A systematic review of Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence scale and its use in studies among nurses: implications for psychiatric and mental health nursing

OBJECTIVE: Antonovsky's salugenetic model focuses on factors that promote health and well-being. The objectives of this paper were to review the existing research literature related to Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC) and establish implications for psychiatric and mental health nurses
METHODS: Electronic databases were searched with selected studies compared for sample, sample size, study designs and basic results. Cross-sectional studies were reviewed for correlations between personality traits, stress, burnout, disease-scales, job satisfaction and the SOC scale, with Intervention studies used to establish the impact of training on the SOC.
RESULTS: The review discovered serious methodological difficulties, including interpretations of Antonovsky’s philosophical values and the apparent use of the SOC scales as a measure of disease absence.
CONCLUSION: The review was able to draw important conclusions for psychiatric and mental health nurses (PMHNs) related to stress, burnout, dealing with psychiatric emergencies and the selection of new recruits to the profession.