Heidy Animas

Professor Maria Vint

FIQWS 10108
September 23, 2019

Summary Revision

In the article, “Young Immigrants: A Psychosocial Development Perspective," Dr. Glen

Milstein, a professor at the City College at the City University of New York, and Luka Lucić, a

first-year graduate student at the City University of New York, explain that immigration can

affect a child’s development as well as their psyche. The purpose of this article is to inform the

reader about the hardships that immigrant children face when exposed to a new set of social

norms in the host country. Also, the effects on a child's mental health when migrating at a young

versus an older age.

Moreover, Milstein "studies the role of community and ritual in meeting people’s emotional

needs" (Young Immigrants p.24), and Lucić "is interested in the developmental and social

aspects of the immigration experience" (Young Immigrants p. 24). As reported by Milstein and

Lucić, children brought to the US have had to not only learn the norms of the society in which

they currently reside in, but also the culture of the society that they left back home. Also,

according to Erikson’s theory of development, “the development of the individual is a function

of psychological maturation through social interactions” (Young Immigrants, p 25). This quote

implies that parents of immigrant children will have to share the role of guidance with other

people involved in a child’s life, such as teachers, neighbors, other adults, and playmates in order

for their child to socially function. However, Milstein and Lucić suggest that this may be difficult

for growing children that are in between their first three stages of development where they have
Heidy Animas
Professor Maria Vint
FIQWS 10108
September 23, 2019
to confront Trust v. Mistrust; Autonomy v. Shame, Doubt; Initiative v. Guilt. During these three

stages is when a child is most vulnerable because the child must learn how to build a “sense of

trust” with their close family at first, in order to build relationships with others.

Lastly, when introducing school-aged children to a new culture, they may face challenges such

as low self-esteem, personal anxiety, and social anxiety in the future. Besides, Milstein and Lucić

point out that it may be easier for immigrant adolescents to cope with their peers because they

are no longer in search of an adult 


Heidy Animas
Professor Maria Vint
FIQWS 10108
September 23, 2019
role model. Instead, adolescents are in search of their own identity by choosing different

characteristics in their peers. For the future, Milstein and Lucić suggest that in order to create

new programs for school to "meet the needs" of immigrants, one must keep in mind "Erikson's

insight that personality develops according to an epigenetic principle" ( Young Immigrants, p

28).