The Dimensionality of Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Scales

Antonovsky introduced the concept of Sense of Coherence (SOC), and, to measure it, developed a 29-item questionnaire as well as a shorter, 13-item, version. Despite wide application of SOC scales in research and clinical practice, their factor structure is still not completely clear. The aim of the present study was to analyze the dimensionality of both versions of Antonovsky's SOC scales (SOCS-29 and SOCS-13) in order to ascertain which model better represents the factor structure of the instruments among one-factor, three-correlated factor, and higher-order factor models. In Study 1, data were collected on a sample of 658 Italian university students who completed the SOCS-29. In Study 2, the SOCS-13 was administered to 372 Italian university students. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using the Mean-Adjusted Maximum Likelihood (MLM) estimator was employed to obtain adjusted measure of fit for non-normal sample data. CFA showed that the three-correlated factor model better represents the structure of the 29-item scale, whereas the one-factor model better represents the short 13-item version. In line with the theoretical definition of the construct, and the methodological claim that short forms and full-length measures do not necessarily have the same psychometric properties, findings suggested that the SOCS-29 helps to spell out the three SOC components - comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness - whereas the SOCS-13 provides a global measure of SOC as general orientation to life.