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Health, psychology, and well-being
Research Guide
What is Health, psychology, and well-being?
Health, psychology, and well-being is a field that examines salutogenesis and sense of coherence in relation to health outcomes, covering stress management, public health development, psychological resilience, and healthy lifestyle choices through salutogenic principles.
This field includes 44,966 works focused on salutogenesis, sense of coherence, health promotion, quality of life, stress management, public health, well-being, psychological resilience, adolescent health, and holistic medicine. Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983) introduced the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a 14-item instrument validated across college students and community participants for measuring perceived stress. Research also addresses coping strategies, social support buffering against stress, and the impact of social relationships on mortality risk.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Salutogenesis in Health Promotion
Researchers apply Antonovsky's salutogenic model to design interventions that enhance health-generating resources and assets in communities. Studies evaluate programs in workplaces, schools, and public health settings.
Sense of Coherence and Stress Management
This sub-topic examines how sense of coherence (SOC) buffers perceived stress and coping efficacy across populations. Longitudinal studies link SOC to outcomes like burnout prevention and resilience building.
Sense of Coherence and Quality of Life
Investigations correlate SOC with WHOQOL measures in chronic illness, aging, and rehabilitation contexts. Research develops SOC-targeted therapies to elevate life satisfaction and functioning.
Psychological Resilience and Sense of Coherence
Studies explore SOC as a core resilience factor in trauma recovery, adversity, and mental health trajectories. Meta-analyses integrate SOC with positive psychology frameworks.
Salutogenic Approaches in Public Health
Researchers implement salutogenic principles in population health strategies, including asset-based community development and policy design. Evaluations focus on health equity and upstream determinants.
Why It Matters
Studies in this field provide validated tools for assessing stress, anxiety, burnout, and quality of life, enabling precise measurement in clinical and public health settings. For example, Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983) developed the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), used in over 31,102 cited works to evaluate how individuals appraise life situations as stressful, supporting interventions in smoking-cessation programs and student populations. Cohen and Wills (1985) established the buffering hypothesis, showing social support protects against stress effects (16,320 citations), informing public health strategies to reduce mortality risks comparable to established factors, as meta-analyzed by Holt-Lunstad, Smith, and Layton (2010) with 6,884 citations. Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2001) defined job burnout through exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (11,805 citations), guiding workplace interventions. Spitzer (1999) validated the PHQ self-report for primary care (9,561 citations), improving diagnostic efficiency for anxiety and depression.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"A Global Measure of Perceived Stress" by Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983), as it introduces the foundational 14-item PSS with clear validation evidence from multiple samples, serving as an accessible entry to stress measurement.
Key Papers Explained
Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983) "A Global Measure of Perceived Stress" establishes stress assessment, which Cohen and Wills (1985) "Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis" builds on by showing social support's protective role against such stress (16,320 citations vs. 31,102). Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2001) "Job Burnout" extends this to occupational contexts, defining exhaustion and cynicism outcomes. Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub (1989) "Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach" complements by detailing responses to measured stress. Holt-Lunstad, Smith, and Layton (2010) "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review" synthesizes social factors' mortality impact.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Current work emphasizes salutogenic principles and sense of coherence in health promotion, psychological resilience, and quality of life, as reflected in the field's 44,966 papers. No recent preprints or news are available, so frontiers remain in applying tools like PSS and WHOQOL-BREF to adolescent health, holistic medicine, and public health development.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Global Measure of Perceived Stress | 1983 | Journal of Health and ... | 31.1K | ✕ |
| 2 | Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. | 1985 | Psychological Bulletin | 16.3K | ✕ |
| 3 | Job Burnout | 2001 | Annual Review of Psych... | 11.8K | ✕ |
| 4 | THE ASSESSMENT OF ANXIETY STATES BY RATING | 1959 | British Journal of Med... | 11.1K | ✕ |
| 5 | Validation and Utility of a Self-report Version of PRIME-MD<... | 1999 | JAMA | 9.6K | ✕ |
| 6 | Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. | 1989 | Journal of Personality... | 9.3K | ✕ |
| 7 | Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF Quali... | 1998 | Psychological Medicine | 7.5K | ✓ |
| 8 | Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review | 2010 | PLoS Medicine | 6.9K | ✓ |
| 9 | The MOS social support survey | 1991 | Social Science & Medicine | 6.5K | ✕ |
| 10 | The Influence of Culture, Community, and the Nested‐Self in th... | 2001 | Applied Psychology | 6.3K | ✕ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Perceived Stress Scale?
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a 14-item instrument that measures the degree to which individuals perceive situations in their life as stressful. Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983) demonstrated its reliability and validity in three samples: two of college students and one of community smoking-cessation participants. The scale assesses appraisal of stress rather than specific events.
How does social support buffer stress?
Social support buffers stress by protecting individuals from adverse effects of stressful events, as shown in the buffering hypothesis. Cohen and Wills (1985) reviewed evidence distinguishing this from direct main effects of support on well-being. The model highlights support's role during high-stress periods.
What defines job burnout?
Job burnout is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal job stressors, defined by exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2001) outlined its complexity based on 25 years of research. It links individual stress experiences to organizational contexts.
What are key coping strategies?
Coping strategies include problem-focused approaches like active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, restraint coping, and seeking social support for instrumental reasons. Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub (1989) developed a multidimensional inventory assessing these distinct aspects. Emotion-focused strategies such as positive reinterpretation and acceptance are also measured.
How is quality of life assessed in this field?
The WHOQOL-BREF assesses quality of life across physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment domains. The WHOQOL HIV Group (1998) derived it from the WHOQOL-100 using collected data. It provides an abbreviated, reliable measure for health and well-being studies.
What is the impact of social relationships on mortality?
Social relationships influence mortality risk comparably to well-established factors like smoking or obesity. Holt-Lunstad, Smith, and Layton (2010) conducted a meta-analytic review confirming this effect. Stronger relationships correlate with lower mortality across diverse populations.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can sense of coherence be integrated into public health interventions to enhance salutogenesis beyond current stress management tools?
- ? What mechanisms explain why social support buffering varies across cultural and community contexts in the stress process?
- ? Which combinations of coping strategies most effectively mitigate burnout in high-stress professions like healthcare?
- ? How do nested-self factors in conservation of resources theory predict long-term psychological resilience?
- ? What refinements to scales like PSS or PHQ improve detection of anxiety states in adolescent health populations?
Recent Trends
The field encompasses 44,966 works with a focus on salutogenesis and sense of coherence, but growth rate over 5 years is not available.
Highly cited papers from 1959 to 2010, such as Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein with 31,102 citations, continue to define stress, support, and coping research.
1983No recent preprints or news coverage in the last 12 months indicate steady reliance on established measures.
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