The Child Immigrant

This article uses a developmental perspective to look at the effects of immigration on the young child. Factors influencing the way in which the immigrant family negotiates the ongoing process of settling into the new country are considered. It is argued that the ability of parents to provide an adequate holding environment to protect the young child from too much loss or dislocation is probably the most critical factor in determining whether the child's internal world will be enriched or impoverished by the immigration experience. It is emphasized that immigration is an ongoing process for the entire family. Some clinical material is presented to illustrate how the child's engagement in the process of separation-individuation both shapes and is shaped by, the immigration experience.