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This article discusses the sex and social roles of young, female Puerto Rican gang members. Topics include behavioral stereotyping, juvenile delinquency, and feminism.

Cape Verde, a former colony of Portugal, and Puerto Rico, share significant similarities. Pedro Albizu Campos, leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement in the 1930s, met many of the challenges encountered by Amilcar Cabral, Cape Verde's liberator, in the 1970s.

Average citizens, psychotherapists, and political circles in the US have little awareness of the psychological implications of the Puerto Ricans' sociopolitical dilemma faced under US colonial domination. This lack of awareness marginalizes those Puerto Rican clients who are seeking psychotherapy. An examination of four cases, involving a combination of clients and therapists, reveals that there is little recognition of the psychological implications of colonial domination in the treatment process.

A knowledge of socio-political and economic history, historical identity, and cultural background is essential if social services professionals want to interact effectively with Puerto Ricans. The study of colonial history and the behavioral science of people from diverse backgrounds helps professionals in their teaching. Culturally diverse students find it difficult to remain true to their cultural heritage while being successful in mainstream training programs.

Ethnic identity is an important aspect of multiculturalism. Research involving the analysis of the Latin American ethnic identity has been based on the basic paradigm of the black racial identity development. Sociologists believe that the lack of conceptualization linking ethnic identity to social activism results in the lack of social identity of many young Hispanic Americans. Social activism can help in the social, political, and economic development of Latino communities. Civil rights movements compelled the identification of Latino ethnic identity.