Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:607-610
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Adults' recollection of their language deprivation as immigrant children
LR Marcos
For this retrospective study, six adult patients in psychoanalytic
psychotherapy participated in 45-min audiotaped individual sessions that
focused on their reaction to the language deprivation they experienced
following their immigration to the United States during their later
childhood years. The content analysis of these sessions showed that all six
patients experienced the impact of language deprivation in a strikingly
similar way. Four consecutive stages were identified: withdrawal,
despondency, adaptation, and integration. On the basis of these preliminary
observations, the author makes tentative recommendations aimed at
ameliorating the consequences of language deprivation in immigrant children
and suggests systematic research on these children.
