Development and Initial Validation of the Response to Suicidal Ideation Inventory (RSII).

As distinct from an approach focused on the causal factors resulting in mental illness, Antonovsky developed a salutogenic approach to mental health which aims to discover factors which support the development and maintenance of good mental health and well‐being (Antonovsky ). Sense of Coherence (SoC) is the key construct introduced by Antonovsky to describe an individual's orientation to life, which he saw as essential for explaining salutogenesis. Someone with a high SoC believes that the world is worth engaging in, that life proceeds in a mostly predictable way which is under their control, and they are able to make use of available resources to react to life's stressors (Antonovsky ). Differences in SoC are thought to explain why stressors lead to poor mental health in some people and are adequately managed by others. SoC has now been shown to predict increased quality of life (Eriksson and Lindström ), better mental and physical health in both adolescents and adults (Eriksson and Lindström ; Matić and Vuletić ), health seeking behavior (Binkowska‐Bury et al. ), and the response to personal challenges including health conditions and traumatic stressors (Richardson and Ratner ; van der Hal‐van Raalte et al. ) in line with Antonovsky's original theory. In his original descriptions, Antonovsky () identifies SoC as a long‐lasting trait, with only minor fluctuations around a personal setpoint determined by early adulthood, which itself can be altered only by a “radical change in one's structural situation” (p. 125). Despite this, targeted salutogenic interventions have been shown to significantly increase SoC (Langeland et al. ), demonstrating that SoC may be a modifiable protective factor, including during the perinatal period (Muggleton et al. ). There is mixed evidence about the fluctuation of SoC across the lifespan, with some studies showing stability across ages (Grevenstein and Bluemke ; Matić and Vuletić ; Richardson et al. ), while others show a significant increase in SoC with age (Ferguson et al. ; Trap et al. ). Pregnancy and the transition to parenthood is a significant developmental transition and has been described as a canonical personally and epistemically transformative experience (Paul ); an apt candidate for a radical change in one's structural situation. Previous studies undertaken in the perinatal period have shown higher SoC to predict lower pregnancy‐specific distress (Staneva et al. ), fewer delivery complications (Oz et al. ), increased breastfeeding duration (Cortelo et al. ), higher rates of vaginal birth and increased birth satisfaction (Ferguson et al. ). A recent systematic review of SoC in pregnancy found 49 studies from 14 countries (Alcantara et al. (); note preprint status). Given that SoC is predictive of important outcomes and is likely to fluctuate during this transitional period, it is important to consider any common trajectories in SoC in order to better support positive outcomes for families.