The association between stress, sense of coherence and subjective health complaints in adolescents: Sense of coherence as a potential moderator

Abstract

The present study investigated the association between domain-specific stress, sense of coherence (SOC) and subjective health complaints (SHC), as well as the possible moderation effect of SOC on the relationship between stress and SHC. The study is based on responses from 1183 adolescents 13-18 years old. The initial results showed that girls scored higher than boys on all stress domains and on SHC. Conversely, boys reported stronger SOC. Results from the hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed a significant association between increasing stress related to each of the stress domains of peer pressure, home life, school attendance, as well as to a higher level of SHC. SOC was inversely related to SHC. However, no moderation effect of SOC was found. The findings in the present study thus show that stress and SOC are separately associated with SHC. The results support the importance of improving coping efficacy with stress during adolescence. The results also give some preliminary support for the view that promoting salutogenic factors has positive implications in relation to subjective health in adolescents.