I've found a scholarly text which I feel best illustrates Rose's troubled relationship with her father and why she reached out to her stepmother after running away from Synanon. The book is entitled
Troubled Youth, Troubled Families, by James Garbarino, Cynthia J. Schellenbach, Janet M. Sebes and Associates. Yes, I know this is a long excerpt and it uses very technical terminology, but if you'll take a closer look, I hope you'll see where I'm going with this:
Family Conflict
Familial relationships and interactions have long been recognized as factors leading to runaway behavior. The 1978 Annual report on the Runaway Youth Act reported that 80% of runaways indicated that they left home because of family problems. (DHEW, 1980, p. 90). Family problems cover a broad spectrum and range from divorce to parent-child conflicts over dating and peers. Poor conflict resolution, inadequate communication patterns, and ineffective parental supervision characterize the families of runaway youth.
Behaviorally oriented researchers and clinicians have made an important contribution to our understanding of family dynamics by documenting and explicating how what seem to be innocuous behavioral interactions can build up into full blown "pathological" patterns of family conflict. Parents and children can become entrapped in coercive, conflictual behavior patterns through a gradual process of escalating reinforcements (Patterson, 1976). Some families permit minor conflicts to evolve into major confrontations (Troll, 1972). In some situations, disputes over issues like dinnertime, hairstyle, and curfews can divert attention from more basic commitments of love and regard and result in a running incident (Kimball, 1970). Further complicating poor conflict resolution is the lack of effective communication patterns in the families of runaways. In the 1978 Annual Report on the Runaway Youth Act, 58.1% of the population stated that poor to no communication with parents was the main reason for running (DHEW, 1980, p. 90). Thus, resolution of problem areas within their families was limited by lack of understanding resulting from poor communication patterns.
In regard to parental supervision, an interesting sex difference has been reported. In Wolk and Brandon's study of runaway's perceptions of self and parents (1977), they report that runaway girls indicate excessive control as a critical issue while runaway boys indicate inadequate control as an issue. This coincides with the general impression gained from youth that over-control is usually more of a problem for females. It may tie in with the finding that teenage boys with single parents and teenage girls with step-parents are at greatest risk for mental health referrals (Kalter, 1977). The former is more likely to be an undercontrol situation, whereas the latter is more likely to bring to the fore the issue of overcontrol.
While these "normal" runaways may become enmeshed in the web of victimization and exploitation that will be discussed later as an effect of running away, most engage in a short run and a relatively quick return. Much more serious seem to be incidents of running that are a response to parental mistreatment.
Parental Mistreatment
Evidence continues to accumulate documenting the role of parental mistreatment, including physical abuse, neglect, and incest, in producing runaway behavior. Several studies have linked parental mistreatment to running away from home, particularly in cases where the adolescent goes far and stays away a long time (Garbarino and Gilliam, 1980). For youth exposed to chronic mistreatment at the hands of parents or guardians, running away from home may constitute a "healthy and adaptive response to an impossible situation" (Silbert and Pines, 1981). What is more, some "runaways" are actually "throwaways" in the sense that parental mistreatment has led to a runaway response.
Houghton and Golembiewski (1976) concluded that more than 80% of all "serious" runaways flee serious family problems, particularly abuse and alcoholism. Gutierres and Reich (1981) indicated that a violent home life created stresses that led to runaway behavior. Farber and Kinast (1984), in their study, found that three-fourths of those who ran reported having been subjected to severe mistreatment in the year prior to their runaway behavior (p. 2981). An HEW report estimated that mistreatment figured in one-third to one-half the cases of running away served by agencies. Many "throwaways" report incestual or abusive problems as the major cause of leaving home (Young et al., 1983, p. 277). Other researchers, including Fisher et al. (1979) who have produced the only existing national study of abused adolescents, concur that parental mistreatment is a significant "cause" of running away (e.g. Ambrosino, 1971; Crowley, 1977; D'Angelo, 1974; Liebertoff, 1980).
The textbook goes on to say:
Runaway adolescents who do not return home quickly have inadequate financial resources to meet their basic needs because of their poor prospects for legitimate employment. Thus, they are candidates for recruitment into the illicit economy---dealing drugs, larceny, hustling, and prostitution-*advertiser censored*. It is a damning indictment of the larger society, of course, that the "opportunities" for such illicit activities are institutionalized by predatory and exploitative elements of adult society and tolerated by "legitimate" society.
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Basically, my conclusion is this: Everything that's happened to Rose stems from a deeply troubled relationship with her father. Jesse Cole is primarily responsible for his daughter choosing the make her own way on the streets, and when she failed at this, he turned his back on her when she called for help. No other contact with Rose was ever made since by any person known to us or to law enforcement.
Rose's father, Jesse Cole was a Navy veteran with a troubled youth of his own. Jesse's father, Jesse R. Cole (1893-1936), worked hard as a laborer and died young.
Jesse's Mother, Rose Cole (formerly Roza Fejes/Rosa Fyes), later remarried a fellow a Hungarian immigrant named Joseph Borich (formerly József Borocz). This may have led to an identity crisis for a time, as her son was briefly known as Jesse Borich (1940 US Census). The US Navy likely restored the use of his original legal surname sometime in the 1940s. (Can you imagine us looking for Rose
Borich instead of Rose
Cole?)
Among Jesse's few allies during this period was his step-brother, also named Joseph Borich. The step-brothers served in the Navy together and Jesse even named Joseph as his executor towards the end of his life in 1991. The younger Borich was previously contacted by other Websleuths contributors in years past with mostly negative results (See earlier postings for details).
Meanwhile, the elder Joseph Borich committed suicide while Jesse was still a young man. According to Borich's obituary, he "leaped to his death...from the window of a second-floor ward of Flower Hospital." The loss of this second father figure had to have affected him deeply.
Jesse, in turn, developed an alcohol problem and a violent temper. He was a serial womanizer and allegedly very abusive with his wives and children. Rose may have allied with her step-mother, Opal during this period, perhaps after she stood up for her. This could explain why the letters home were mainly addressed to Opal amid Rose's desperate efforts to rekindle her estranged family's love.
I believe that Rose began selling marijuana and other drugs in an effort to earn a little cash and escape. She may have seen this as a way out from this endless cycle of abuse and neglect. Of course, being further abused by her birth mother and step-father during a Christmas vacation in Orange, Texas only made things worse.
Rose fell into a bad crowd. Period. She experimented with alcohol and drugs in order to feel better and possibly more alive. Her step-sister once admitted having to retrieve her from a raucous neighborhood party. A suspicious overdose led her best friend to take her to the emergency room. A school counselor steered her into the federal court system, where some judge clearly hoped that a long-term stay at Juvenile Hall---and later the Synanon Foundation---would straighten her out.
But Synanon was the last straw. This quasi-cult employed physical violence and psychological torture to keep their young inmates in line. Horribly abused everywhere she turned, Rose fled. And she never came back. Maybe she sold drugs to survive. Maybe she turned to prostitution. Perhaps she overdosed again somewhere, landed in prison, became homeless, committed suicide, or fell victim to foul play.
Or is it foolish to hope that Rose did straighten out and make a better life for herself?
One thing is for sure, however: With a life going as
wrong as Rose's was, is it any wonder she might've been tempted to simply
....disappear?
