title: Sense of coherence of reindeer herders and other Samis in comparison to other Swedish citizens.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Samis are indigenous people in north Europe. In the territory called Sápmi (Lapland), reindeer herding is the traditional base for the Sami economy. The relation between living conditions and positive health of the Swedish Samis has been sparsely studied. As health is closely linked to sense of coherence (SOC), an understanding of the background factors to SOC may contribute knowledge that might be useful in promoting living conditions and health.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study examines relations between the level of SOC and background factors from surveys in a Sami population (n=613) in comparison to a non-Sami population (n=525) in Sweden, and in comparison between 2 subsamples of Samis, that is, herders and non-herders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There are more similarities than differences between the Sami and non-Sami populations. However, dividing the Sami population, reindeer herders had significantly lower SOC, and in specific the subcomponent manageability, that is, less ability to use available resources to meet different demands in life, compared to non-herders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In addition to age and health, predictors of SOC are related to the life form of reindeer husbandry and the belonging to the herding community.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden. Agneta.Abrahamsson@hkr.se
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abrahamsson
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lindmark
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gerdner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012053:Reindeer; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Sami life form; Sami population; general resistance resources; health determinants; meaning of reindeer herding; non-Sami population; sense of coherence; social support; survey; threats to reindeer herding