The author proposes that the four earliest British North American colonies in the United States promoted the development of distinct regional identities and that this cultural legacy affected identity development as well as behavioral patterns differently in each region. He compares data from the North American colonies to the situation in England and discovers that the findings in the latter's eight standard regions are very similar to those in the United States.

1 The Puritan Emigration, 1630-1641.- Historical Background.- The Puritan Immigrants.- Fundamentals of Puritanism.- Family Values.- Marriage Customs in Massachusetts.- Gender and Sexual Attitudes.- Puritan Child-Rearing.- Social Class, Religion, and Child-Rearing.- Magic in Massachusetts.- Puritan Education.- The Sad Dress Code.- Sports and Puritans.- Time in Massachusetts.- Puritans and Work.- Puritan Law.- Freedom in Massachusetts.- The Colonial Legacy in Massachusetts.- 2 The Chesapeake Bay Migration, 1642-1675.- Historical Background.- The Tidewater Immigrants.- Servants and Slaves in Virginia.- Life in the Tidewater Virginia Colony.- Literacy and Oral Culture.- Values and Religion.- The Family.- Marriage.- Gender.- Sexual Behavior.- Child-Rearing in the Chesapeake Bay Colony.- Magic.- Education.- The Dress Code.- Recreation.- Work.- Time.- Wealth.- Law.- Freedom.- 3 The Quaker Migration, 1675-1725.- Historical Background.- The Quaker Immigrants.- Religious Beliefs of the Quakers.- Social Origins of the Quakers.- The Delaware Valley Colony.- Family in the Delaware Valley.- Marriage among Quakers.- Gender in the Delaware Valley.- Delaware Valley Sexual Attitudes.- Delaware Valley Child-Rearing.- Quakers and Magic.- Quaker Education.- Plain Clothes.- Quaker Sports.- Quakers and Work.- Time for Quakers.- Law and the Quakers.- Freedom among Quakers.- William Penn.- The Development of Pennsylvania.- Town and Country.- Class Anarchy and Boss Rule in Quaker Pennsylvania 1682-1726.- Public Responsibility in Pennsylvania.- Heresy, Hierarchy, and Higher Education.- 4 The Backcountry Immigrants, 1718-1775.- Historical Background.- Borderland Migration.- Religion of the Borderers.- The Backcountry.- Backcountry Family Style.- Marriage in the Backcountry.- BackcountryGender Patterns.- Backcountry Sexual Behavior.- Backcountry Child-Rearing.- Backcountry Magic.- Backcountry Education.- Backcountry Dress.- Backcountry Sports.- Backcountry Work.- The Backcountry and Time.- Backcountry Rank.- Backcountry Migration and Settlement.- Backcountry Law.- Backcountry Freedom.- 5 Four Colonial Cultures.- Divergence among the Colonies.- Disputes and Conflicts.- Population Features.- Homogeneity or Heterogeneity.- Religion and Rank.- 6 Regional Identity in the Four Colonies.- Identification, Identity, and Regional Issues: Three Cases.- Regional Culture and Personality.- Ethnic or Regional Factors.- Regional Identity.- The Development of Idealized Regional Personality Traits.- Child Development in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.- Child Development in Tidewater Virginia.- Child Development in the Quaker Colony.- Child Development in the Backcountry.- Acceptable Personality Traits by Region.- Major Defenses.- 7 Regional Rates of Eight Conditions in the United States.- Regional Speech Patterns.- Four Regions.- A Caveat.- Education and Regional Culture.- Births to Unwed Mothers.- Sexually Transmitted Diseases.- Regional Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-Related Mortality.- Present-Day Patterns of Order and Violence.- Sexual Abuse of Children.- Physical Abuse of Children.- 8 Toward Understanding Regional Rates.- Education.- Unwed Motherhood.- Sexually Transmitted Diseases.- Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-Related Mortality.- Homicide.- Sexual and Physical Abuse of Children.- Unemployment.- Unemployment and Homicide.- 9 Regional Comparisons in England.- Regional Identities in England.- England's Current Economic Situation.- The North West.- Humberside and Yorkshire.- The North.- West Midlands.- Summary.- 10 Regional Identity and Psychiatry.- Acculturation.- Geneticor Cultural Inheritance.- Ego-Syntonic and Socio-Syntonic Behavior.- Psychiatric Treatment.- Application of the Concept of Regional Identity.- Clinical Application.- References.