Lee D. is a young male in his early twenties; he is of Cape Verdean ancestry, a country that greatly differs from the United States. He has extreme authoritarian parents who implemented various forms of what Americans would define as abuse but in their culture is okay. He is the first-born; his sister is 8 years younger than him. He grew up in Scituate, MA, a place where there is surprisingly, a high Creole population. His family did not have much money as he was growing up, and his parents could not afford many of the “necessities” of a young boy. Lee was left alone in the house everyday from the time school got out until 6pm, starting at age 9. At age 12, Lee was responsible for the care of his sister who was of pre- school age. Lee was not allowed to have friends over or to go to friend’s houses; he played with his cousins, instead.
             At age 17, Lee found his freedom. He got an after school job which enabled him to save money to buy a car. He then rebelled, got into drinking and began selling drugs. He was extremely antsy to move out of his house because of the harsh restriction that his parents attempted to control him with, even at the adult age of 20. He has successfully moved out of his current unhappy home situation with his girlfriend. He had also attempted to better his life by going to school for computers and finding a good job with lots of room for growth. He has successfully overcome many problems that he has fallen across and is doing much better for himself, largely without the help of his parents. Lee insists that he was not abused, that his parents were simply strict. The several scars adorning his body seem to prove otherwise.
             Lee often becomes overcome with anger and easily agitated under stressful situations. He is an extremely moody person and has difficulty associating himself with friends and often pushes people away before involving himself in a serious relationship, either intimately o...