Salutogenesis Beyond Health: Intergroup Relations and Conflict Studies

In this chapter, the authors ask how to broaden the salutogenic paradigm’s scope into an interdisciplinary framework and include other social concepts in its research. As one example of such interdisciplinary research, the authors review some new studies in conflict areas investigating intergroup relations. By relating to such areas of research, they try to address not only the “classic” question – who copes successfully and stays healthy – but also other salutogenic questions such as “who expresses more openness to the other?”

Aaron Antonovsky (1923–1994): The Personal, Ideological, and Intellectual Genesis of Salutogenesis

This chapter is of particular importance in the handbook. Written by Aaron Antonovsky’s son Avishai Antonovsky, and by one of his closest colleagues and former PhD student, Shifra Sagy, this chapter provides the first biography of the founding father of salutogenesis. The authors share their insight regarding the development of the salutogenic idea, by drawing lines connecting it to the person Aaron Antonovsky was. They were very close to Aaron for several decades, and their familiarity with his background contributes to understanding the development of salutogenesis. They shed some light on Aaron’s personal experiences, ideological beliefs, and professional development throughout his life, until the crystallization of the salutogenic idea.

Applying Salutogenesis in Community-Wide Mental Health Promotion

This chapter highlights the relevance of mental health as a resource and risk for population health and describes mental health problems and related financial and social implications for society, which has led to an increased focus on prevention of mental health problems in health policy lately. Using the river metaphor of salutogenesis and a mental health ease–disease continuum, mental health is seen not as a stable trait but rather as a constant process, which needs to be protected and promoted. Thus, mental health promotion is foremost focused on protective factors and promoting mental health resources at different levels of society and is relevant to everyone.The authors also present and describe the ‘Act-Belong-Commit’/‘ABCs of Mental Health’ Campaign, a world-first comprehensive, population-wide, community-based mental health promotion campaign designed to promote mental health and prevent mental ill health.

Salutogenesis: Sense of Coherence in Childhood and Families

In this chapter on salutogenesis and sense of coherence (SOC) in families and children, the authors deal with the contributions of children’s environments to the adjustment of children with typical development, and the development of children with special needs. The authors report on their comprehensive literature review covering 20 years of research and 44 studies from 15 countries, including children from infants and toddlers through preschool to school-aged children up to 12 years of age.

Applying Salutogenesis in Towns and Cities

This chapter casts light on how cities can facilitate good health through urban planning, design and organisation, and collaboration between multiple sectors. The way we organise cities is one aspect of the social determinants of health and can manifest or balance several aspects of social injustice. This chapter focuses on matters of planning and maintaining infrastructure, including transportation systems, green spaces and walkability, as well as matters of environmental justice across cities. Moreover, it is discussed how a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach can be implemented at the city level, and in which ways the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Healthy City Network contributes to this work. The authors take a closer look at the evaluations of HiAP, as well as the Healthy Cities approach, and to what degree they facilitate long-lasting cross-sector collaboration. Last, it is discussed whether and how a salutogenic orientation can link places and environmental resources to health outcomes, and explore the implications of this approach for salutogenic practice and research.

Salutogenesis in Prison

This chapter concludes Part VII, with a focus on salutogenesis in prisons. In this chapter, the authors present and debate how prison health rhetoric, policy and practice are influenced by a pathogenic view of prisoner “health.” The authors comment that there is a growing recognition of a salutogenic approach to prison health policy and practice, to help tackle the root causes of health, criminality and inequality. This chapter emphasises that while the health of prisoners is influenced by material and social factors beyond their control, a salutogenic approach offers an alternative way of delivering public health and health promotion in prisons. The chapter concludes noting that the application of salutogenesis in prisons is in its infancy. They call for research, policy and practice framed by a salutogenic orientation, leading to sustained and effective measures to improve the health of people in criminal justice settings, and reducing health inequalities in prisons.

Theoretical Issues in the Further Development of the Sense of Coherence Construct

In this chapter, the author discusses theoretical issues, including the dimensionality of the sense of coherence (SOC) scale, questioning whether the three components of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness can be measured separately or not; a plea for longitudinal data to study SOC as the causal variable; whether SOC can be strengthened and thus function as an outcome variable or not; the concept of domain-specific SOC; the concept of a boundary in the measurement of SOC; the dichotomization and trichotomization of SOC to investigate more thoroughly if a weak SOC or a strong SOC is crucial for health and well-being; the importance of relating SOC to salutogenic outcome measures such as perceived wellness or a healthy lifestyle; and additional issues such as the collective SOC, measuring other central constructs in the salutogenic model and the importance of literature reviews and meta-studies. Excellent recommendations are given for ways forward.

Older People, Sense of Coherence and Community

In this chapter, the authors consider the meanings of the concepts of healthy ageing, ageing well, salutogenic ageing and reciprocity between the sense of coherence (SOC) and ageing processes. They discuss how the community can provide resources to strengthen older adults’ SOC, perceived well-being and quality of life. Quoting ‘It’s not how old we are; it’s how we are old’, the authors illuminate critical differences in understanding healthy ageing by professionals, researchers and older people themselves.

Applying Salutogenesis in Schools

The chapter addresses the health of children and young people in the school setting with a special focus on experiences from Health Promoting Schools (HPS) and selected health promotion projects in schools. On the basis of brief definitions of the salutogenic orientation and the health promoting school model, comparisons will be conducted with regard to key concepts and principles of the two approaches to children’s health. A brief literature overview on the use of salutogenic concepts in relation to schools and health-promoting schools also is presented and discussed.

The Sense of Coherence: The Concept and Its Relationship to Health

In this chapter, the theoretical framework of the salutogenic model of health is described, with special focus on the key concepts and reflection on the ontological and epistemological background of the health model, which so far is little explored and described. Essential in the salutogenic model of health is the understanding of health as a process in a continuum, the health ease/dis-ease continuum. This is described and explained in the chapter. Some evidence of the relationship between sense of coherence (SOC) and health is presented.