r Violence breeds violence in the abusive cycle Linda Ciampini Writer Staff Staff Writer T THE HE prisons are full They are so full that the State of Idaho has a rotating door which people who commit crimes go through and sometimes within 24 hours they walk back out The State of Massachusetts has the same overflow problem problem problem lem and Utah's prisons and jails are so overcrowded they are getting ready to build a anew anew anew new prison Unfortunately the crime rate is increasing so rapidly that by the time the prison is built there still will not be enough room to house housel r the incoming inmates At the same time the crime rate is going up so are re reports orts of child abuse Is there a correlation correlation correlation correla correla- tion Albert Bandura a social learning theorist has done extensive research on the origins of aggression He has concluded that patterns of behavior behavior behavior be- be havior can be acquired through direct experience or orby orby orby by observing the behavior of others Abuse is a cycle The young boy who grows up in ahome a ahome ahome home where the father beats beatson on the childs child's mother will in inmost inmost inmost most cases grow up to be a wife-beater wife himself The child who is physically physical physical- ly abused and is denied any type of aggressive behavior in inthe inthe inthe the home generally will later act with aggression towards people outside of the home According to Bandura this will especially happen if the f. f M 4 y r H. H v i r r s i w. w f C t r 5 i f r fC sc a 5 r K a x F So r Yr w 1 9 W fJ i li S x e 1 t fil mW W 4 f M ie hs C Y tv lY tv s. R kii t S s W f n f t WY r t JY v f i. i S tM t t. t 4 k I fM m J 4 W r nF R 2 li Hit lk tr Wg a t t k- k R Vt Y C a y WN f NY RR 1 A l t 4 t lh dinv J 3 M i iM R i gt yv t ah aa va d x rr d ti f i i u. u R r C F 1 11 yx A rs aa A 2 r f fY r 2 k kh iW Y f k W W Wf w v h 32 2 iff 2 n c F a aStR 4 h f F o. o I Ik i k t tt t w r t. t t r K t M fi R d F t Rv f. f I l lq v I a CYb Y f ta Yr af i y 3 ry ih ply Y t q a S y ft r 4 n YR v 3 0 t t l f Y x l. l 1 r RY ii h aX s 47 jt n m. m r child is encouraged to do so soby soby soby by the parents A classic example of this kind of situation is the case of Ben O. O name an inmate at Utah State Prison who is serving a sentence of five years to life He has been inc incarcerated for nine years He is 31 years old As far back as Ben can remember his father and mother viol violently abused him physically and emotionally When Ben was ten years old he got in and lost a fight with one of the boys in his neighborhood He came home beaten nose broken covered with blood and bruises His fathers father's only concern concern concern con con- cern was what the other boy looked like Ben informed his father he had lost the fight at which point his father went into a arage arage arage rage screaming at Ben that no noson noson noson son of his was going to be a loser all the while beating him more Bens Ben's father then left the house returning a few m. m minutes later with a pipe He lie handed the pipe to Ben and kicked him out of the house He yelled at Ben not to come comeback comeback comeback back until he had beat theother theother the theother other kid Ben did what his father told him to do he was afraid not to When Ben returned home he told his father he had successfully beaten theother theother the theother other boy up His father wanted details of the beating nd rewarded Ben with a pleased smile and praise for a ajob ajob ajob job well done The other boy had suffered extensive and serious injuries including broken bones cuts and abrasions rl The police were contacted and sent toBen's toBen's to toBen's Bens Ben's house Bens Ben's father acted surprised by the police report He told the police he just could not understand what was wrong with Ben He told them Ben had always been a discipline problem He then turned Ben over to the police saying maybe a trip to detention detention detention tion would straighten him up A few months later other circumstances began to develop in Bens Ben's home His mother began to sexually molest him Ben equated his mothers mother's deviant attention with affection It was the first love he rem remembers em bers ex ex- Ben soon be became ame a pawn If he did what his mother told him to do she protected him from his father If he did not do things just right his his father was allowed to beat him As Ben grew into his teens his mother used other threats He was told that if he did not make his mother happy she would h have ve his dad kill him She exercised more and more control over him At the age of 15 Ben shot someone He says My father didn't say to me things like did you think of the other person or his family II He asked Why did you do it in front of witnesses Bens Ben's life has been a constant constant constant con con- stant chain of violence and brushes with the law He went into the armed forces and received a dishonorable discharge dis discharge discharge dis- dis charge for assaulting a superior superior supe supe- officer Shortly after that he was sent to prison for an armed robbery He was released on parole for the armed robbery charge He was 21 years old and his mother was waiting for him She wanted a relationship with him Ben could not seem to break out of her control The relationship was soon brought out of the closet They went out to bars J ing to dinner and to sho shows s. s Ben says at one point his mother told one of her friends friend who had hugged him to keep her hands off he was he was hers 7 Ben began to feel more re and more trapped and a hatred for his mother b began gan to fester the hatred grew greV i into io ioa a rage In June of 1981 Ben B Ben h r shot and nd killed his mother T Does violence bree breed d violence And Arid if it docs does how do we stop it t Is early treat treat- treatment treatment treatment ment for children show showing ng deviant aggressive behavior the answer J Ben was sent to numerous numerous psychologists and they all said there was nothing wrong with him Why Beca Because s Ben was afraid of what would happen happen happen hap hap- pen to him if he told anyone what was happening his tn in his home If early treatment is the answer r then the justice system system system tem must be made aware of the he possibility that an aggressive aggressive aggressive sive child may be the product of a violent home Perhaps then more court orders would be issued to to make su sure e me whole family received some long ter term counseling Another possible solution solutionis is an active involvement of society as a whole Getting in involved involved involved in- in in Big Brother and Big Sister programs or doing volunteer work in places like juvenile correction centers Perhaps a balance could take place if these children began receiving some genuine love and affection from an adult who cares 1