Salutogenesis
Aaron Antonovsky came to the question ‘what makes people healthy?’ while studying the effects of disease and in the late 70s. He developed the term salutogenesis to convey this health promoting mode of thinking.
Salutogenesis refers to a model which puts forward that life experiences help shape one’s sense of coherence. A strong sense of coherence helps us to engage with individual and social resources to cope with stressors and manage tensions and actively protect and promote health.
It is a global orientation to view life as structured, manageable, and meaningful. It is a personal way of thinking, being and acting, with an inner trust, which leads people to identify, benefit, use, and re-use the resources at their disposal.
When a stressor or tension comes into our life, our ability to cope depends on the development of our sense of coherence and is measured in 3 dimensions - comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness.
Comprehensibility, the cognitive dimension, refers to the extent to which a person perceives their situation as understandable and this makes it easier to manage.
Manageability, the behavioural dimension, the degree to which one feels that there are resources at one’s disposal that can be used to meet the requirements of stressors. Resources are services and people who are trusted and who can be relied on difficult situations.
Meaningfulness, the motivational dimension, refers to the extent to which one feels that life has an emotional meaning, that at least some of the problems faced in life are worth commitment and the investment of energy, to get through experiences of stress that have the potential to cause distress.
Salutogenesis is concerned with creating coherent living environments, strengthening socio-ecological health resources as well as strengthening the sense of coherence of individuals and groups.
Aaron Antonovsky came to the question ‘what makes people healthy?’ while studying the effects of disease and in the late 70s. He developed the term salutogenesis to convey this health promoting mode of thinking.
Salutogenesis refers to a model which puts forward that life experiences help shape one’s sense of coherence. A strong sense of coherence helps us to engage with individual and social resources to cope with stressors and manage tensions and actively protect and promote health.
It is a global orientation to view life as structured, manageable, and meaningful. It is a personal way of thinking, being and acting, with an inner trust, which leads people to identify, benefit, use, and re-use the resources at their disposal.
When a stressor or tension comes into our life, our ability to cope depends on the development of our sense of coherence and is measured in 3 dimensions - comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness.
Comprehensibility, the cognitive dimension, refers to the extent to which a person perceives their situation as understandable and this makes it easier to manage.
Manageability, the behavioural dimension, the degree to which one feels that there are resources at one’s disposal that can be used to meet the requirements of stressors. Resources are services and people who are trusted and who can be relied on difficult situations.
Meaningfulness, the motivational dimension, refers to the extent to which one feels that life has an emotional meaning, that at least some of the problems faced in life are worth commitment and the investment of energy, to get through experiences of stress that have the potential to cause distress.
Salutogenesis is concerned with creating coherent living environments, strengthening socio-ecological health resources as well as strengthening the sense of coherence of individuals and groups.