ETHNOGRAPHY AND THE MEANING OF ADOLESCENCE IN HIGH-RISK NEIGHBORHOODS

In this commentary it is argued that ethnography is the ''most importa nt method'' for studying development among ethnic minority teens growi ng up in high-risk neighborhoods. Data from a five-year ethnographic s tudy of inner-city African American families and their adolescent chil dren illustrates the utility of ethnography in identifying contexutal issues that are critical for understanding development among urban min ority teens, but have yet to be systematically ''uncovered'' and explo red in studies that use traditional survey methods. The implications o f ethnographic approaches for developing future research on context an d adolescent development in ethnic minority populations is discussed i n the conclusion.