Ethnography and the Meaning of Adolescence in High‐Risk Neighborhoods

In this commentary it is argued that ethnography is the "most important method" for studying development among ethnic minority teens growing up in high‐risk neighborhoods. Data from a five‐year ethnographic study of inner‐city African American families and their adolescent children illustrates the utility of ethnography in identifying contexutal issues that are critical for understanding development among urban minority teens, but have yet to be systematically "uncovered" and explored in studies that use traditional survey methods. The implications of ethnographic approaches for developing future research on context and adolescent development in ethnic minority populations is discussed in the conclusion.