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Sense of Coherence (SOC) in Christian Orthodox Monks and Nuns in Greece
Kyriakoula Merakou1,2, Stavroula Taki3,4, Anastasia Barbouni3,4
1Department of Public Health, National School of Public Health, 196, Alexandras Ave., 11521, Athens, Greece. kmerakou@esdy.edu.gr.
Abstract:
This paper aims to investigate the stress management skills of Christian Orthodox monks and nuns, as measured by Antonovsky's scale sense of coherence (SOC). A case-control study was designed to test the hypotheses whether monks and nuns have higher SOC than secular people. The study population consisted of 193 individuals, 96 monks and nuns (study group) and 97 secular men and women (control group). SOC score was higher in monks and nuns as compared to the secular population (p = 0.002), men as compared to women (p = 0.012) and persons of older age (p = 0.004) as compared to younger individuals.
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