Education of a Felon

Emily Pugh

About Edward Bunker

• 1933 – 2005

• Born in Hollywood on New Years Eve

• IQ of 152 at age 9 put his mental age at 18

• American author of crime fiction

• screenwriter• actor

Hard Times at Home

• Parents divorced at 4 years old

• Alcoholic stagehand father

• Chorus girl mother• Parents lived in a constant

state of alcohol- fueled argument.

First clear memories were of his parents screaming at each other and the police arriving to "keep the peace."

In and out• Early criminal career

• Convicted of: bank robbery, drug dealing, extortion,

armed robbery, and forgery

• Crime “career” ended in 1975

• Foster Home at age 5

• Juvenile hall at age 10

• Reform school at 13

• San Quentin at 17

• Folsom Prison at 43

COMING HOME FROM JAIL

• People released from jail tend to have low employment rates, low income, and high rearrest rates

• Policies on employment, drug treatment, housing, & healthcare block successful reentry into society

• Mrs.Wallas gave him a pre-furnished apartment, a good job, and clothes to put on his back

Effect of Joint Custody• Some children will have

less contact with parents who remarry or repartner

• Some ex spouses are envious of their former spouses remarrying

• Fear of additional parent figure

• Parents never had a co-parenting relationship

• Mom remarried

Adult Children of Alcoholics• Low self-esteem and

insecurity, anger and resentment, romantic relationship problems, & problems communicating

• grow up striving to adapt, survive, and succeed under stressful conditions.

• Roughly 26.8 million children of alcoholics in the United States

• Higher risk for substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and multiple emotion problems

Child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect

• 10% of children are neglected or emotionally abused

• Parents: Poverty, low educational achievement, alcohol and substance misuse, having been maltreated as a child

• Child: Increased risk of depression, substance abuse, aggression, & violent crime

Aggression in Youth• Anger leads to aggression

and so many other negative consequences such as homicide and violence.

• Edward knew he had a horrible temper & attempted to calm & restrain himself to avoid trouble.

Anger Expression & Management

• Responses of anger:hit other people, hitting objects,

becoming aggressive verbally or cussing,

and calming themselves down

when they felt angry. • Over time he became

somewhat less aggressive with age and experience.

PARENTING & ATTACHMENT• A warm & loving

maternal figure allows children to feel safe in their environment.

• Edward Bunker never had solid parent-child relationship

• He never felt safe in any of the homes he was put in

Parental divorce & youth substance abuse

• Youth are more likely to use alcohol 2-4 years before their parents divorce

• Edward used nicotine, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and I am sure others

• More than 45% of married couples end up divorcing

• About 40% of all children experience parental divorce

Turnout • At age 65, had a five-

year-old son

• At age 65, had been married almost 2 decades to Jennifer

• She was his counselor at a halfway house

• Published/acclaimed writer

• Actor• Screenwriter

Resources• Arkes, J. (2013). The temporal effects of parental divorce on youth substance

abuse. Substance Use & Misuse, 48(3), 290-297.• Berk, L. (2014). Family influences. Exploring Lifespan Development (3rd ed.) Upper

Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.• Bunker, Edward. (2000). Education of a felon. New York: St. Martin’s Press. • Freudenberg, N., Daniels, J., Crum, M., Perkins, T., Richie, B.E. (2008). Coming home

from jail: The social and health consequences of community reentry for women, male adolescents, and their families and communities. American

Journal of Public Health, 98, 191-202.• Halla, M. (2013). The effect of joint custody on family outcomes. Journal of the

European Economic Association, 11(2), 278-315.• Haverfield, M.C., Thesis, J.A. (2014). A theme analysis of experiences reported by

adult children of alcoholics in online support forums. Journal of Family Studies, 20(2), 166-184.

Resources• Nasir, R., & Ghani, N.A. (2013). Behavioral and emotional effects of anger

expression and anger management among adolescents. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 140, 565-569.

• Norman, R.E., Byambaa, M., De, R., Butchart, A., Scott, J., Vos, T. (2012). The long-term health consequences of child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and

neglect: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Medicine, 9(11), 1-31. • Ratner, K. (2013). The role of parenting and attachment in identity style

development. University of Central Florida Undergraduate Research Journal, 7(1), 15-26.

• Vandenberg, B., Marsh, U. (2009). Aggression in youths: Child abuse, gender, and SES. North American Journal of Psychology, 11(3), 437-441.

• Williams, A.G., Lee, H. (2013). Effects of parental alcoholism, sense of belonging, and resilience on depressive symptoms: A path model. Substance use

& Misuse, 48(3), 265-273.