Socioecological Perspectives of Resilience Among Arab and Middle Eastern Migrants

Abstract

This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of resilience among Arab and Middle Eastern migrants living in the United States through a socioecological framework. Nineteen first- and second-generation Arab and Middle Eastern adults were interviewed from 10 families. The study explored two research questions (a) how participants described their experience of resilience and (b) how participants experienced resilience in the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Eleven subthemes emerged and included a variety of themes that described the interaction between migrants and their environment at each level of the socioecological system. Findings add to the literature by revealing the dynamic nature of resilience as well as providing a socioecological perspective of resilience, contextualizing our understanding of resilience for this community, and illuminating how socioecological factors can hinder or foster resilience.