Original article Sense of coherence: big five correlates, spirituality, and incremental validity

Background Antonovsky (1987) developed the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale to measure the “life orientation” that promotes an individual’s ability to recognize life stressors and then effectively utilize coping resources to adjust and maintain health. Although theoretically appealing, little empirical work has been conducted to isolate the qualities of the scale that facilitate health. Participants and procedure The present study examined the factor structure of the SOC scale, as well as its incremental validity over measures of personality, spirituality, and psychological meaning in the prediction of psychosocial outcomes (e.g., hope death anxiety, life satisfaction, well-being, social support, world view). Participants consisted of 298 adults living in the United States; 98 men and 195 women (5 individuals did not disclose their gender) ages 18 to 72 (mean: 36.77 years). Results Principal components analysis indicated that a single factor best represented the structure of the 13-item SOC scale, although this one factor explained only 31% of the total variance. The scale contained a diverse item content that was challenging to interpret personologically. The SOC scale added little explanatory variance over and above the selected covariates in the prediction of psychosocial outcomes. Conclusions It appears that the SOC scale represents one aspect of a larger dimension that already has other valid indicators