Personality research in Lebanon: Personal reflections on challenges and opportunities

In this paper, we seek to answer the question: “What is it like to do personality science in Lebanon?” Sharing our personal experiences, we reflect on the challenges and opportunities related to personality research in Lebanon, a Middle Eastern Arab country with a turbulent context. First, we discuss barriers to personality research that we have faced in Lebanon (e.g., scarce opportunities and technical resources to conduct research, the limited number of academics specialized in a particular research area, lack of national efforts to coordinate personality psychology research, limited funding opportunities, and economic and financial challenges, among others). We also present our personality research in Lebanon, particularly on trait emotional intelligence (trait EI), which has recently led to the implementation of Yes to Emotions in Youth, an impactful project funded by Grand Challenges Canada, aiming at developing trait EI and fostering mental health among vulnerable Lebanese youth in public schools. Finally, we offer recommendations based on our experiences, emphasizing areas for growth and opportunity despite the constraints.