Sense of Coherence and the Cultural Organisation of Barriers to Healthy Eating and Active Living in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods in Uppsala

In salutogenic theory, sense of coherence (SOC) reflects an individual’s capacity to mobilise appropriate resources to prevent barriers from becoming stressors. However, few studies have examined how culture defines the barriers and resources evaluated through SOC. Integrating salutogenesis with cognitive anthropology, we examine how SOC relates to cultural models of barriers to healthy eating and active living (HEAL) in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Uppsala. We used an iterative mixed-method approach. Qualitative analyses of interviews and observations identified barriers to HEAL. Participants then pile-sorted these barriers; shared structures were analysed using the quadratic assignment procedure and hierarchical cluster analysis. Factor analyses examined whether clusters aligned with participant difficulty ratings and Bayesian multivariate regression examined associations between extracted factors and SOC. Qualitative data were revisited to interpret relationships among SOC-associated factors. Data collection occurred between September 2023 and June 2024. Participants agreed on how HEAL barriers were organised into cultural subdomains. Seven subdomains yielded single-factor solutions. Four factors ( How Neighbours See Me , Social Change , Self-doubt , Exercise Support ) covaried negatively with SOC. Qualitative analyses indicated that these factors cohered around themes of strong kinship bonds and mistrust toward outgroup members. SOC showed selective associations within the cultural models of HEAL barriers. Thematic coherence across SOC-associated subdomains suggests a shared organising logic centred on close-tie interdependence in the setting. This pattern clarifies how SOC is implicated within a culturally organised HEAL domain and provides an exploratory basis for hypotheses about SOC in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings. • Identifies a shared cultural model of barriers to healthy eating and active living. • Shows that sense of coherence covaries selectively with this model. • Suggests a deeper schema of close-tie interdependence structures this selectivity.