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G C Sullivan

Publications and source records attributed to G C Sullivan.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Towards clarification of convergent concepts: sense of coherence, will to meaning, locus of control, learned helplessness and hardiness.

The multidisciplinary field of stress and stress-related health outcomes has generated theoretical and practical knowledge which is of interest to nurses. Theoretical developments which have assumed a prominent role in the study of stress, health and coping include the identification of various 'stress buffers' several of which bear a strong conceptual resemblance to one another. Antonovsky has developed a Salutogenic Model of stress and resistance, which is presented in this paper. The model's central concept, the sense of coherence, is described and analysed. The sense of coherence, with its three components (meaningfulness, comprehensibility and manageability), is then compared and contrasted with similar concepts. The convergent theoretical notions which are distinguished from Antonovsky's coherence are: will to meaning, locus of control, learned helplessness and hardiness. It is hoped that this analysis will provide greater conceptual clarity for nurses who study and use these concepts in education, practice or research.

Attitude↗
PubMed1989

Evaluating Antonovsky's Salutogenic Model for its adaptability to nursing.

Despite dissatisfaction with disease-oriented models, nursing has not yet adopted a truly health-oriented paradigm. It is important that nurse theorists remain open to health-oriented conceptual models which, although developed in other disciplines, offer adaptability for nursing. In the accompanying article, Antonovsky's Salutogenic Model is analysed and evaluated for adaptability to nursing from its parent discipline, medical sociology. The central concern of this model, as its name suggests, is explaining how people manage to stay well despite omnipresent stressors. The difference between health breakdown and wellness may depend more upon one's outlook on life than upon the avoidance of stress. An orientation which views life activities as meaningful and perceives life events as comprehensible and manageable is called a sense of coherence. People who have a strong sense of coherence manage tension effectively and resist health breakdown. Nursing which strengthens the client's sense of coherence promotes wellness and fosters the client's ability to stay well or get well. Evaluation of the Salutogenic Model relative to its potential usefulness as a nursing paradigm is accomplished by applying the framework for analysis and evaluation of a model developed by Fawcett. The Salutogenic Model is determined to be explicit, comprehensible, logically congruent, and to have social significance, congruence and utility. We conclude that it is suitable for adaptation to the nursing milieu.

Adaptation, Psychological↗