Salutogenesis: Sense of coherence in childhood and in families

Abstract

The goals of this chapter were to present the significance of the salutogenic conceptualization to the development and education of children, exploring in depth not only children with typical development, but also children with special needs, their schools, families, and community environments. In order to understand the developmental perspective of resiliency, we reviewed studies examining sense of coherence (SOC) at children’s different developmental stages, from infants and toddlers through preschool children to school-aged children (up to 12 years of age). A comprehensive review of the literature (from 2000 to 2013) on SOC and children demonstrated a diverse range of themes: SOC within the child’s contextual environments–family, school, peers and community, and SOC as a predictor of children’s health and health behavior.