Sense of coherence and emotional health in adolescents Unni K. Moksnes a, b, * , Geir A. Espnes a, c , Monica Lillefjell a, d a Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources HiST/NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim, Norway b Faculty of Nursing, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway c Department of Social Work and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway d Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Eduaction and Social Work, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway Keywords: State anxiety State depression Youth Sense of coherence Gender abstract The present paper investigates possible gender and age differences on emotional states (state depression and state anxiety) and sense of coherence (SOC) as well as the associa- tion between SOC and emotional states. The cross-sectional sectional sample consists of 1209 adolescents 13–18 years from public elementary and secondary schools in Mid- Norway. The results showed that girls reported higher scores on state anxiety and state depression, whereas boys consistently scored higher on SOC in all age groups. SOC was inversely associated with both state depression and state anxiety. An interaction effect of gender by SOC was found on both state depression and state anxiety, where the associa- tion was stronger for girls than for boys. Conclusions: The associations found give support for the implications of salutogenic factors in relation to emotional health in adolescents. Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by multiple changes in virtually every aspect of an individual’s life, calling for new psychological adaptations (Dahl & Gunnar, 2009; Williams, Holmbeck, & Greenley, 2002). The transition into adolescence seems to be the starting point for an increase in psychological problems like depression and anxiety (Graber & Sontag, 2009; Hankin & Abela, 2005; Kessler, Avenevoli, & Merikangas, 2001). Girls are found to exhibit more emotional problems in adolescence than boys; this gender difference seems to increase in middle to late adolescence (Bouma, Ormel, Verhulst, & Oldehinkel, 2008; Costello, Foley, & Angold, 2006; Hankin & Abela, 2005). Despite differences in overall devel- opmental trends, anxiety and depression share symptoms and have substantial co-occurrence (Avenevoli, Knight, Kessler, & Merikangas, 2008; Graber & Sontag, 2009; Hankin & Abela, 2005; Hankin, Abramson, Miller, & Haeffel, 2004). Although a relatively large proportion of adolescents experience symptoms and report complaints, many adolescents do not. This has lead researcher’s interest into what recognizes people who stays well and perceive health as good despite the experience of adversities in daily life. The collection of systematic information on this issue is central to the planning of primary health care and educational services for the adolescent group in reference to focusing on resources for coping rather than on risk for ill health. Aron Antonovsky introduced the salutogenic perspective which focuses on what are the sources for people’s resources and capacity to create health (Salutogenesis) rather than the classic focus on risk, ill health and disease (Pathogenesis) (Antonovsky, 1979, 1987). Antonovsky explained why some people, regardless of major stressful situations, stay healthy, while * Corresponding author. Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources HiST/NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim, Norway. Tel.: þ47 73591928, þ47 97114742 (Mobile); fax: þ47 73591885. E-mail address: unni.moksnes@svt.ntnu.no (U.K. Moksnes). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Adolescence journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jado 0140-1971/$ – see front matter Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.013 Journal of Adolescence xxx (2011) 1–9 Please cite this article in press as: Moksnes, U. K., et al., Sense of coherence and emotional health in adolescents, Journal of Adolescence (2011), doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.013