Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidis... more Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidisciplinary approach. During COVID-19 there have been contributions by bench scientists studying the pathogenic aspects of the illness as well as medical and social scientists understanding the multi-layered impacts of the global pandemic. Our study is based on the salutogenic approach which asks about the individual and collective perceptions of coping
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 2017
The current article presents a new intervention model for intragroup dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish... more The current article presents a new intervention model for intragroup dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israeli undergraduate students underwent a yearlong process to learn about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, encountered Palestinian narratives, and reflected on the impact of the Palestinian other on their own identity as Jewish-Israelis. In this research we propose that such a process ameliorates identity threats posed by an intergroup conflict on collective identities, encouraging participants to adopt a more complex view of themselves, which validates both narratives of self and “other.” Research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the intervention. Results showed that participants developed an increased capacity for acceptance of both Israeli and Palestinian collective narratives, and demonstrated a greater willingness toward reconciliation, manifested in more readiness to acknowledge responsibility and apologize for past transgressions. Discussion is dedicated to the added value of this model, specifically in relation to intergroup contact approaches to dialogue.
Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidis... more Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidisciplinary approach. During COVID-19 there have been contributions by bench scientists studying the pathogenic aspects of the illness as well as medical and social scientists understanding the multi-layered impacts of the global pandemic. Our study is based on the salutogenic approach which asks about the individual and collective perceptions of coping resources available and the relationship between these resources and levels of anxiety and mental health. We also studied of the role of the socio-national context in which the crisis occurred and whether it may also contribute to the understanding of the reactions of individuals in the unusual event of the COVID-19 crisis. Objectives: The study examined the personal (sense of coherence), social resources (social support), and national resources (trust in public institutions and leaders, and sense of national coherence), that enabled high levels of mental health and low levels of anxiety in time of the pandemic crisis. Methodology: Our international study was carried out in nine countries: Israel, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, the U.S.A, during the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal study in Israel during six phases during the first year of the crisis. Findings: We found that Sense of coherence (SOC) was a main and stable coping resource among the participants from all countries included in the study. However, differences were found in the levels of perceptions of national coping resources among different social groups. Conclusions: A strong SOC is crucial for health and survival during times of global and local crises. Policy Implications/recommendations: During regular times, and especially in times of crisis, leaders and policy makers should prioritize strengthening sense of coherence of the population. Therefore, the messages to the public should be created and designed to enhance comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness of the pandemic and trust in government and public health initiatives.
This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israe... more This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israeli undergraduate students underwent a year-long process to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, encountered Palestinian narratives, and reflected on the impact of the Palestinian other on their own identity as Jewish-Israelis. We propose that such a process ameliorates identity threats posed by an inter-group conflict on collective identities, encouraging participants to adopt a more complex view of themselves, which validates both narratives of self and “other.” Research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the intervention. Results showed that participants developed an increased capacity for acceptance of both Israeli and Palestinian collective narratives, and demonstrated a greater willingness towards reconciliation, manifested in more readiness to acknowledge responsibility and apologize for past transgressions. Discussion is dedicated to...
Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidis... more Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidisciplinary approach. During COVID-19 there have been contributions by bench scientists studying the pathogenic aspects of the illness as well as medical and social scientists understanding the multi-layered impacts of the global pandemic. Our study is based on the salutogenic approach which asks about the individual and collective perceptions of coping resources available and the relationship between these resources and levels of anxiety and mental health. We also studied of the role of the socio-national context in which the crisis occurred and whether it may also contribute to the understanding of the reactions of individuals in the unusual event of the COVID-19 crisis.
Objectives: The study examined the personal (sense of coherence), social resources (social support), and national resources (trust in public institutions and leaders, and sense of national coherence), that enabled high levels of mental health and low levels of anxiety in time of the pandemic crisis. Methodology: Our international study was carried out in nine countries: Israel, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, the U.S.A, during the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal study in Israel during six phases during the first year of the crisis. Findings: We found that Sense of coherence (SOC) was a main and stable coping resource among the participants from all countries included in the study. However, differences were found in the levels of perceptions of national coping resources among different social groups. Conclusions: A strong SOC is crucial for health and survival during times of global and local crises. Policy Implications/recommendations: During regular times, and especially in times of crisis, leaders and policy makers should prioritize strengthening sense of coherence of the population. Therefore, the messages to the public should be created and designed to enhance comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness of the pandemic and trust in government and public health initiatives.
Employing the salutogenic approach, this longitudinal study explored the effects of coping with t... more Employing the salutogenic approach, this longitudinal study explored the effects of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, as it evolved from an acute to a chronic stress situation, during the first year. We examined the role of individual [sense of coherence (SOC)], social (perceived social support), and national [sense of national coherence (SONC)] coping resources, as well as situational and demographic factors, in predicting mental health and anxiety. Data was collected in five phases between March 2020 and February 2021 via a repeated panel sample and included 198 Jewish Israelis (52% males) age 18–64 (M = 43.5). The results confirmed the expected pattern of moving from acute to chronic stressful situation: levels of general anxiety were higher in the first phase of the pandemic outbreak as compared to the other phases. Levels of social and national coping resources significantly decreased over time. However, as expected, the salutogenic resource of the individual sense o...
This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israe... more This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israeli undergraduate students underwent a year-long process to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, encountered Palestinian narratives, and reflected on the impact of the Palestinian other on their own identity as Jewish-Israelis. We propose that such a process ameliorates identity threats posed by an inter-group conflict on collective identities, encouraging participants to adopt a more complex view of themselves, which validates both narratives of self and “other.” Research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the intervention. Results showed that participants developed an increased capacity for acceptance of both Israeli and Palestinian collective narratives, and demonstrated a greater willingness towards reconciliation, manifested in more readiness to acknowledge responsibility and apologize for past transgressions. Discussion is dedicated to the added value of this model, specifically in relation to inter-group contact approaches to dialogue.
Aaron Antonovsky developed the salutogenic model during
his years of work in the Israeli medical ... more Aaron Antonovsky developed the salutogenic model during his years of work in the Israeli medical school at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, located in southern Israel, where he was one of the founders of the Faculty of Health. He left just a few researchers in his wake who continued in his path and paved the way for new research adapted to the diverse “social laboratory” that is the State of Israel. Today his salutogenic paradigm is widely spread over the world and is influential in Israel both in the area of research and in health and educational public policies. The central salutogenesis work of Israeli researchers has been published in English to make it accessible to the international community who do not read Hebrew. Yet, there is a Hebrew salutogenesis literatureHebrew salutogenesis literature with a diversity of theoretical and empirical applications of the salutogenic model, embedded in the Israeli context and with the unique characteristics of this context. In this review, we endeavor to encompass all of the work and most of the publications in Hebrew that have used Antonovsky’s salutogenic model as a framework. We present the main directions of these studies and emphasize the unique characteristics of the research conducted in Israel.
Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidis... more Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidisciplinary approach. During COVID-19 there have been contributions by bench scientists studying the pathogenic aspects of the illness as well as medical and social scientists understanding the multi-layered impacts of the global pandemic. Our study is based on the salutogenic approach which asks about the individual and collective perceptions of coping
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 2017
The current article presents a new intervention model for intragroup dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish... more The current article presents a new intervention model for intragroup dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israeli undergraduate students underwent a yearlong process to learn about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, encountered Palestinian narratives, and reflected on the impact of the Palestinian other on their own identity as Jewish-Israelis. In this research we propose that such a process ameliorates identity threats posed by an intergroup conflict on collective identities, encouraging participants to adopt a more complex view of themselves, which validates both narratives of self and “other.” Research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the intervention. Results showed that participants developed an increased capacity for acceptance of both Israeli and Palestinian collective narratives, and demonstrated a greater willingness toward reconciliation, manifested in more readiness to acknowledge responsibility and apologize for past transgressions. Discussion is dedicated to the added value of this model, specifically in relation to intergroup contact approaches to dialogue.
Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidis... more Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidisciplinary approach. During COVID-19 there have been contributions by bench scientists studying the pathogenic aspects of the illness as well as medical and social scientists understanding the multi-layered impacts of the global pandemic. Our study is based on the salutogenic approach which asks about the individual and collective perceptions of coping resources available and the relationship between these resources and levels of anxiety and mental health. We also studied of the role of the socio-national context in which the crisis occurred and whether it may also contribute to the understanding of the reactions of individuals in the unusual event of the COVID-19 crisis. Objectives: The study examined the personal (sense of coherence), social resources (social support), and national resources (trust in public institutions and leaders, and sense of national coherence), that enabled high levels of mental health and low levels of anxiety in time of the pandemic crisis. Methodology: Our international study was carried out in nine countries: Israel, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, the U.S.A, during the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal study in Israel during six phases during the first year of the crisis. Findings: We found that Sense of coherence (SOC) was a main and stable coping resource among the participants from all countries included in the study. However, differences were found in the levels of perceptions of national coping resources among different social groups. Conclusions: A strong SOC is crucial for health and survival during times of global and local crises. Policy Implications/recommendations: During regular times, and especially in times of crisis, leaders and policy makers should prioritize strengthening sense of coherence of the population. Therefore, the messages to the public should be created and designed to enhance comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness of the pandemic and trust in government and public health initiatives.
This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israe... more This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israeli undergraduate students underwent a year-long process to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, encountered Palestinian narratives, and reflected on the impact of the Palestinian other on their own identity as Jewish-Israelis. We propose that such a process ameliorates identity threats posed by an inter-group conflict on collective identities, encouraging participants to adopt a more complex view of themselves, which validates both narratives of self and “other.” Research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the intervention. Results showed that participants developed an increased capacity for acceptance of both Israeli and Palestinian collective narratives, and demonstrated a greater willingness towards reconciliation, manifested in more readiness to acknowledge responsibility and apologize for past transgressions. Discussion is dedicated to...
Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidis... more Scientific Background: Understanding, responding to, and preventing disasters requires a multidisciplinary approach. During COVID-19 there have been contributions by bench scientists studying the pathogenic aspects of the illness as well as medical and social scientists understanding the multi-layered impacts of the global pandemic. Our study is based on the salutogenic approach which asks about the individual and collective perceptions of coping resources available and the relationship between these resources and levels of anxiety and mental health. We also studied of the role of the socio-national context in which the crisis occurred and whether it may also contribute to the understanding of the reactions of individuals in the unusual event of the COVID-19 crisis.
Objectives: The study examined the personal (sense of coherence), social resources (social support), and national resources (trust in public institutions and leaders, and sense of national coherence), that enabled high levels of mental health and low levels of anxiety in time of the pandemic crisis. Methodology: Our international study was carried out in nine countries: Israel, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, the U.S.A, during the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal study in Israel during six phases during the first year of the crisis. Findings: We found that Sense of coherence (SOC) was a main and stable coping resource among the participants from all countries included in the study. However, differences were found in the levels of perceptions of national coping resources among different social groups. Conclusions: A strong SOC is crucial for health and survival during times of global and local crises. Policy Implications/recommendations: During regular times, and especially in times of crisis, leaders and policy makers should prioritize strengthening sense of coherence of the population. Therefore, the messages to the public should be created and designed to enhance comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness of the pandemic and trust in government and public health initiatives.
Employing the salutogenic approach, this longitudinal study explored the effects of coping with t... more Employing the salutogenic approach, this longitudinal study explored the effects of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, as it evolved from an acute to a chronic stress situation, during the first year. We examined the role of individual [sense of coherence (SOC)], social (perceived social support), and national [sense of national coherence (SONC)] coping resources, as well as situational and demographic factors, in predicting mental health and anxiety. Data was collected in five phases between March 2020 and February 2021 via a repeated panel sample and included 198 Jewish Israelis (52% males) age 18–64 (M = 43.5). The results confirmed the expected pattern of moving from acute to chronic stressful situation: levels of general anxiety were higher in the first phase of the pandemic outbreak as compared to the other phases. Levels of social and national coping resources significantly decreased over time. However, as expected, the salutogenic resource of the individual sense o...
This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israe... more This article presents a new intervention model for intra-group dialogue. Twenty-four Jewish-Israeli undergraduate students underwent a year-long process to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, encountered Palestinian narratives, and reflected on the impact of the Palestinian other on their own identity as Jewish-Israelis. We propose that such a process ameliorates identity threats posed by an inter-group conflict on collective identities, encouraging participants to adopt a more complex view of themselves, which validates both narratives of self and “other.” Research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the intervention. Results showed that participants developed an increased capacity for acceptance of both Israeli and Palestinian collective narratives, and demonstrated a greater willingness towards reconciliation, manifested in more readiness to acknowledge responsibility and apologize for past transgressions. Discussion is dedicated to the added value of this model, specifically in relation to inter-group contact approaches to dialogue.
Aaron Antonovsky developed the salutogenic model during
his years of work in the Israeli medical ... more Aaron Antonovsky developed the salutogenic model during his years of work in the Israeli medical school at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, located in southern Israel, where he was one of the founders of the Faculty of Health. He left just a few researchers in his wake who continued in his path and paved the way for new research adapted to the diverse “social laboratory” that is the State of Israel. Today his salutogenic paradigm is widely spread over the world and is influential in Israel both in the area of research and in health and educational public policies. The central salutogenesis work of Israeli researchers has been published in English to make it accessible to the international community who do not read Hebrew. Yet, there is a Hebrew salutogenesis literatureHebrew salutogenesis literature with a diversity of theoretical and empirical applications of the salutogenic model, embedded in the Israeli context and with the unique characteristics of this context. In this review, we endeavor to encompass all of the work and most of the publications in Hebrew that have used Antonovsky’s salutogenic model as a framework. We present the main directions of these studies and emphasize the unique characteristics of the research conducted in Israel.
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Papers by Sharon Benheim
Objectives: The study examined the personal (sense of coherence), social resources (social support), and national resources (trust in public institutions and leaders, and sense of national coherence), that enabled high levels of mental health and low levels of anxiety in time of the pandemic crisis.
Methodology: Our international study was carried out in nine countries: Israel, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, the U.S.A, during the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal study in Israel during six phases during the first year of the crisis.
Findings: We found that Sense of coherence (SOC) was a main and stable coping resource among the participants from all countries included in the study. However, differences were found in the levels of perceptions of national coping resources among different social groups.
Conclusions: A strong SOC is crucial for health and survival during times of global and local crises.
Policy Implications/recommendations: During regular times, and especially in times of crisis, leaders and policy makers should prioritize strengthening sense of coherence of the population. Therefore, the messages to the public should be created and designed to enhance comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness of the pandemic and trust in government and public health initiatives.
Books by Sharon Benheim
his years of work in the Israeli medical school at Ben Gurion
University of the Negev, located in southern Israel, where he
was one of the founders of the Faculty of Health. He left just
a few researchers in his wake who continued in his path and
paved the way for new research adapted to the diverse
“social laboratory” that is the State of Israel. Today his
salutogenic paradigm is widely spread over the world and
is influential in Israel both in the area of research and in
health and educational public policies.
The central salutogenesis work of Israeli researchers has
been published in English to make it accessible to the international
community who do not read Hebrew. Yet, there is a
Hebrew salutogenesis literatureHebrew salutogenesis literature
with a diversity of theoretical and empirical applications
of the salutogenic model, embedded in the Israeli context
and with the unique characteristics of this context.
In this review, we endeavor to encompass all of the work
and most of the publications in Hebrew that have used
Antonovsky’s salutogenic model as a framework. We present
the main directions of these studies and emphasize the
unique characteristics of the research conducted in Israel.
Objectives: The study examined the personal (sense of coherence), social resources (social support), and national resources (trust in public institutions and leaders, and sense of national coherence), that enabled high levels of mental health and low levels of anxiety in time of the pandemic crisis.
Methodology: Our international study was carried out in nine countries: Israel, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, the U.S.A, during the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal study in Israel during six phases during the first year of the crisis.
Findings: We found that Sense of coherence (SOC) was a main and stable coping resource among the participants from all countries included in the study. However, differences were found in the levels of perceptions of national coping resources among different social groups.
Conclusions: A strong SOC is crucial for health and survival during times of global and local crises.
Policy Implications/recommendations: During regular times, and especially in times of crisis, leaders and policy makers should prioritize strengthening sense of coherence of the population. Therefore, the messages to the public should be created and designed to enhance comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness of the pandemic and trust in government and public health initiatives.
his years of work in the Israeli medical school at Ben Gurion
University of the Negev, located in southern Israel, where he
was one of the founders of the Faculty of Health. He left just
a few researchers in his wake who continued in his path and
paved the way for new research adapted to the diverse
“social laboratory” that is the State of Israel. Today his
salutogenic paradigm is widely spread over the world and
is influential in Israel both in the area of research and in
health and educational public policies.
The central salutogenesis work of Israeli researchers has
been published in English to make it accessible to the international
community who do not read Hebrew. Yet, there is a
Hebrew salutogenesis literatureHebrew salutogenesis literature
with a diversity of theoretical and empirical applications
of the salutogenic model, embedded in the Israeli context
and with the unique characteristics of this context.
In this review, we endeavor to encompass all of the work
and most of the publications in Hebrew that have used
Antonovsky’s salutogenic model as a framework. We present
the main directions of these studies and emphasize the
unique characteristics of the research conducted in Israel.