This paper describes two culturally-sensitive longitudinal studies of normal development of Puerto Rican adolescents and children growing up in the United States. A number of areas pertinent to Puerto Ricans and other minorities that have previously been neglected are studied. Both projects are grounded in a cultural-ecological approach in which the child was examined in a family and neighborhood context. Neither study has been completed, but their methodology is described to provide examples of culturally sensitive research. The adolescent study will follow 150 Puerto Rican boys and 150 Puerto Rican girls and their primary caretakers for 3 years, focusing on 100 children from welfare recipient families, 100 from working class families, and 100 from middle class families. The study will center on self-identity formation and the transformation of parental ties. Interviews with subjects and their families and ethnographic study of the school and community will provide study data. The study of school aged children will be a 5-year project focusing on 150 boys and 150 girls of Puerto Rican origin in grades 1,2, and 3 from 3 social classes. Both studies will be conducted by multidisciplinary teams composed primarily of Hispanics. Both will focus on positive and negative coping skills, and both will explore issues pertinent to minorities, such as acculturation, color, and effects of migration. (Contains 25 references.) (SLD)