Coping Strategies: Salutogenic Paths to Health and Resilience
Coping is not just about getting rid of discomfort or escaping pain. It is about learning how to respond to life’s demands in ways that build strength, create meaning, and move us toward the [health – ease] end of the continuum, even in the midst of adversity. In the salutogenic model, the core question is not “How can I eliminate stress?” but “How can I use my resources – internal and external – to grow, adapt, and thrive?” This is a fundamentally different mindset from most illness-focused perspectives. It is what distinguishes the path from disease avoidance to health creation.
“It is essential to recognize that salutogenesis is not an approach to the elimination of disease, but a focus on the factors that actively promote health and movement toward the [health – ease] end of the continuum.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 3
“The question is not why people succumb to stress, but why do they stay well, even when subjected to considerable stressors.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 15
Salutogenic vs Pathogenetic Views of Coping
“In the traditional model, the focus is on ‘elimination of symptoms’ or avoidance of stress. Salutogenesis asks how people use resources to stay well despite the existence of stressors.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 5
“Coping, in the salutogenic sense, is the process by which a person, using available generalized resistance resources, manages tension in ways which enable movement toward the health pole.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 127
What Does Coping Mean in Salutogenesis?
“The term coping refers to the complex of cognitive and behavioral efforts which are made to master, tolerate, or reduce internal and external demands and conflicts. What differentiates salutogenesis is the search for ways that coping mobilizes and utilizes resources, not merely reduces discomfort.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 73
- “…When an individual has a strong sense of coherence, stressful situations are perceived as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. This enables the person to make use of appropriate coping strategies.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 19 - “A sense of meaningfulness is the motivational element in coping, providing the belief that it is worth investing and engaging in confrontation with stressors.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 124 - “Manageability is the belief that one has the resources at one’s disposal which are adequate to meet the demands posed by the stimuli. In this context, coping involves activating both internal and external resources.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 124 - “Comprehensibility is the cognitive dimension: events are seen as making sense, as ordered, consistent, and structured. Coping is facilitated when the stressor is understandable and predictable.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 124
Examples of Salutogenic Coping
- “People with a strong SOC are more likely to define the situation as a challenge rather than a threat, mobilize social support, and use problem-focused coping rather than avoidance.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 20 - “Coping is not simply a function of the availability of resistance resources, but also of the motivation to use them, and the capacity to make sense of the situation.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 78 - “The ability to see tension as information and opportunity rather than merely as an aversive stimulus is essential for salutogenic coping.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 131
Generalized Resistance Resources in Coping
“The generalized resistance resources (GRRs) available to the individual are of critical importance. Social support, material assets, intelligence, traditions, culture, and coping strategies themselves constitute the armamentarium for health.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 19; 1979, p. 103
- “People who can identify and utilize these resources are best equipped to confront tension and, ultimately, to move toward health.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 128 - “A repertoire of coping strategies is itself a resource; flexibility in using a range of strategies – problem-solving, seeking support, reframing, ritualization – contributes to successful management of stress.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 79; Handbook, p. 100
Salutogenic Coping and Health Outcomes
“To cope is not to avoid, but to engage. Coping effectively with stressors is an essential element of movement toward the [health – ease] pole.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 20
“Not all tension can be avoided. Salutogenesis is concerned with the capacity to live with tension, to confront it, to make sense of it, and to use it for growth.”
— Antonovsky, 1979, p. 146
Summary: The Salutogenic Orientation to Coping
Coping in the salutogenic sense is about growing through experience, not just surviving it. The evidence shows: people who approach stress as a source of information, who use their social, cognitive, and material resources, and who seek meaning and challenge, are consistently more likely to regain or sustain their health. These are learnable skills and attitudes, not fixed traits. Salutogenesis invites you to turn toward your challenges, draw from what supports you, and know that health is not a static state, but a dynamic process you can influence – no matter where you start.
“Health is promoted by the capacity to comprehend the world, to manage its demands, and to find meaning in the process. Coping strategies grounded in these principles are salutogenic.”
— Antonovsky, 1987, p. 20; 1979, p. 123
Explore related elements of the salutogenic framework that shape how coping develops and functions: