Sense of coherence: a mediator between violence exposure and psychopathology in Russian juvenile delinquents.

Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to community violence tends to have a hazardous impact on the health and well being of youth. In this context, sense of coherence is related to indicators of well being and mental health and is considered crucial for human information processing in resolving conflicts and coping with enduring stress. The aim of the present study was to explore the role of sense of coherence as a potential mediator in the relationships between community violence exposure and psychopathology, controlling for involvement in severe problem behavior. The study was conducted with a group of Russian juvenile delinquents (N = 159; a highly traumatized population with a history of frequent exposure to violence), who completed a set of questionnaires assessing their exposure to community violence, psychopathology, involvement in severe problem behaviors, and sense of coherence. The relationships among the variables of interest were explored using a structural equation modeling approach. Sense of coherence partially mediated the link between victimization and psychopathology. The direct relationships between victimization and psychopathology decreased in size, suggesting that higher levels of sense of coherence can potentially reduce the levels of psychopathology. These results have an important theoretical value and are meaningful for clinical work, suggesting that preventive and therapeutic interventions should aim at increasing sense of coherence, which might be especially valuable in populations at risk.