ABSTRACT

This chapter presents the application of experience sampling methods (ESM) to four studies of diversity and youth development spanning over 20 years of data collected from ethnically/racially diverse adolescents and young adults in New York City. In common, the studies focus on how structural and daily-level diversity is related to the development of ethnic/racial identity, psychological adjustment, and academic outcomes. The utility of ESM approaches and their multilevel data structures are highlighted as tools for elucidating how daily lived experiences are related to youth development. The methodological and analytical flexibility of ESM uniquely contribute to developmental science in multicultural societies because it allows for research to explore how youth who share the same context (e.g., school), and even the same individual characteristics (e.g., race), may have different daily or situation-level experiences. The chapter ends with strengths, limitations, and conclusions in the application of ESM to studying youth in multicultural contexts.