Sense of coherence and nutritional maturity versus the feeling of stress among young adults

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish the interdependencies between the sense of coherence, nutritional maturity and the sense of stress in a group of young adults, considering their diet. Ultimately, research efforts were aimed at testing the predictive power of the study variables against the feeling of stress. Method: The study was conducted in a group of 100 people in the 20–33 age range that were following either a vegetarian and meat diet. The Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Questionnaire, the Nutritional Maturity Questionnaire (Potocka & Najder, 2016) and the Sense of Stress Questionnaire (Plopa & Makarowski, 2010) were applied. Results: The results indicate a significantly lower intensity of emotional tension, intrapsychic, external and general stress, as well as significantly higher indicators of the sense of coherence and nutritional maturity in the group of vegetarians. Moreover, nutritional maturity was found to be negatively correlated to the sense of stress, while the sense of coherence was noted to be positively correlated to the nutritional maturity. In the end, it was demonstrated that the sense of coherence played an important role in predicting stress as experienced by young adults. Conclusion: The research provided important knowledge on the relationship between attitudes towards nutrition and experiencing stress in a group of young adults.