The extent to which the social maladjusted female role among the Eastern Band of Cherokees is a consequence of cultural ambivalence is investigated. The 28 problem families were examined in light of the adolescent/accommodative perspective whereby Federal paternalism is viewed as perpetuating a dependent adolescent behavioral life style among marginal Cherokees caught between two unobtainable cultural objectives: the traditional conservative harmony ethic vs. the dominant protestant ethic. The cultural identity problem is greater for the marginal Cherokee female than for her male counterpart. For men, cultural ambivalence takes the form of overtly aggressive behavior; for the female, there is a tendency to resort to sexual activity, which in turn enhances her biological role model. This subsequently results in early pregnancies, unwed mothers, premature marriages, and early divorces as well as child neglect, a situation made more significant by the matrilocal and matrilineal Cherokee family pattern. The marginal female, although having greater access to physical stigma resulting from social failure, has less of a chance to escape the anomic situation prevalent on the reservation, resulting in a continuation of these problems that are primarily transmitted through the primary family setting. (Author/KM)