Sense of Coherence and Self-Rated Aggression of Adolescents during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, with a Focus on the Effects of Animal Assisted Activities

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused extreme deviations from everyday life. The aim of this study was to investigate how these deviations affected adolescents’ sense of coherence and their level of aggression, and whether this was influenced by their relationship with animals, especially horses. In two random samples of students from vocational schools in Hungary, taken in June 2018 and June 2020 (n1 = 525, n2 = 412), separate groups were drawn from those who had regularly engaged in equine-assisted activities (ES) and those who had not (OS) before the pandemic. Data were collected using an anonymous, paper-based questionnaire, and during the pandemic an online version of the Sense of Coherence (SOC13) and Bryant–Smith (B12) scales. During the pandemic, boys’ sense of coherence weakened and their aggressiveness increased. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that, regardless of gender and age group, increased time spent using the internet (p < 0.001), a lack of classmates (p = 0.017), reduced time spent outdoors (p = 0.026) and reduced physical activity (p < 0.038) during the pandemic significantly increased the tendency for aggressive behavior, whereas being with a horse or pet was beneficial (p < 0.001). The changes imposed by the curfew were rated as bad by 90% of the pupils, however, those with a strong sense of coherence felt less negatively about them. Schools should place a great emphasis on strengthening the students’ sense of coherence.

Avoidance of Inhaled Pollutants and Irritants in Asthma from a Salutogenic Perspective

“…Previous studies have shown that a high sense of coherence is related to better health outcomes, and this has been observed in the care of diabetic patients, with neurological diseases, autoimmune diseases, neoplastic diseases, in oral health care and even during the covid-19 pandemic. 57,58 SOC, a construct of Antonovsky 's salutogenic theory, is a personal orientation for identifying, coping and solving problems, which has become a fundamental concept in public health, particularly for health promotion. 59 Antonovsky 's inspiration for researching this phenomenon came when he studied climacteric women who had lived in concentration camps during World War II, finding that some of them maintained good physical and mental health.…”

A lóasszisztált tevékenység szociális viselkedésre, koherenciaérzetre és agresszivitásra gyakorolt hatásának vizsgálata szakiskolai képzésben részt vevő serdülők körében = Examination of the Effects of Horse-Assisted Activities on Social Behaviour, Sense of Coherence and Aggression Among Adolescents in Vocational Training

“…A serdülők számára is megrázók voltak a naponta érkező hírek a növekvő járványról és a halálesetek számának növekedéséről, ami a közvetlen környezetükben is megnyilvánult. A COVID-19 pandémia serdülők életére gyakorolt hatásairól szóló 11 tanulmány áttekintése (Tóth et al, 2022) azt mutatta, hogy a világjárvány a serdülők életének különböző dimenzióit befolyásoló meghatározó tényezőnek tekinthető (Oliveira et al, 2020). Ezt az eredményt erősítették meg más tanulmányok is, amelyek a lezárás során e korcsoportban jelentkező különféle pszichológiai tünetekről és viselkedésbéli változásokról szóltak (Francisco et al, 2020;Jiao et al, 2020).…”