An Ecological Systems Approach to Reconceptualizing “Lebanese Resilience” by Abbey Michelle Gali's Dissertation Defense

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Florida International University

University Graduate School

Doctoral Dissertation Defense

Abstract

An Ecological Systems Approach to Reconceptualizing “Lebanese Resilience”

by

Abbey Michelle Gali

Resilience is frequently invoked as characteristic of Lebanon and its people, yet little is known about how it is locally understood and experienced. In partnership with the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut, this community-based, mixed-methods dissertation examines Lebanese resilience across three studies.

Adhering to an intersectional, ecological theoretical perspective, Study 1 uses a critical narrative review to develop the Lebanese Resilience Schema (LRS); Study 2 examines lived experiences through focus groups and interviews with 23 Lebanese emerging adults; and Study 3 uses a mixed-methods survey of 125 emerging adults to examine archetype evaluations across social identities.

Study 1 identified Lebanese resilience as a culturally shared, double-edged schema encompassing both benefit and burden. Study 2 demonstrated how resilience is embedded in everyday life and chronic crisis, with participants embracing persistence, solidarity, and pride while challenging expectations of continual endurance. Study 3 found the archetype broadly accurate and agreeable, but significantly less fair, with evaluations varying by social identity and national identity centrality.

Together, these studies offer a culturally grounded and critically engaged account of resilience in Lebanon, challenging prevailing assumptions and contributing to broader psychological scholarship on resilience among Arab/Middle Eastern populations in conflict-affected contexts.

Date: November 18, 2026 Department: Psychology

Time: 12.00 p.m. Major Professor: Dr. Asia Eaton