© 2003 by European Journal of Public Health
Health Patterns and Determinants |
Is parental sense of coherence associated with child health?
Else-Karin Grøholt1,*, Hein Stigum1, Rannveig Nordhagen1 and Lennart Köhler21 Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway 2 Nordic School of Public Health, Göteborg, Sweden
Antonowsky's concept of sense of coherence (SOC) has, during recent years, gained increased attention as a salutogenic model on the relationship between health and disease. However, only sparse information connecting child chronic health conditions to parental SOC is yet available. This article presents results from a cross-sectional study of about 10,000 children aged 2–17 years in the five Nordic countries in 1996. Factors associated with parental SOC were analysed, with focus on child chronic health conditions. Sense of coherence was measured according to a short and condensed three-item instrument based on Antonovsky's original 29-item instrument. Overall, about 23% of parents in Nordic countries had a poor sense of coherence, the lowest proportion found among Icelandic parents. Compared to the higher social classes, poor SOC was more common in the lower social classes. The association of child chronic health conditions with parental poor SOC was found to be disability specific. Parents of children with diabetes, epilepsy or psychiatric/nervous problems had approximately 2–5 higher odds of having poor SOC compared to parents of children without a specific diagnosis. The overall effect of having a child with chronic health conditions was, however, low, lower than the effect of the parents' own health complaints.
Keywords: chronic health conditions, Nordic countries, parents, sense of coherence
Received 13 November 2001. Accepted 23 April 2002.
* Correspondence: Else-Karin Grøholt, MD, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404 Nydalen, 0403 Oslo, Norway, tel. +47 23 408 182, fax +47 22 353 705, e-mail: else-karin.groholt{at}fhi.no
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