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Anduli
Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales
ISSN: 1696-0270 • e-ISSN: 2340-4973
IDENTITY MARKERS AND OCCUPATIONAL PROFILES
OF THE LEBANESE DIASPORA ACROSS THE AMERICAS
MARCADORES DE IDENTIDAD Y PERFILES
OCUPACIONALES DE LA DIÁSPORA LIBANESA EN AMÉRICA
Habib
Chamoun-Nicolas
Sever Institute - Washington
University and Texas A&M
Kingsville, USA
habibc@wustl.edu
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-
5760-5433
María-Victoria
Ramirez-Muñoz
Université Catholique de
l’Ouest in Angers, France
mramirez@uco.fr
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
5172-4098
Francisco
Rabadán-Pérez
Universidad Rey Juan
Carlos, Madrid, Spain
francisco.blanco@urjc.es
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
4324-7244
Abstract
Understanding how cultural identity and
inherited values shape career trajectories
is a key issue in diaspora studies. This
study focuses on the case of the Lebanese
diaspora in the Americas, its identity
markers, and its narratives of identity pride.
For that purpose, an online survey was
conducted in 2021 with 507 individuals of
Lebanese descent living in the Americas,
mainly in México, followed by Argentina,
Ecuador, Colombia, and other countries.
Analysis of results shows predominant self-
identication as Lebanese, as well as a very
common dual pattern of pride combining
their Lebanese heritage with the American
country of birth or residence. Lebanese
language prociency is limited, and feelings
of disconnection from their Lebanese local
community is most common among those
who do not understand the language.
Regarding narratives of identity pride, the
most frequent values highlighted are roots,
culture, and family on one side, but also
relational and prosocial values, which often
could be associated with jobs chosen by
the interviewees in professions related to
business and commerce.
Keywords: Cultural heritage; Self-
identication; Intergenerational
transmission; Family ties; Transnational
belonging; Occupational structure; Mexico;
Argentina; Ecuador; USA.
Resumen
Comprender cómo la identidad cultural y los
valores heredados conguran las trayecto-
rias profesionales es una cuestión clave en
los estudios sobre la diáspora. Este estudio
se centra en el caso de la diáspora libanesa
en América, sus marcadores de identidad y
sus narrativas de orgullo identitario. Para
ello, en 2021 se realizó una encuesta en
línea a 507 personas de ascendencia liba-
nesa que viven en América, principalmente
en México, seguido de Argentina, Ecuador,
Colombia y otros países. El análisis de los
resultados muestra una autoidenticación
predominante como libaneses, así como
un patrón dual muy común de orgullo que
combina su herencia libanesa con el país
americano de nacimiento o residencia. El
dominio del idioma libanés es limitado, y
los sentimientos de desconexión con su co-
munidad local libanesa son más comunes
entre aquellos que no entienden el idioma.
En cuanto a las narrativas de orgullo iden-
titario, los valores más frecuentes que se
destacan son las raíces, la cultura y la fa-
milia, por un lado, pero también los valores
relacionales y prosociales, que a menudo
podrían asociarse con los trabajos elegidos
por los entrevistados en profesiones rela-
cionadas con los negocios y el comercio.
Palabras clave: Herencia cultural; Autoi-
denticación; Transmisión intergenera-
cional; Vínculos familiares; Pertenencia
transnacional; Estructura ocupacional; Mé-
xico; Argentina; Ecuador; USA.
Citation/ Cómo citar este artículo: Ramírez-Muñoz, María-Victoria; Chamoun-Nicolas, Habib; Rabadán-Pérez,
Francisco (2026). Identity markers and occupational profiles of the Lebanese Diaspora across the Americas.
ANDULI 29 (enero 2026): 219-247, https://doi.org//10.12795/anduli.2026.i29.10
Recibido: 09.07.2025; Revisado: 07.12. 2025; Aprobado: 26.12.2025
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1. INTRODUCTION
Migration is one of the most transformative social phenomena of the contemporary
era, reshaping identities, labor markets, and cultural imaginaries. At the present time,
marked by increasingly diverse host societies and fully intergenerational migratory
trajectories, a central question for the social sciences is how belonging to one’s
place of origin is expressed in diasporic communities and what dimensions sustain
its symbolic continuity, even when the link with the country of origin is indirect (for
example, without language prociency or experiences of return). Recent scholarship
highlights the role of narratives and collective memory in sustaining diasporic
belonging, particularly when direct ties to the country of origin weaken (Kianpour et
al., 2025).
In this context, migration from Lebanon to the Americas stands out for its historical
depth and the breadth of settlements in different countries, where belonging can be
articulated through family practices, community networks, and identity repertoires.
The specialized literature has emphasized the adaptability of these communities and
their presence in economic and associative activities, especially around family and
commercial networks (Klich & Lesser, 1996; Tabar, 2010).
Although there is relevant research on Arab diasporas, studies focusing on the
Americas are scattered across countries, academic traditions, and languages,
making it difcult to obtain comparable descriptive evidence on everyday markers
of identity and cultural transmission. In a broader literature, situational dimensions
of identication and their relationships with social contexts have been analyzed,
while in the region, processes of integration and cultural accommodation have
been documented (Bahajin, 2008), as well as historical-cultural readings on Syrian-
Lebanese immigration in national contexts (Bérodot & Pozzo, 2012). In the case
of Mexico, dynamics of identity persistence and social mobility in communities of
Lebanese origin have been described (Ramírez Carrillo, 2018). Likewise, there are
synthetic contributions that discuss historical particularities of Lebanese settlement
in Latin America (Hamui-Halabe, 1994). Recent migration research also emphasizes
the need for approaches that capture the contextual, relational, and non-essentialist
nature of identity formation in migratory settings (Vlase, 2024). However, there is
still a lack of comparable descriptive evidence that connects, in the same sample,
everyday markers of belonging and cultural transmission with occupational proles in
diasporic communities of Lebanese origin in the Americas. In this sense, the problem
addressed in this article is how these identity markers—including self-identication
labels, religion, and language—are expressed and sustained, and how they are
distributed in relation to occupation in a multinational sample. Recent evidence shows
that cultural identity and language-related skills play a differentiated role across
generations and professional contexts, without constituting a necessary condition for
belonging (Popescu & Pudelko, 2024).
This study contributes to that debate through a descriptive approach focusing on people
of Lebanese descent residing mainly in Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, and
the United States. The work focuses on: (a) how belonging is declared and narrated,
including the self-attribution of labels such as Arab, Lebanese, or Phoenician; (b)
its distribution according to markers of self-identication and sociodemographic
variables, such as religion, age, and occupation; and (c) the evaluative themes that
emerge in an open-ended question about identity pride, analyzed through thematic
coding. The article thus offers a concise and cautious characterization of patterns of
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identication, family transmission, and occupational proles in the sample analyzed,
and provides an empirical basis for future comparative research.
Study objectives: (1) to describe identity markers and self-labeling; (2) to describe
occupational proles; and (3) to identify, through thematic coding, evaluative themes
present in narratives of identity pride.
1.1 Cultural Memory and Symbolic Attachment to Lebanon
Migration from Lebanon to Latin America constitutes a particularly fruitful case for
the study of transnationalism and diasporic identity due to its historical depth and
the wide dispersion of settlements across host countries. From the late nineteenth
century through the twentieth century, successive waves of migrants originating from
the Levant—often recorded under broad labels such as “Syrians” or “Arabs”—settled
in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and other countries in Central and South
America (Klich & Lesser, 1996; Tabar, 2010).
These migrations were linked to contexts of political instability, economic hardship,
and religious tensions during the Ottoman period and, later, under the French Mandate
(Jozami, 1995; Khater, 2001). Over time, communities of Lebanese origin put down
local roots and participated, to varying degrees, in the economic, political, and cultural
life of their host societies, often supported by family and community networks.
Early literature has described frequent involvement in commercial and intermediary
activities, which facilitated social integration processes without eliminating the
continuity of family structures and community repertoires (Joseph, 2000). Later, the
descendants of these migrants have been studied in relation to trajectories of social
mobility, civic participation, and adaptation to diverse national contexts. In a broader
literature on Arab diasporas, it has been shown that identication can be situational
and activated in specic social contexts, allowing belonging to be understood as a
dynamic process rather than a xed attribute (Ajrouch & Kusow, 2007).
Although there are relevant contributions on Syrian-Lebanese immigration in Latin
America, the available evidence remains heterogeneous and often difcult to compare
across countries and research traditions. Processes of cultural accommodation and
integration without the complete disappearance of identity references have been
documented in the region (Bahajin, 2008), as well as historical transformations and
community congurations in case studies such as Argentina (Bérodot & Pozzo,
2012) and Mexico (Ramírez Carrillo, 2018). Taken together, these studies suggest
that diasporic belonging is not based solely on “classic” indicators—such as linguistic
uency, return migration, or formal afliation with institutions in the country of origin—
but also on less visible everyday mechanisms: intergenerational family narratives,
religious practices, shared memories, and emotional ties. In this vein, symbolic
attachment can persist even as linguistic or geographical ties weaken, reinforcing
the need to attend to ordinary forms of transmission and recognition (Joseph, 2011;
Nagel, 2009).
The literature on diaspora and transnationalism has suggested that diasporic
identities are constructed through both remembrance and reinvention, mediated
by family, community, and the sociopolitical environment of host societies (Levitt &
Schiller, 2004; Vertovec, 2001). From this perspective, identity transmission operates
not only through explicit cultural institutions, but also through informal practices,
emotional attachments, and everyday routines, which can be conceptualized as
cultural remittances or transnational habitus (Hannerz, 2010; Levitt, 2009). In the
contemporary scenario, moreover, interest in roots, cultural memory, and belonging
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has been reactivated in dialogue with the dynamics of globalization and transnational
media circulation, which tend to reorder symbolic repertoires and forms of self-
identication (Appadurai, 1999; Hannerz, 2010).
Finally, the Latin American case invites us to overcome rigid dichotomies such
as “integration” versus “separation” and to consider simultaneous belongings,
transnational practices, and stratied subjectivities (Faist, 2010; Schiller et al., 1992).
In contexts where national imaginaries have often been constructed on the basis of
mestizaje and pluralism, the Lebanese diaspora offers fertile ground for observing
how national integration and ancestral memory are articulated, as well as the
emergence of specic narratives of self-identication (Balloffet, 2019; Karam, 2013,
2021). Some of these narratives include references to historical genealogies—for
example, the label “Phoenician”—which will be addressed in greater detail in the
theoretical framework below.
1.2. Hybrid identity and the “Third Space”
Several theoretical frameworks have contributed to our understanding of how diasporic
identities are constructed. One of the most inuential is the concept of hybridity
associated with Homi Bhabha and his notion of the “third space” (Bhabha, 2012): a
liminal realm in which cultures and symbolic repertoires interact, clash, and negotiate,
giving rise to forms of identication that are neither a simple “original” continuity nor
complete assimilation. From this perspective, diasporic identity is understood as a
relational and situated production, dependent on historical contexts, social positions,
and scenarios of interaction (Hall, 2011; Kraidy, 2006). In this article, these notions
were used as a framework for interpreting self-identication labels and narratives
collected in the survey.
Applied to the Lebanese case, the “third space” can be described as a terrain
where Arab, Lebanese, and Western references coexist, and where some people
also mobilize historical labels such as “Phoenician.” These labels do not function as
“essential” markers, but rather as narrative and symbolic resources whose meanings
vary across contexts and generations. The literature on diaspora has emphasized that
belonging is continuously redened through interaction with the country of origin and
with host societies, shaping boundaries of inclusion and distinction that are dynamic
and often situational (Humphrey, 2004; Nagel, 2002).
In this context, references to Phoenician heritage have been analyzed in the literature
as a discursive resource that appears in certain debates on identity in Lebanon and
its diaspora. Some studies have shown that, in certain contexts, this reference can be
used to highlight historical continuities or to emphasize differential features within a
broader identity repertoire (Kaufman, 2004). At the same time, various studies have
pointed out that these symbolic afliations are the subject of debate and that their
meaning depends on the historical moment and the social framework in which they
are mobilized. Research on memory, heritage, and identity in contemporary Lebanon
has observed how heritage policies and memories of conict can activate selective
readings of the past, with possible effects of marking boundaries between identity
narratives (Lefort, 2024; Volk, 2008). In analytical terms, this suggests interpreting
the appeal to ancient genealogies as a practice of identity construction, rather than
as direct historical evidence, through which belonging and senses of continuity are
negotiated.
At the same time, other approaches highlight that, in diasporic contexts, these
references may operate less as a closed ideological program and more as a way
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of sustaining pride, continuity, and intergenerational recognition, especially when
the language, territory, or institutions of the country of origin lose their centrality in
everyday life (Joseph, 2011; Karam, 2013). Overall, Lebanese identity in the diaspora
can hardly be reduced to a single ethnic or religious framework: it is more productive
to understand it as a stratied and changing construct, situated at the intersection
of memory, migration, and adaptation, and expressed through categories of self-
identication that take on different meanings depending on trajectories and social
environments.
1.3 Values and relational repertoires in diasporic narratives
In diasporic contexts, economic and community interactions often take place in
multicultural environments where relational repertoires that articulate trust, reputation,
reciprocity, and networks are central. From this perspective, what matters is not
only individual ability, but also the way in which social capital and shared normative
frameworks facilitate coordination, the resolution of frictions, and the construction
of long-term relationships (Putnam, 2000; Vertovec, 2004). Recent research on
social networks highlights how relational structures facilitate coordination, trust, and
resource mobilization across diverse contexts, emphasizing the centrality of trust and
network embeddedness in enabling economic and social interactions (Han et al.,
2024). This approach is especially relevant in migrant communities where family and
community ties have historically functioned as infrastructures for support, integration,
and mobility (Joseph, 1999; Jozami, 1995). Empirical evidence shows that bonding
and bridging social capital among migrants determine access to resources,
integration opportunities, and support structures, with variation across educational
and socioeconomic backgrounds(Tuominen, 2023).
Regarding the Lebanese diaspora, literature has emphasized the importance of
transnational networks and cultural mediation in economic and professional activity,
as well as the role of community ties in generating trust and cooperation (Vertovec,
2004). Recent research has also pointed out how identity and relational resources
can be activated in cross-border interactions and intercultural contact scenarios
(Eid & Sallabank, 2021). In Latin America, where national imaginaries have been
constructed in a pluralistic manner, these dynamics offer a useful framework for
interpreting why, in certain narratives of belonging, evaluative themes—such as
perseverance, empathy, equity, or adaptability—appear as part of repertoires of
legitimation, pride, and social recognition.
In this article, these evaluative themes are examined as emerging discursive
components in an open question about identity pride, using thematic coding. When
historical labels such as “Phoenician” appear, they are interpreted in their narrative
dimension: symbolic resources mobilized to give meaning and continuity to belonging.
Taken together, this framework allows us to situate the ndings on identity markers
and occupational proles within a literature that emphasizes the role of networks,
relational resources, and belongings situated in the everyday reproduction of diasporic
identity (Joseph, 1999; Putnam, 2000; Vertovec, 2004).
1.4. Research question, objectives, and structure of the article
This article poses the following research question: How are self-identication and
narratives of belonging articulated by people of Lebanese descent in the Americas,
how are their occupational proles described, and what evaluative themes emerge
most frequently in accounts of identity pride?
Based on this question, the study pursues three objectives:
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1. To describe how identity is constructed and expressed among people of
Lebanese descent, including self-identication labels (e.g., Arab, Lebanese, or
Phoenician) and markers such as religion and language.
2. To characterize the distribution of occupational proles and their descriptive
pattern according to variables of identication and belonging.
3. To identify, through thematic coding of open-ended responses, emerging
evaluative themes are present in narratives about identity pride.
The article is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the study design, sample, and
coding and analysis procedure. Section 3 presents the descriptive results and ndings
derived from thematic coding. Finally, Section 4 discusses the results considering the
literature and points out implications and future lines of research.
2. METHODOLOGY AND MATERIALS
This section describes the study design, recruitment and sample construction,
instrument characteristics, and analytical strategy used to examine, from a descriptive
approach, identity markers, cultural transmission, and occupational proles in a
sample of people of Lebanese descent.
2.1 Design, recruitment, and sample
The data was collected through an online survey administered via Google Forms.
According to the timestamp recorded in the exported database, responses were
received between September 12 and October 2, 2021 (EST). The survey link
was disseminated through institutional and associative networks connected to
the Lebanese diaspora across the Americas. Distribution channels included the
Embassies of Lebanon in Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, as well as several Honorary
Consulates of Lebanon, notably in Guadalajara, Mérida, and Monterrey (Mexico);
Guayaquil and Quito (Ecuador); and Córdoba and Buenos Aires (Argentina). The
dissemination was further supported by diaspora organizations such as CAIIL (Centro
Argentino de Investigación e Inmigración Libanesa, Rosario, Argentina), the Sociedad
Libanesa de Rosario (founded in 1928), the World Lebanese Cultural Union, and youth
organizations including JOMALI (Jóvenes Mexicanos de Ascendencia Libanesa) and
JUCAL (Juventud de la Unión Cultural Argentino Libanesa). Additional outreach was
facilitated by community associations such as the Club Libanés de Veracruz, the
Club Libanés de Mérida, and MEXPALI (Monterrey), as well as through the Honorary
Consulate of Lebanon in Vancouver (Canada) via its contacts across Latin America.
Additional support was provided by prominent community associations in Mexico,
including the Centro Libanés A.C. (Mexico City), the Centro Mexicano Libanés de
Puebla, and the Club Libanés Potosino (San Luis Potosí), which assisted in circulating
the questionnaire among their member networks. Finally, the questionnaire also
circulated through personal and community networks associated with these entities,
extending its reach beyond formal membership lists.
Given the lack of a comprehensive sampling framework for the Lebanese diaspora
in the Americas and the practical limitations of implementing a probabilistic design
on a regional scale, the study resorted to non-probabilistic convenience sampling,
supplemented by dissemination through networks. This type of strategy is common
in studies on migration and transnationalism when the objective is to explore identity,
symbolic, or affective dimensions, and a high level of participant involvement is
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required (Pisarevskaya et al., 2022; Renzaho et al., 2023). Consequently, the
sample represents a subset closely related to the study’s subject, making it easier to
describe patterns within the analyzed group, although it limits the ability to statistically
generalize to the diaspora as a whole.
In practical terms, this recruitment strategy may inuence the composition of the
participating group and, therefore, the interpretation of the descriptive results.
Dissemination through institutional and community networks tends to attract people
with a greater connection to the subject matter (e.g., greater interest in ancestry
and participation in associative environments), which could overrepresent certain
repertoires of identication and pride. Likewise, the relative weight of some countries
in the sample may be conditioned by the intensity of dissemination in each national
context, so that comparisons across countries should be interpreted as congurations
within the sample rather than as population portraits. For this reason, the manuscript
prioritizes visual patterns, transparent recoding, and a cautious interpretation,
consistent with the exploratory scope of the design.
There were 508 responses. For analysis requiring the coded country of residence
variable, the analytical sample was reduced to 507 observations due to one case
that could not be unequivocally assigned to the recoded country categories and was
treated as a missing value in the country cross-tabulations. Due to the nature of the
recruitment, the results are interpreted as descriptive patterns within the sample and
not as estimates representative of the entire diaspora population. Consequently, any
interpretive emphasis on differences between countries remains descriptive and
dependent on the composition observed in the sample.
In operational terms, this sample size allows for a reasonably stable description of the
overall distributions of key variables in the sample. The main constraint arises when
disaggregating by country and low-frequency categories; therefore, the manuscript
uses transparent recoding, prioritizes comparative visualizations, and reports
measures of association for descriptive purposes only.
For bivariate analyses requiring certain recoded variables (e.g., country of residence),
the subsample with valid information on those variables was used; cases that could
not be classied in any recoding were treated as missing values in the corresponding
analyses.
2.2 Instrument and variables
The data collection tool consisted of an online questionnaire administered via Google
Forms, aimed at people of Lebanese descent residing mainly in Latin American
countries (and, to a lesser extent, in other countries). The questionnaire combined
closed-ended questions—mostly categorical—with an open-ended question designed
to capture the reasons and meanings associated with identity belonging.
In terms of content, the instrument was structured into ve sections. First, it included
basic sociodemographic variables (gender, age, current country of residence, and
profession). Second, it incorporated items on ancestry and family ties (e.g., lineage and
gures with whom respondents reported having the closest relationship, admiration,
or empathy). Third, it collected indicators of identity and belonging, including pride
in Lebanese ancestry and a comparison of pride in Lebanese heritage with that of
the country of birth. Fourth, it included questions on culture, religion, and language
(declared religion; relative importance of religion versus Lebanese culture; language
use; and feelings of disconnection in community contexts when the language is not
understood). Finally, an open-ended question—“Why are you proud of your Lebanese
ancestry?”—was included to elicit symbolic and emotional responses.
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For the analysis, we worked with the original variables from the questionnaire as well
as with a set of recoded variables aimed at (i) standardizing response categories,
(ii) facilitating comparative reading in tables and gures, and (iii) preserving the
substantive content of the instrument. When necessary to improve readability and
avoid excessive fragmentation, categories with very low frequencies were grouped
under the label “Other.” Some variables collected in the questionnaire are not
reported or exploited at the analytical stage due to a high proportion of missing values
(NA), which limited their statistical reliability and interpretability. The recoding of the
occupational variable into seven aggregate groups is documented in Appendix A, and
the recoding of religious afliation into seven collapsed categories is documented in
Appendix B. The relationship between variables, the original wording of the items,
their response options, and their use in the manuscript are summarized in Appendix
C (Table C1).
2.3 Analytical strategy and coding of the open-ended question
The analysis was approached from a predominantly descriptive perspective,
consistent with the exploratory nature of the study and the largely categorical nature
of the variables. First, absolute and relative frequencies were calculated, and bar
charts were created to characterize the distribution of the main sociodemographic,
identity, and occupational variables. Second, contingency tables were constructed
to describe relevant bivariate patterns (e.g., country of residence with religion, age,
or occupation; and identity markers with religion or language). For reasons of space
and clarity, only the most informative cross-tabulations and summaries of the most
representative categories are presented in the body of the article. The complete
tables corresponding to the cross-tabulations by country with collapsed religion and
with collapsed occupational group are included for consultation in Appendix D and
Appendix E, respectively. This strategy is consistent with a descriptive use of the
available sample size: it allows for the summarization of overall distributions but
recommends grouping categories when cross-tabulating by country to avoid excessive
fragmentation and low-frequency cells. As a reading supplement—and without any
inferential pretensions given the sample design—measures of association strength
for categorical variables (in particular, Pearson’s chi-square statistic and Cramer’s
V) are reported, interpreted as descriptive magnitudes. To incorporate the symbolic
and affective dimension of belonging, the open-ended question was analyzed using a
content analysis procedure with thematic coding.
Following methodological guidelines for integrating qualitative evidence into systematic
data processing and articulating it with descriptive analyses (Nichols & Edlund,
2023), the responses were read and classied into a set of analytical categories
that capture recurring themes (e.g., family, roots, resilience, empathy, adaptation,
prosocial values, or cultural references). These categories were operationalized as
dichotomous variables (0/1), allowing us to describe the presence of each motif in
the sample and, where appropriate, examine its descriptive distribution in relation
to identication markers and occupational proles, while maintaining a focus on
identifying regularities within the study group. The coding was performed by one team
member and reviewed by the co-authors to ensure consistency in the criteria.
Missing values may be due to three main sources: (i) response logic in conditional
items, (ii) non-response, and (iii) specic cases that cannot be classied in certain
recodings intended to standardize categories. The analysis was based on the
recoded variables used in tables and gures, prioritizing substantive categories of
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the instrument and minimizing information loss. Data processing and analysis were
performed in SPSS using a database exported from Google Forms.
2.4 Ethical considerations and data availability
Participation in the survey was voluntary. The questionnaire was administered via
Google Forms and did not include an explicit informed consent box; completion of the
form was interpreted as acceptance to participate in a study for academic purposes.
The form did not request direct identiers (e.g., name, email, or postal address),
and the working base consisted of sociodemographic and identity variables (e.g.,
gender, age, country of residence, religion, language, and markers of belonging),
along with technical elds from the registry (e.g., identier and timestamp generated
by the platform) used solely for the purposes of controlling and managing the set of
responses.
To minimize risks to participants, results are presented exclusively in aggregate form (tables
and percentages), and information that could allow individual identication is avoided.
3. RESULTS
The results are interpreted descriptively, referring to the sample studied (see Section
2). In analyses that incorporate the recoded country of residence, the analytical N
is 507, due to one case not classied in that recoding. The sample size may vary
occasionally between analyses due to response/non-response logic and specic
missing values for each variable; therefore, the corresponding valid N is indicated in
each gure or table.
3.1 Sample prole and baseline variables
Figure 1. Respondents’ country of residence (%)
Source: Own elaboration
The analytical sample in Figure 1 consists mainly of people residing in Mexico (61.3%),
followed by Argentina (10.7%), Ecuador (9.3%), and Colombia (8.3%). The United
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States accounts for 3.9% of cases. The remaining percentage is distributed among
other countries with a minority presence, which are grouped for ease of reading.
Figure 2. Age distribution (%)
Source: Own elaboration
In terms of age, Figure 2 shows a distribution concentrated in the adult and older
age groups. The average age is 51.24 years, and the modal range corresponds to
60–69 years (n = 132), suggesting a relatively high participation of older people in
the survey. Some variables may have missing values due to ltering logic or non-
response, so the N may vary slightly between analyses.
3.2. Occupational proles
Figure 3. Occupational proles sorted by frequency (%)
Source: Own elaboration
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Figure 3 shows the distribution of participants’ occupations. To improve readability,
responses were recoded beforehand, standardizing names and grouping categories
with individual frequencies of less than 2% under “Others.” This threshold allowed the
most represented occupations to remain visible and avoided excessive fragmentation
of the graph by residual categories.
In descriptive terms, the gure reects a greater presence of technical and
commercial proles, with Engineer, Merchant, and Lawyer as the most frequent
categories. Next are occupations linked to organizational and institutional functions
(e.g., Administration and Business Administration) and to the health and care elds
(e.g., Therapist/Doctor). Entrepreneur, Teacher, Homemaker, and Student are in
the middle range, while the rest of the less frequent occupations are included in
“Others.”
Taken together, this distribution provides an overview of the sample’s occupational
prole. It establishes a context for subsequent descriptive analyses, preserving the
diversity of proles without overloading the presentation with very minor categories.
3.3 Self-identication and markers of belonging
Figure 4. Primary self-identication label (Arab, Phoenician, Lebanese).
Source: Own elaboration
In the sample, Figure 4, the predominant self-identication was “Lebanese”
(88%), followed by ‘Phoenician’ (7%) and “Arab” (4%) (Figure 4). This distribution
summarizes the relative weight of the leading self-identication labels collected in
the questionnaire. It serves as a starting point for describing how other dimensions of
belonging (religion, language, and relative pride in origin) are ranked.
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Figure 5. Identity ordering: Lebanese identity vs religious afliation (which comes rst?)
Source: Own elaboration
Regarding the relationship between national identity and religious afliation, Figure
5, the majority indicated that, if they lived in Lebanon, they would identify rst as
Lebanese and then by their religious afliation (82%), compared to 18% who placed
religious afliation rst (Figure 5). The result describes the order declared between the
two dimensions in the sample analyzed, without implying any “objective” hierarchies
outside this response context.
Figure 6. Speaks Lebanese and feels disconnected when not understanding
the language (100% stacked).
Source: Own elaboration
Regarding language, Figure 6 shows that a minority (17%) spoke Lebanese Arabic,
while the rest (83%) indicated they did not speak it. When this information is cross-
referenced with the feeling of disconnection when others speak the language, and
it is not understood, the disconnection is mainly concentrated among those who do
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not speak the language. In contrast, among those who do speak it, the absence of
disconnection predominates (Figure 6). This joint representation allows us to describe
the pattern of co-occurrence between both indicators without resorting to causal
interpretations.
Figure 7. Relative pride: Lebanese heritage vs country of birth (less, equal, more)
Source: Own elaboration
Finally, Figure 7 shows that when comparing pride in Lebanese ancestry with pride in
country of birth, the most frequent category was “Equally proud” (57%), followed by
“Yes (more proud of Lebanese heritage)” (29%) and “No (not more proud of Lebanese
heritage)” (14%). This distribution describes the predominance of an identication
compatible with dual pride, along with a segment that declares relatively greater pride
in Lebanese heritage.
3.4 Key bivariate patterns
To answer the research question directly without overloading the reader with
extensive tables, two bivariate cross-tabulations were selected between country
of residence (recoded into six categories: Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia,
United States, and “Other countries”) and (i) grouped occupational proles and (ii)
collapsed religion. In the body of the article, these results are presented using two
100% stacked bar charts (Figures 8–9) and are accompanied by a summary table
with descriptive measures of association (Table 1). The complete contingency tables
(absolute frequencies by country) are included in Appendix D (country × collapsed
religion) and Appendix E (country × collapsed occupational group). Documentation
of the recoding used is presented in Appendix A (occupation) and Appendix B
(religion). The valid N may vary between crosses due to specic missing values for
each variable.
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Figure 8. Country of residence × Professional group (100% stacked bar chart). (N valid = 506)
Source: Own elaboration
Figure 8 shows the distribution by occupational groups (valid N = 506), differences
in composition by country are observed within the sample. Argentina has a high
proportion in Education (18/54; 33.3%), compared to zero proportions in Colombia
(0/42) and Ecuador (0/45). Colombia and Ecuador show a higher proportion in
Technical & engineering (13/42; 31.0% and 13/45; 28.9%, respectively). In the United
States, the proportion is higher in Business & commerce (10/20; 50.0%), together
with Household / life-course (4/20; 20.0%). In Mexico—the country with the largest
sample size—Business & commerce predominates (118/311; 37.9%), with additional
proportions in Technical & engineering (44/311; 14.1%) and Law, regulation & public
affairs (41/311; 13.2%), as well as smaller percentages in the other groups.
Figure 9. Country of residence × Religion (collapsed)
(100% stacked bar chart). (N valid = 507)
Source: Own elaboration
In gure 9 the intersection between country and collapsed religion (valid N = 507;
country recoded), Catholic is the majority category in the main countries in the sample,
with high proportions in Ecuador (39/47; 83.0%) and the United States (17/20; 85.0%).
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In Mexico, Catholic predominance (205/311; 65.9%) coexists with Maronite Christian
(70/311; 22.5%). In Argentina, the distribution is more diversied (Catholic: 23/54;
42.6%), with a signicant proportion of Other Christian (incl. Orthodox/Protestant/
Melkite) (12/54; 22.2%) and Maronite Christian (9/54; 16.7%). The non-religious
(agnostic/atheist) category has higher proportions in Colombia (3/42; 7.1%) and
Ecuador (3/47; 6.4%). The Druze and Muslim (Shia/Sunni) categories appear with
low counts, so their interpretation remains strictly descriptive.
Table 1. Summary of key bivariate associations (descriptive)
Bivariate association N (valid) χ² (df) p-value Cramer’s V
Country of residence × Professional group 506 96.688 (30) < .001 0.195
Country of residence × Religion (collapsed) 507 91.386 (30) < .001 0.190
Note: Statistics are reported as descriptive association measures within the sample; in both
cross-tabulations, some expected counts are < 5, so χ² results should be read with caution.
Source: Own elaboration
To complement the visual reading of Figures 8–9, the χ² independence contrast and
Cramer›s V are reported as measures of association for descriptive purposes within
the sample, without any claim to population inference given the non-probabilistic
nature of the recruitment. In both crosses, cells with low expected frequencies are
also observed; therefore, the χ² contrast is presented as informative support, and the
focus of the section remains on the distribution patterns shown in the gures.
In both crosses, the χ² test indicates a non-homogeneous distribution of categories
across countries in the sample (p < .001). In descriptive terms, this reects that (i)
the composition by occupational groups and (ii) the composition by collapsed religion
vary according to the recoded country of residence.
Cramer’s V summarizes the overall strength of the association in each cross-tabulation
(0.195 for country×occupation; 0.190 for country×collapsed religion). Values of V≈0.19
suggest a small to moderate overall association; the main interest is descriptive,
focusing on the relative composition shown in the gures. Given the aggregation of
categories and the presence of low expectations, these values are interpreted as
consistent with systematic but not extreme differences, which align with the variations
seen in Figures 8–9. Consequently, priority is given to a substantive reading of which
categories have the greatest relative weight by country, complementing the numerical
information (Agresti, 2013).
3.5 Open-ended question: thematic coding and evaluative themes in narrati-
ves of pride
To incorporate the symbolic and affective dimensions of belonging, the open-
ended question “Why are you proud of your Lebanese ancestry?” (N = 162) was
analyzed using thematic coding. The responses were classied into non-exclusive
analytical categories and operationalized as dichotomous variables (0/1), allowing
a single response to include more than one reason. The resulting coding scheme is
summarized in Appendix F (Table F1). Figure 10 summarizes the relative frequencies
of the identied themes among the total valid responses.
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Figure 10. Open-ended question: thematic categories of pride (relative frequency).
Source: Own elaboration
Overall, the most common reasons are linked to roots and identity continuity. The
category Roots is the most frequently mentioned (24.1%), followed by Cultural
Inuence (14.2%) and Forms the Self (13.6%), pointing to a narrative focused on
family-cultural heritage and its role in shaping a sense of belonging. At a second
level, Family (10.5%) appears, reinforcing the role of intergenerational transmission
in supporting identity pride.
Alongside these motifs, references emerge that can be interpreted as evaluative
themes mentioned by the participants—without attributing a causal structure to them—
and which dialogue with normative frameworks associated with social interaction,
cooperation, and coexistence, including relational repertoires relevant to coordination
and the resolution of frictions in community and multicultural contexts. Empathy of
Lebanese People (9.9%) and Resilience (5.6%) stand out as value-based attributes
of the group, and, less frequently, Solidarity (3.7%), Tolerance (1.2%), Adaptation
(1.2%), and Responsibility (1.9%) appear. These mentions suggest that part of the
pride is articulated around prosocial dispositions (empathy/solidarity), coping skills
(resilience/adaptation), and normative references (responsibility/tolerance), which in
the context of the article are treated as value components expressed by the sample.
Finally, there are minority motifs that add heterogeneity to the discursive prole,
such as Business (4.3%) and biographical references (Lived/Born, 2.5%) or identity
references (Diaspora, 1.9%; Nationalism, 1.2%), as well as specic mentions such
as Temperance and Perseverance (0.6% each). Given the exploratory nature of
the study and the sample design, these frequencies are presented as a descriptive
synthesis of patterns within the analyzed group.
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Overall, the results described (i) the sociodemographic and occupational prole of
the sample, (ii) the main markers of self-identication and belonging, and (iii) two key
bivariate patterns between country of residence and occupational proles/collapsed
religion. Likewise, analyzing the open-ended question allowed us to synthesize the
most frequent reasons for pride in Lebanese ancestry and the values mentioned
in the responses (e.g., family, roots, empathy, resilience, and adaptation). These
ndings are presented as descriptive regularities within the group studied and serve
as a basis for further discussion.
4. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
The results presented are interpreted descriptively and refer exclusively to the sample
analyzed (see Section 2), without any claim to population inference. In relation to the
objectives of the study, the ndings allow us to discuss (i) how different markers of
identity and belonging are expressed—self-labeling, identity-religion order, language,
and relative pride—(Figures 4–7), (ii) how occupational proles are described and
their variation by country of residence and collapsed religion (Figures 3 and 8–9; Table
1), and (iii) which evaluative themes appear most frequently in narratives associated
with pride in Lebanese ancestry (Figure 10). In general terms, the pattern observed
is consistent with approaches that conceive of diasporic identity as a situated, plural,
and dynamic construct, rather than as a xed or univocal essence (Joseph, 2011;
Vertovec, 2004).
First, the high proportion of participants who state that they identify rst as Lebanese
and then by their religious afliation (Figure 5) suggests, within the sample, a
declarative organization of belonging in which national identity ranks ahead of
religious afliation in the order of self-identication. This pattern is consistent with
work on identities in migratory contexts that emphasizes the contextual and relational
nature of identication (Ajrouch & Kusow, 2007). Convergently, the coexistence of
pride in heritage of origin and pride in country of birth or residence—reected in the
distribution of relative pride (Figure 7)—is consistent with the idea of simultaneous
belongings in transnational social elds (Levitt & Schiller, 2004; Schiller et al., 1992).
Given the non-probabilistic recruitment, these regularities should be read as patterns
internal to the sample, without extrapolation to the entire Lebanese diaspora in the
Americas.
Secondly, the results on language and feelings of disconnection when the language
is not understood (Figure 6) show that, in the sample, self-identication and declared
indicators of belonging are not always linked to linguistic skills: a small number
declare they speak Lebanese Arabic, and disconnection is mainly concentrated
among those who do not speak it. This pattern is consistent with contributions that
emphasize the symbolic and affective dimension of cultural memory in identity
construction, especially when language and territory lose their centrality in everyday
life (Nagel, 2009). Along these lines, belonging can be sustained through ordinary
practices (family, rituals, community networks) and intergenerational narratives,
without assuming deterministic or universal mechanisms.
The place of the self-label “Phoenician” requires particularly careful reading. The
literature has pointed out that references to ancient genealogies can operate as
discursive resources of memory, heritage, and identity in certain contexts, with
meanings that are debated and dependent on the social and historical framework in
which they are mobilized (Kaufman, 2004; Lefort, 2024; Volk, 2008). In light of the
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results—where this label appears less frequently than “Lebanese” as the predominant
self-identication (Figure 4)—it is methodologically more consistent to discuss it on a
narrative level: as a category that some people mobilize to give meaning to continuity
and pride, without treating it as direct historical evidence or as an unambiguous
ideological marker.
Third, the bivariate crosses between country of residence and (i) collapsed
occupational group and (ii) collapsed religion (Figures 8–9) show associations within
the sample, with overall intensities summarized by Cramer’s V of small–moderate
magnitude (Table 1). Considering the presence of cells with low expected counts, the
interpretive emphasis is based more solidly on the composition patterns shown in the
gures than on the χ² contrast as inferential evidence. Consequently, these results
are interpreted as descriptive indications of heterogeneity and differentiated national
congurations in the distribution of occupational and religious categories within the
sample, in line with the historical diversity of settlements and forms of insertion
documented for Lebanese communities in different countries in the region (Klich &
Lesser, 1996; Ramírez Carrillo, 2018; Tabar, 2010).
Fourth, analysis of the open-ended question reveals which sources of pride are most
frequently mentioned in the narratives (Figure 10). In the sample, roots, continuity,
and family stand out—with repeated references to intergenerational transmission—
along with mentions of valuable attributes such as empathy/solidarity and resilience/
adaptability. Interpretatively, these elements can be understood as value-laden
themes and normative repertoires expressed in the narratives, and can be placed
in dialogue with approaches that situate social capital (trust, reputation, reciprocity,
and networks) as infrastructure for support and coordination in migrant communities
(Putnam, 2000). It should be noted, however, that the frequency of mentions does
not allow us to conclude that these themes “explain” specic occupational positions
or constitute measurable competencies; rather, they describe symbolic resources
through which participants give meaning to belonging and present it as a value-laden
component of their identity.
From a methodological point of view, combining descriptive statistics with thematic
coding of an open-ended question is useful for capturing affective and symbolic
dimensions that are not derived from closed items. At the same time, the limitations of
the study must remain explicit: non-probabilistic sampling and potential self-selection
(especially due to recruitment through institutional and community networks),
possible overrepresentation of proles particularly interested in cultural heritage,
and restrictions on interpreting contingency tables with infrequent categories. In
interpretive terms, some regularities—such as the centrality of certain identity markers
(Figures 4–7) or the frequency of certain motifs in the open-ended question (Figure
10)—may reect, in part, a greater propensity to participate among people connected
to networks and narratives of belonging. Similarly, comparisons by country should
be read with the differential intensity of dissemination and the relative sizes of the
subgroups in mind. These conditions justify the manuscript’s position as a descriptive
and exploratory contribution, aimed at synthesizing patterns within the sample and
delimiting questions for further research, rather than testing explanatory hypotheses.
Looking ahead, the material suggests lines of inquiry that could be addressed through
cross-country comparative designs, more structured sampling strategies, and in-
depth qualitative approaches to explore mechanisms of family transmission and
generational variation. Likewise, multivariate analyses or explanatory models would
only be relevant with additional data and a design consistent with such inferences.
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Artículos • Habib Chamoun-Nicolas, María-Victoria Ramirez-Muñoz, Francisco Rabadán-Pérez
In short, the study provides an orderly empirical basis for how markers of belonging
are declared, how occupational proles are distributed, and how reasons for identity
pride are articulated in a sample of the Lebanese diaspora in Latin America, providing
a starting point for more specic further research.
5. CONCLUSIONS
This study described, with a strictly descriptive approach and referring to the sample
analyzed, how identity markers were expressed in people of Lebanese descent
residing mainly in the Americas, how occupational proles were distributed in relation
to country of residence and recoded religious afliation, and what evaluative themes
emerged most frequently in narratives of identity pride. The study contributes by
synthesizing previously dispersed descriptive information through a comparable
mapping of identity markers and occupational proles, complemented by transparent
thematic coding of pride narratives. Based on an online survey conducted in 2021, the
results offered a synthetic portrait of everyday markers of belonging and meanings
associated with cultural heritage, useful as an empirical basis for future comparisons
between national contexts.
In relation to identity, the results showed a self-identication broadly aligned with
Lebanese heritage and a declared organization of belonging that combined national
and religious dimensions without presenting them as mutually exclusive. Identity pride
was described in a manner consistent with simultaneous belonging to both family-
cultural origins and the national environment of reference.
In terms of language, the results indicated that declared belonging was not based
exclusively on linguistic competence, and that disconnection from the community use
of the language was concentrated mainly among those who did not understand it.
This pattern reinforced the idea that everyday identity markers integrated symbolic,
affective, and community components beyond language prociency.
Regarding occupational and religious proles, the sample was diverse and
heterogeneous. Descriptive cross-tabulations showed variation in occupational
and religious distribution according to country of residence, interpreted as internal
congurations within the sample rather than representative patterns.
Finally, analysis of the open-ended question identied recurring motifs of pride linked
to roots, continuity, and family, along with mentions of relational and prosocial values,
as well as coping and adaptation skills. Within the framework of the study, these
elements were interpreted as value repertoires mobilized in the identity narrative,
without attributing to them a direct explanatory role in occupational positions.
Overall, the article provided orderly descriptive evidence on markers of belonging,
occupational proles, and reasons for identity pride in a sample of the Lebanese
diaspora in Latin America. This empirical map provided a basis for further research
aimed at comparing national contexts and delving deeper into generational dynamics
and family transmission mechanisms with more structured designs.
Author’s Contributions
Habib Chamoun-Nicolas designed the survey, supported data collection through
institutions and diaspora associations, and contributed to the research questions,
literature review, and the discussion and conclusions. María Victoria Ramirez-Muñoz
organized the literature review, contributed to the discussion and conclusions,
Anduli • Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales Nº 28 - 2025
• 238 •
supervised the manuscript, and revised the nal version; she is the corresponding
author. Francisco Rabadán Pérez conducted the data analysis and software-related
tasks, and contributed to the literature review, discussion, conclusions, and nal
manuscript preparation.
Funding
This research did not receive external funding.
Conicts of Interest
The authors declare no conicts of interest
Data Availability Statement
For reasons of condentiality and data protection, the individual database is not
made publicly available. However, additional methodological information and, where
relevant, aggregated tables, reproducible outputs, or anonymized extracts may be
provided upon reasonable request to the authors.
Declaration on the use of Articial Intelligence
The authors declare that no generative articial intelligence (AI) tools were used in
the design of the research, data analysis, interpretation of results, or the formulation
of scientic content. AI assistance was employed solely as a language aid during the
English writing process to improve clarity and coherence. All intellectual and analytical
contributions are entirely those of the authors.
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© 2025 por los autores Licencia a ANDULI, Editorial de la
Universidad de Sevilla. Es un artículo publicado en acce-
so abierto bajo los términos y condiciones de la licencia
“Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivar
4.0 Internacional”
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Appendix A
Recoding scheme for occupational proles
This appendix explains the recoding of the original occupational variable (TProfesion)
into seven combined groups used in the comparative analyses. The goal of this
grouping is to make gures easier to read and to reduce low expected counts in
bivariate cross-tabulations, while maintaining a descriptive interpretation within the
sample.
The recoding was implemented as follows:
• Occupational categories related to business and commerce were grouped under
a single analytical dimension. These categories include Merchant (Comerciante),
Entrepreneur–Business Owner (Empresario), Business Administration–Company
Administration (Administración de empresa), Administration (Administración),
Public Accountant (Contador público), Finance (Finanzas), Actuary (Actuario),
Advisor–Consultant (Asesor-consultor), and Consultant (Consultor). The original
Spanish labels were retained to preserve the semantic consistency of the survey
instrument, while their English equivalents are provided for clarity.
• Occupations related to law, regulation, and public affairs were grouped under a
single category, including Lawyer (Abogado), Diplomat (Diplomático), and Police
(Policía).
• Technical and engineering-related occupations comprise Engineer (Ingeniero),
Architect (Arquitecto), Biologist (Biólogo), and Research (Investigación).
• The health and care category includes Therapist/Physician (Terapeuta–Médico)
and Psychology (Psicología).
• Educational occupations encompass Teacher (Docente) and Philologist (Filólogo).
• Household and life-course statuses include Homemaker (Hogar), Student
(Estudiante), and Retired (Jubilado).
• The Other / creative category includes Communication (Comunicación),
Designer (Diseñador), Artist (Artista), Chef (Chef), Anthropologist (Antropólogo),
Sailor (Marino), and Wage employment – non-specied (Cuenta ajena). The
category Wage employment (non-specied) was deliberately assigned to this
group to capture salaried occupations lacking sectoral specication and to avoid
their substantive interpretation as entrepreneurial, managerial, or administrative
activities.
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Artículos • Habib Chamoun-Nicolas, María-Victoria Ramirez-Muñoz, Francisco Rabadán-Pérez
Appendix B
Recoding scheme for religious afliation
The original religious afliation variable (R. What is your religion?) was recoded into
seven aggregated categories for comparative analyses by country of residence.
The recoding was implemented as follows:
• Non-religious (agnostic/atheist): Agnóstico; Ateo.
• Catholic: Católica.
• Maronite Christian: Cristiano Maronita.
• Other Christian (including Orthodox, Protestant, and Melkite): Cristiano; Cristiano
Católico Melkita; Cristiano de otras denominaciones; Cristiano Ortodoxo de
Antioquia; Cristiano Protestante; Cristiano no practicante.
• Druze: Drusa.
• Muslim (Shia/Sunni): Musulmán Chiita; Musulmán Sunnita.
• Other/unspecied religion: Otra religión.
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Appendix C
Survey items, response options, and analytic use
Table C1 summarizes the key survey items used in this article, their response options,
and how they were coded/recoded for analysis. Details of the thematic coding scheme
derived from the open-ended item (category list and frequencies) are provided in
Appendix F (Table F1).
Table C1. Survey items, response options, coding/recoding, and manuscript use
Variable (Manuscript
label)
Response
options Coding/recoding used in analyses Shown in
(Figure/Table)
Country of residence
(raw) Open-ended
Recoded to 6 categories: Mexico;
Argentina; Ecuador; Colombia; United
States; Other countries
Figure 1;
Figures 8-9;
Table 1
Age group Categorical
ranges
Reported as distribution; descriptive
summaries Figure 2
Occupation (raw) Open-ended Label harmonization; rare categories
grouped for visualization Figure 3
Professional group
(collapsed) —Recoded to 7 groups (see Appendix
A)
Figure 8; Table
1; Appendix E
Primary self-identica-
tion label
Libanes; Fe-
nicio; Arabe
3-category variable (Lebanese /
Phoenician / Arab) Figure 4
Identity ordering (Leba-
nese vs religion) Si; No Reported as Religion-rst vs
Lebanese-rst Figure 5
Speaks Lebanese
Arabic Si; No Binary Figure 6
Disconnected when not
understanding Si; No Binary; cross-tabbed with speaks
Lebanese Arabic Figure 6
Relative pride Si; No; Igual Recoded to More / Less / Equal Figure 7
Religion (detailed) Closed list +
Otra religion
Original categories retained for
traceability
Appendix
B; Figure 9
(collapsed)
Religion (collapsed) —Recoded to 7 categories (see Appen-
dix B)
Figure 9; Table
1; Appendix D
Open-ended pride
reason (text) Open-ended
Thematic coding; non-exclusive
categories operationalized as 0/1
indicators
Figure 10
Source: Authors’ online survey (Google Forms), administered in 2021.
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Artículos • Habib Chamoun-Nicolas, María-Victoria Ramirez-Muñoz, Francisco Rabadán-Pérez
Appendix D
Country of residence × Religious afliation (collapsed)
Table D1. Cross-tabulation of country of residence and collapsed religious afliation
(absolute frequencies)
Category Mexico Argentina Ecuador Colom-
bia USA
Other
coun-
tries
Non-religious (agnostic/
atheist) 9 1 3 3 0 1
Catholic 205 23 39 27 17 19
Maronite Christian 70 9 0 30 5
Other Christian (incl. Orthodox
/Protestant/Melkite) 24 12 4 6 3 3
Druze 0 3030 1
Muslim (Shia/Sunni) 1 4 1 0 0 2
Other / unspecied religion 4 2 0 0 0 0
Total 313 54 47 42 20 31
Note: Frequencies are reported for descriptive purposes within the sample. Column totals sum to
N = 507 (country of residence recoded); one case was unclassied in the country recoding.
Source: Own elaboration.
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Appendix E
Country of residence × Occupational group (collapsed)
Table E1. Cross-tabulation of country of residence and aggregated occupational groups
(absolute frequencies)
Occupational
group Mexico Argentina Ecuador Colombia USA Other
countries
Business &
commerce 118 14 16 14 10 13
Law, regulation &
public affairs 4144513
Technical &
engineering 44 4 13 13 2 5
Health & care 29 5 4 5 2 3
Education 12 18 0 0 1 2
Household /
life-course 35 43444
Other / creative 32 55104
Total 311 54 45 42 20 34
Note: Frequencies are reported for descriptive purposes within the sample.
Source: Own elaboration.
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Artículos • Habib Chamoun-Nicolas, María-Victoria Ramirez-Muñoz, Francisco Rabadán-Pérez
Appendix F
Thematic coding procedure and binary category construction (open-ended
item)
This appendix explains how thematic categories were created from the open-ended
responses to the question “Why do you feel proud of your Lebanese ancestry?”
Responses were usually short—just one sentence. Coding was done through
an iterative process: each time a theme appeared in a respondent’s answer, a
corresponding binary indicator (0/1) was assigned for that respondent; when a new
theme was identied, a new indicator column was added and applied consistently to
subsequent responses. As a result, a single response could be assigned to multiple
themes (non-mutually exclusive coding). The nal list of categories and their observed
frequencies (and relative frequencies over valid open-ended responses, N = 162) are
presented in Table F1.
Table F1. Open-ended item: thematic categories (frequency and relative frequency; N = 162)
Characteristic Frequency Relative
frecuency
Temperance 1 0,6%
Perseverance 1 0,6%
Tolerance 2 1,2%
Adaptation 2 1,2%
Nationalism 2 1,2%
Responsibility 3 1,9%
Diaspora 3 1,9%
Lived/Born 4 2,5%
Genetics 5 3,1%
Solidarity 63,7%
Business 7 4,3%
Resilience 9 5,6%
Empathy of Lebanese People 16 9,9%
Family 17 10,5%
Forms the Self 22 13,6%
Cultural Inuence 23 14,2%
Roots 39 24,1%
Note: Categories are non-mutually exclusive; therefore, percenta-
ges refer to the share of valid open-ended responses mentioning
each theme.
Source: Own elaboration.
