The core concept of salutogenesis, Sense of Coherence (SOC), is a concept that predicts well-being and corresponds to the purpose of education in Japan, as outlined in the Basic Act on Education. Moreover, establishing a school environment conducive to cultivating SOC aligns with the guidelines reflecting the direction of education in Japan in recent years. Therefore, the SOC perspective is also crucial for Japanese school education. SOC comprises three subconcepts: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. Hypotheses about its development were proposed by Antonovsky. The three subconcepts of SOC are interrelated. Mutual interaction is important in their development, with particular emphasis on meaningfulness. Furthermore, if the framework of Japanese school education properly functions, it is highly likely to contribute to the cultivation of SOC. This paper discusses the prospect of applying the SOC perspective to Japanese school education, while considering the cultivation of SOC.

This article reviews four topics of empirical research on sense of coherence (SOC) among Japanese university students. The findings for each topic were as follows: (1) mental health: SOC has a positive impact on mental health; (2) social support: social support from outside the family has a positive impact on SOC, but family support has a negative relationship with the comprehensibility component of SOC; (3) identity formation: SOC may promote identity formation, and the meaningfulness component of SOC is particularly relevant; and (4) job hunting and career development: SOC has a positive impact on job hunting and career development, but not all three components of SOC have a positive impact. The comprehensibility component of SOC reduces the sense of growth by job hunting.

Based on these findings, to develop SOC research of adolescents, future research should clarify how the three components of SOC influence each other, and confirm whether forming and strengthening SOC by conducting intervention research is possible, based on the knowledge that has been obtained to date.

This paper examines sense of coherence (SOC), which is treated as a core concept in salutogenesis, in relation to similar concepts, and clarifies the position of SOC in salutogenesis. As similar concepts, well-being, coping, resilience, will to meaning, and quality of life were taken from the concepts included under the salutogenic umbrella, which was compiled in recent years as a concept that encompasses concepts related to the theory of salutogenesis. Through comparison with similar concepts, this study demonstrated that SOC is a core concept related to each concept in the salutogenic umbrella. It remains a core concept in salutogenesis. However, the findings also revealed that the lack of connection with physical aspects and the need for further elaboration of the construct concept are issues that need to be addressed in the future development of the theory.

The complexity of the Sense of Coherence Scale-29 (SOC-29), marked by intricate question items and choice labels, poses a challenge in accurately capturing the construct of sense of coherence. This complexity has implications for response accuracy and data interpretation. To address this issue, the study employed the Rasch measurement model to validate the SOC-29 scale, thereby initiating a re-examining of its structure and usage.

In addition to conducting fundamental analyses such as reliability assessments, further examinations involving the Rasch measurement model estimation and item difficulty-centered statistical calculations were conducted on data obtained from 1,163 participants.

The validation of the SOC-29 scale in this study suggested potential areas for improvement in the question items and in the choice labels of the scale. In the future, methodologically resolving the problems identified on the SOC-29 scale would be beneficial. Furthermore, advancing the theoretical understanding of the measurement content through methods such as incremental validity testing would be optimal.

This study explored the reasons for inconsistencies in previous research regarding the latent factor structure of the Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale, a core concept in salutogenesis. We hypothesized that previous factor analyses overlooked the impact of facets beyond the SOC component—namely, comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. By comparing several factor models from previous studies and our hypothesis, using confirmatory factor analysis, we assessed their fit with data from a large adult sample in Japan. Our results supported a hierarchical factor model that incorporates additional facet levels, including the time of stimuli (i.e., past, present, or future), reflecting Antonovsky’s original conceptualization of salutogenesis and the SOC scale development process. We validated this model by rigorously excluding method effects, and we introduced a methodological tool to disaggregate the components of each construct, thereby examining their differential effects on salutogenesis-related variables.

This article focuses on salutogenesis and positive psychology, and examines their perspectives on each other, their similarities and differences, and their potential future relationship. Both advocate an innovative approach in their own fields, which extends their scope of application beyond the individual level. However, from a salutogenic standpoint, the fact that positive psychology often implicitly creates a dichotomy between the positive and the negative has been noted. In the future, “salutogenic positive psychology,” which integrates the two, based on salutogenesis, will be also expected. However, to effectively utilize salutogenesis in the field of psychology, comparing sense of coherence (SOC), a core concept in salutogenesis, with similar existing concepts in psychology is essential. Furthermore, thorough examination on scales for measuring SOC is needed to ensure SOC is treated as an independent variable and as a dependent variable in psychology. In terms of positive psychology, a deeper examination of its fundamental worldview seems necessary.

This study examined the potential confluence of salutogenesis and trauma care. First, the core concepts of the Salutogenic Model, general resistance resources (GRRs), and sense of coherence (SOC) were reviewed, and the paucity of research on GRRs was identified. Second, the Adaptive Information Processing Model was reviewed for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), which is a promising method for trauma care; the Polyvagal Theory was reviewed for somatic experiencing; and the usefulness of stabilization techniques by activating resources was clarified. Furthermore, by focusing on the GRRs of the Salutogenic Model and the resources of trauma care, the Sense of Resource Availability (SORA) was devised, in which resources in SORA were defined as (1) being accompanied by positive emotions and sensations when recalling the resource, (2) being accompanied by a sense that the resource is useful in coping with a stressor, and (3) forming and reinforcing the factors of SOC. The proposed model integrates SORA into the saluto genic model. This is confluence of saluto genesis and trauma care.

Based on research trends using the sense of coherence (SOC) concept and based on questions that have arisen while conducting research over the past 20 years, doubts have been raised by researchers in various fields. I critically summarized the essential issues surrounding SOC. SOC research is increasing annually, and the range of research areas is expanding. However, the following problems exist. First, in intervention studies for SOC, mixed reports indicate that the intervention is effective, whereas other reports indicate that it is ineffective. Taking into account publication bias, a possibility is that more experimental results showing no intervention effects exist than are published. Second, although self-concept included in the SOC concept is an Oriental concept, it actually includes many individualistic aspects. Furthermore, when we compared SOC in Japan, Scotland, and Canada, we found that Japanese individuals had overwhelmingly lower SOC scores for the total and subscale scores. Many Japanese people have an interdependent sense of self; therefore, SOC may have been counted at a low level.