‘Where We Can Breathe Together’: Home Perceptions and Coping Strategies of Divorced Mothers Evacuated in Wartime

The literature has extensively examined the outcomes of forced displacement worldwide. However, relatively few studies have explored its effect on divorced mothers. This qualitative longitudinal study examined the coping and home perceptions of 25 divorced mothers evacuated during the Israel-Gaza war (2023-2025). Based on two rounds of interviews approximately 1 year apart, it explored how divorced mothers navigated intersecting emotional, economic, and social stressors while managing family life under prolonged uncertainty. Using a hybrid thematic analysis informed by Lazarus and Folkman's stress and coping theory, dynamic coping patterns were identified that combined emotion- and problem-focused strategies. The findings indicate that mothers employed both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies while reconstructing the meaning of home throughout divorce, evacuation, and return. Before evacuation, the home symbolised autonomy and post-divorce recovery; during displacement, it became an unstable symbolic and emotional space, yet one that mothers were able to recreate within temporary housing. Upon returning, home was redefined as a space of healing, belonging, and renewed growth. These findings deepen our theoretical understanding of coping by divorced mothers under intersecting stressors and underscore the importance of gendered and family-centred perspectives in research on emergency displacement. Practically, the study offers insights for developing tailored intervention models, stage-specific evacuation policies, and community support systems to strengthen the resilience of divorced mothers in contexts characterised by multiple intersecting stressors.