The “Society for Theory and Research on Salutogenesis” (STARS) was founded in 2017 by the Global Working Group (GWG) on Salutogenesis. The GWG is part of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE). Its overarching aim is to advance and promote the theory and research on Salutogenesis by connecting researchers around the globe. The GWG is in charge of advancing the STARS activities. The Center of Salutogenesis (COS) at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, is coordinating STARS.
About STARS
The mission of STARS is to advance and promote the scientific exchange on Salutogenesis by connecting research and researchers around the globe. Here you can learn more about Salutogenesis, follow recent news, and find out about upcoming conferences and webinars. Also, you can become a member of the STARS. Membership is entirely free, and there are no preconditions or obligations. Members have free access to the original books by Aaron Antonovsky and the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scales. STARS members can also follow and contribute to ongoing discussions about Salutogenesis on the blog.
STARS provides a transdisciplinary platform for scientific exchange between researchers in the field of Salutogenesis. The society is a bridge between the International Union for Health Promotion and Education’s (IUHPE) Global Working Group on Salutogenesis (GWG), and the broader scientific community working in areas other than health promotion.
The Handbook of Salutogenesis illustrates the broad range of social issues to which Salutogenesis is applied: conflict resolution and peace initiatives, intergroup relations, restorative environments, work life, organization development, education, corrections, architecture, and many aspects of health promotion and disease and illness prevention and treatment.
Therefore, the GWG establishes STARS as a way to connect scholars from diverse disciplines, who share an interest in the science of Salutogenesis.
STARS welcomes anyone with an interest in the science of Salutogenesis! Membership is free and without obligations. Become a member now!
STARS members are encouraged to share their publications as well as news, events and blog posts on Salutogenesis. More information on participation can be found here.
The Global Working Group on Salutogenesis of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) was established in 2007 at the IUHPE General Assembly, in Vancouver, Canada. To better advance and promote the science of salutogenesis within and beyond health promotion, the Global Working Group founded STARS in 2017 as a transdisciplinary platform.
The Global Working Group is in charge of continuously advancing the STARS website and the STARS activities. The Center of Salutogenesis at the University of Zurich, Switzerland is coordinating STARS.
About Salutogenesis
Salutogenesis focuses attention on the study of the origins (genesis) of health (salus) and of positive health outcomes – moving towards the positive end of an ease/disease continuum – in contrast to the more usual study of the origins of disease and risk factors (pathogenesis). Salutogenesis emphasizes the importance of sense of coherence – an individual or collective orientation towards life as being comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. In health promotion, the salutogenetic approach focuses on strengthening resources and assets that help people to cope with adverse life situations, promote wellbeing and thriving (Nutbeam and Muscat, 2021).
The concept was originally developed by Aaron Antonovsky (1979, 1987). It focuses on strengthening individual and social resources that protect and actively promote health. In essence, Salutogenesis is concerned with creating coherent living environments, strengthening socio-ecological health resources as well as strengthening the sense of coherence of individuals and groups. While health promotion is a key area for the application of Salutogenesis, Salutogenesis informs research and practice in areas as diverse as education, policy, organizational development or community and migration studies.
The term Salutogenesis is often associated with three different meanings, which are distinct but inextricably intertwined (Mittelmark and Bauer, 2017; Chapter 2, Handbook of Salutogenesis):
1. The salutogenic model
The model, described in detail in Antonovsky’s 1979 book “Health, Stress and Coping”, posits that life experiences help shape one’s sense of coherence. A strong sense of coherence helps one mobilize general resistance resources to cope with stressors and manage tension successfully. Through this mechanism, the sense of coherence helps determine one’s movement on the health ease/dis-ease continuum.
2. Salutogenesis as the sense of coherence
In its narrower meaning, Salutogenesis is often equated with one part of the model, the sense of coherence, defined as: “. . . a global orientation that expresses the extent to which one has a pervasive, enduring though dynamic feeling of confidence that one’s internal and external environments are predictable and that there is a high probability that things will work out as well as can reasonably be expected.” (Antonovsky, 1979, p. 123).
3. The salutogenic orientation
In its most general meaning, Salutogenesis refers to a scholarly orientation focusing attention on the study of resources and assets for health leading to positive health, complementary to the pathogenic orientation that is concerned with risk factors leading to specific disease outcomes.
STARS welcomes the exchange on Salutogenesis in all these meanings. Go to our blog to engage in discussions!
