Existential gratitude and existential values predict Sense of Coherence; promoting health from an existential foundation.

Abstract

Abstract Background The health promotion strategies are directing their field of action to more profound actions involving personal change. A extensively researched and promising construct is known as Sense of coherence (SOC) which represents the orientation to salutogenic life. Investigations that provide empirical evidence are required to understand the fundamental predictors of salutogenic development. Until now, little attention has been paid in the scientific literature to the role of existential attitudes in the prediction of salutogenic variables. This paper relates the values included in Schwartz's model with gratitude viewed in terms of an existential attitude in this way filling a gap found in the previous literature.Method Correlational analyses between existential gratitude, gratitude as an affective disposition, values and SOC were conducted among 229 participants. In a Path Analysis, the values of Benevolence and Tradition and existential gratitude were chosen as predictors of SOC.Results Existential gratitude obtained significant correlations with all values and its scores were higher than the correlations between dispositional gratitude and values. The results of the Path analysis show good fit indices, indicating that SOC can be predicted by existential gratitude as well as by the values of benevolence and tradition.Conclusions The results are discussed in the light of the possibilities that this study opens up in the field of salutogenesis, based on the approach of the second wave positive psychology (PP2.0) which emphasizes the positive psychology of suffering since it takes into consideration the importance of conceptualizing Gratitude as an Existential attitude.