Aaron Antonovsky (19 December 1923 – 7 July 1994) was an

Israeli American , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan ar ...

sociologist and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

whose work concerned the relationship between

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

and

well-being Well-being, or wellbeing, also known as wellness, prudential value or quality of life, refers to what is intrinsically valuable relative ''to'' someone. So the well-being of a person is what is ultimately good ''for'' this person, what is in th ...

(

salutogenesis Salutogenesis is the study of the origins of health and focuses on factors that support human health and well-being, rather than on factors that cause disease (pathogenesis). More specifically, the "salutogenic model" was originally concerned wi ...

Biography

Antonovsky was born in the United States in 1923. After completing his PhD at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, he emigrated to Israel in 1960. For a time he held positions in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

at the Israeli Institute for Applied Social Research and in the Department of

Medical Sociology Medical sociology is the sociological analysis of medical organizations and institutions; the production of knowledge and selection of methods, the actions and interactions of healthcare professionals, and the social or cultural (rather than clin ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. During this period his early work emphasized social class differences in morbidity and mortality. In 1972, he helped establish the medical school at

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

, and held the Kunin-Lunenfeld Chair in Medical Sociology. During his twenty years in that Department, Antonovsky developed his theory of health and illness, which he termed

. This model was described in his 1979 book, ''Health, Stress and Coping'', followed by his 1987 work, ''Unraveling the Mystery of Health''. A key concept in Antonovsky's theory concerns how specific personal dispositions serve to make individuals more resilient to the stressors they encounter in daily life.Bengt Lindström and Monica Eriksson
"Contextualizing salutogenesis and Antonovsky in public health development"
''Health Promotion International'', volume 21, pages 238-244, 2006. Antonovsky identified these characteristics, which he claimed helped a person better cope (and remain healthy) by providing that person a "sense of coherence" about life and its challenges; Helen Antonovsky (his wife) developed a scale ("Orientation to life questionnaire") in 1987 to measure it. Recent research in

psychoneuroimmunology Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), also referred to as psychoendoneuroimmunology (PENI) or psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology (PNEI), is the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. It is ...

has supported the relationship between emotions and health contained in Antonovsky's theory. Antonovsky died in 1994.

Notes and references

Works cited * Aaron Antonovsky, ''Health, Stress and Coping'', San Francisco,

Jossey-Bass Publishers John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in ...

, 1979. * Aaron Antonovsky, ''Unraveling The Mystery of Health. How People Manage Stress and Stay Well'', San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1987. * Y. Henkin and A. D. Sperber, "Aaron Antonovsky: Editor and Idealist", ''

Israel Journal of Medical Sciences The ''Israel Medical Association Journal'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Israel Medical Association. It was established in 1999, replacing the ''Israel Journal of Medical Sciences''. The editor-in-chief is Yehuda Sh ...

'', volume 32, pages 163–165, 1996. * M. Eriksson and B. Lindstöm, "Validity of Antonovsky's sense of coherence scale: a systematic review", ''

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health The ''Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health'' is a peer-reviewed public health journal that covers all aspects of epidemiology and public health. It is published by the BMJ Group. History The journal was founded in 1947 by John Ryle, a ...

'', volume 59, pages 460–466, 2005.

Biography

Notes and references

See also