Contextualising the Salutogenic Perspective on Adolescent Health and the Sense of Coherence in Families - A study among adolescents and their families in the Swedish speaking Finland

Background: The core of the Sense of Coherence concept (SOC) is to perceive the world as predictable, manageable and meaningful. An adolescent with a strong SOC successfully engages in the diverse developmental tasks of adolescence, applies healthy behaviours, possesses the capacity to thrive despite stressors in life and perceives good health, experiences a sense of wholeness in relation to themselves, others and the community. The Family Sense of Coherence is a significant factor in determining and transforming family members’ individual SOC and is a resource for the development of health in adolescence. The evidence on the relationship between Sense of Coherence and Health in the family context in Finnish adolescents is scarce. Aim: The aims are to measure and to describe the Sense of Coherence among adolescents that have just started secondary school; gain insight into the adolescent Sense of Coherence within a family context; investigate the collective Sense of Coherence in the family. Further aims are to view how adolescents perceive health; explore the distribution of health promoting resources; investigate potential relationships with adolescents’ Sense of Coherence. Method: A cross-sectional study design is adopted. The study is descriptive using correlations as an analysis of the data. The respondents are 60 schoolchildren (grade 7) and their families from the Swedish-speaking area in southern Finland. The SOC-13 items questionnaire is used for the measurement of adolescents’ SOC and the Family Sense of Coherence. Results: The mean SOC for adolescents was 69 points (SD 12). Girls reported a lower mean SOC (67 points, SD 11) compared with boys (73 points, SD 13). Both mothers and fathers displayed a high Sense of Coherence mean score, resulting in the Family Sense of Coherence mean score being high (72 points, SD 8). The adolescents’ Sense of Coherence and Family Sense of Coherence were significantly related to each other. The adolescents’ SOC was strongly related to fathers SOC but not to mothers SOC. Strong correlation was found between adolescents SOC and perceived good health. The perception of having General Resistance Resources at ones disposal significantly correlated with adolescents’ SOC. A strong association was found between adolescents’ SOC and General Resistance Resources found in both the Social and Mental dimension of health. ; Salutogeeninen nakokulma nuorten terveydesta ja perheen koherenssin tunteesta - tutkimus suomenruotsalaisten nuorista ja heidan perheistaan. Ihmisen koherenssin tunteen ydin on kyky hahmottaa maailmaa ennakoitavana, tarkoituksen mukaisena ja hallittavana. Nuorilla joilla on vahva koherenssin tunne menestyksekkaasti harjoittavat monenlaisia nuoruusian kehitystehtavia, kykenevat hahmottamaan hyvan terveyden, omistavat kapasiteetti menestya elaman stressista huolimatta ja kokea eheyden tunteen suhteessa itseensa, toisiin ja yhteisoon. Perheen koherenssin tunne on merkityksellinen tekija perheen jasenten yksilollisten koherenssi tunteen maarittamisessa ja…