PUERTO RICAN YOUTH IN CENTRAL FLORIDA: ADAPTATION AND IDENTITY.

The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of Puerto Rican first- and second-generation youth's migration, identity and adaptation to new lives in the Orlando, Florida, metropolitan area. This qualitative study draws on participant observations, informal conversations, newspaper articles and reports, focus groups and individual interviews with thirty adults and twenty first- and second-generation youth to describe the experiences of these Puerto Rican youth. In the paper I argue that these youth's challenges of identity and incorporation are no different from many of the first- and second-generation youth migrating from other countries. The data show that language barriers, accommodations to home, community, and school, and cultural challenges do exist among first- and second- generation Puerto Rican youth. Yet these youth indicated high levels of academic achievement and social adaptation, and overall felt supported by their families, community and school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]