3) are available. In our study, the last was tested in terms of the psychometric properties and compared with an alternative short form derived from the SOC-29.


METHODS
Data with respect to the original SOC-29-scale, the SOC-3, and additional other health measures were collected in a representative general population survey, the German study 'Transitions in Alcohol Consumption and Smoking' (TACOS). Analyses of the factor structures, reliability and validity correlations are reported.


RESULTS
The reliability and validity results of the SOC-3 were not encouraging. Subsequent item analyses revealed that three items taken out of the SOC-29 outperformed the SOC-3 in measuring Sense of Coherence in a simplified way. This newly developed instrument is presented as the Brief Assessment of Sense of Coherence (BASOC).


CONCLUSIONS
The BASOC is a superior short form compared with the SOC-3 and is recommended for large surveys with limited space for questions.
Schumann
Anja
A
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Germany. schumann@uni-greifswald.de
Hapke
Ulfert
U
Meyer
Christian
C
Rumpf
Hans-Jürgen
HJ
John
Ulrich
U
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires