Social Problems

by Coleman, James William; Cressey, Donald R.

• ISBN13: 9780321018489
• ISBN10: 0321018486
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-04-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

This bestselling introduction to social problems opens with an overview of the sociological tools and perspectives that are used in the study of social problems. Social Problems provides a solid foundation by discussing fundamental changes and problems in the four basic social institutions -- economy, government, education, and family -- before examining more specific topics, such as health care or poverty.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Sociology and Social Problems	1	(28)
What Is a Social Problem?	2	(2)
Social Problems and Social Movements	4	(2)
Foundations of the Sociological Approach	6	(3)
Sociological Perspectives on Social Problems	9	(9)
Doing Sociological Research	18	(4)
Interpreting Claims About Social Problems	22	(3)
Summary	25	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	26	(1)
Key Terms	26	(1)
Further Readings	27	(1)
Notes	27	(2)
Part I Troubled Institutions	29	(184)
Problems of the Family	31	(34)
Families Around the World	32	(1)
Understanding Family Diversity	33	(5)
Family Problems	38	(3)
Debate: Is the Modern Family Decaying?	41	(1)
Signs of Hope: The Divorce Rate Levels Off	42	(6)
Personal Perspectives: A Single Mother	48	(3)
Solving the Problems of the Family	51	(4)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of the Family	55	(4)
Summary	59	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	60	(1)
Key Terms	60	(1)
Further Readings	61	(1)
Notes	61	(4)
Problems of Education	65	(33)
Equal Educational Opportunity for All?	67	(7)
The Quality of Education	74	(4)
Debate: Is the Quality of Public Education Detriorating?	78	(2)
Signs of Hope: Rising Achievement Among Minorities	80	(1)
Solving the Problems of Education	80	(8)
Personal Perspectives: A Junior High School Teacher	88	(1)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of Education	89	(4)
Summary	93	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	94	(1)
Key Terms	94	(1)
Further Readings	94	(1)
Notes	95	(3)
Problems of the Economy	98	(36)
The World Economy	99	(3)
Understanding Our Economic System	102	(9)
Personal Perspectives: An Unemployed Logger	111	(1)
Signs of Hope: Jobs Are Getting Safer	112	(2)
The New Economic Realities	114	(5)
Solving the Problems of the Economy	119	(3)
Debate: Is Freer World Trade the Way to Economic Prosperity at Home?	122	(4)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of the Economy	126	(4)
Summary	130	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	131	(1)
Key Terms	131	(1)
Further Readings	132	(1)
Notes	132	(2)
Problems of Government	134	(33)
The Growth of Government	135	(2)
Who Runs the Government?	137	(4)
Personal Perspectives: A Member of the House of Representatives	141	(3)
The Dilemmas of Government	144	(10)
Solving the Problems of Government	154	(2)
Debate: Should the Government Finance Our Election Campaigns?	156	(2)
Signs of Hope: Letting More People in	158	(1)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of Government	159	(3)
Summary	162	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	163	(1)
Key Terms	164	(1)
Further Readings	164	(1)
Notes	164	(3)
Health and Illness	167	(46)
What Is Good Health?	168	(1)
Physical Illness	169	(1)
Signs of Hope: Healthier Life-Style	170	(3)
Personal Perspectives: Putting Their Lives on the Line	173	(3)
Mental Disorders	176	(9)
Health Care in the United States	185	(10)
National Health Care: Britain and Canada	195	(2)
Ethical Dilemmas	197	(1)
Debate: Should Abortion Be Legal?	198	(1)
Solving the Problems of Health Care	199	(4)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of Health and Illness	203	(3)
Summary	206	(2)
Questions for Critical Thinking	208	(1)
Key Terms	208	(1)
Further Readings	208	(1)
Notes	209	(4)
Part II The Problems of Inequality	213	(130)
The Poor	215	(33)
The Rich and the Poor: A Widening Gap	216	(3)
Measuring Poverty	219	(2)
Signs of Hope: Poverty Drops Among the Elderly	221	(1)
The Life of Poverty	222	(2)
Personal Perspectives: A Homeless Man	224	(2)
Debate: Should the Government Provide Free Housing for the Homeless?	226	(2)
Understanding the Welfare System	228	(5)
Explanations of Poverty	233	(4)
Solving the Problems of Poverty	237	(3)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of the Poor	240	(3)
Summary	243	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	244	(1)
Key Terms	244	(1)
Further Readings	245	(1)
Notes	245	(3)
The Ethnic Minorities	248	(37)
Ethnic Groups	249	(4)
Signs of Hope: Prejudice Declines	253	(1)
Ethnic Minorities in North America	253	(14)
Explaining Ethnic Inequality	267	(4)
Solving the Problems of Ethnic Relations	271	(4)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of Ethnic Minorities	275	(1)
Debate: Are Affirmative Action Programs Fair?	276	(2)
Personal Perspectives: A Victim of Racism	278	(2)
Summary	280	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	281	(1)
Key Terms	282	(1)
Further Readings	282	(1)
Notes	282	(3)
The Old and the Young	285	(27)
Aging and the Life Cycle	286	(2)
Problems of the Young	288	(1)
Signs of Hope: Healthier Infants	289	(1)
Debate: Are We Turning Our Backs on the Problems of the Young?	290	(4)
Problems of the Elderly	294	(5)
Personal Perspectives: Caring for a Mother with Alzheimer's Disease	299	(1)
The Graying of America	300	(1)
Solving the Problems of the Young and the Old	301	(4)
Sociological Perspectives of Problems of the Life Cycle	305	(3)
Summary	308	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	309	(1)
Key Terms	309	(1)
Further Readings	310	(1)
Notes	310	(2)
Women and Men	312	(31)
Gender Roles	313	(5)
Gendar Socialization	318	(3)
Gender Inequality	321	(7)
Personal Perspectives: A Victim of Sexual Harassment	328	(1)
Signs of Hope: Men Are Getting More Involved with Their Kids	329	(1)
Solving the Problems of Gender Inequality	330	(2)
Debate: Should we Crack Down on Sexual Harassment?	332	(2)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of Gender	334	(3)
Summary	337	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	338	(1)
Key Terms	338	(1)
Further Readings	338	(1)
Notes	339	(4)
Part III Conformity and Deviance	343	(110)
Sexual Behavior	345	(35)
Human Sexuality	346	(2)
Contemporary Sexual Behavior	348	(7)
Sexual Behavior and Social Problems	355	(2)
Personal Perspectives: A Homosexual Student	357	(10)
Solving the Problems of Sexual Behavior	367	(2)
Debate: Should Schools Provide Free Birth Control to Teenagers?	369	(1)
Signs of Hope: Gays and Lesbians Are Gaining More Civil Rights	370	(1)
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of Sexual Behavior	371	(3)
Summary	374	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	375	(1)
Key Terms	376	(1)
Further Readings	376	(1)
Notes	376	(4)
Drug Use	380	(33)
Drugs and Drug Addiction	382	(6)
Debate: Should Smoking Be Outlawed?	388	(2)
Personal Perspectives: A College Heroin User	390	(3)
Why Use Drugs?	393	(4)
Drug Control in North America	397	(3)
Solving the Drug Problem	400	(1)
Signs of Hope: An Effective Antismoking Program	400	(6)
Sociological Perspectives on Drug Use	406	(2)
Summary	408	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	409	(1)
Key Terms	409	(1)
Further Readings	410	(1)
Notes	410	(3)
Crime and Violence	413	(40)
The Nature of Crime and Violence	414	(2)
Personal Perspectives: Young Murderes	416	(3)
Signs of Hope: A Steep Decline in Property Crime	419	(5)
Measuring Crime and Violence	424	(6)
The Causes of Crime and Violence	430	(5)
Criminal Justice	435	(4)
Solving the Problems of Crime and Violence	439	(3)
Debate: Would Putting More Police on the Streets Help Solve the Crime Problem?	442	(2)
Sociological Perspectives on Crime and Delinquency	444	(3)
Summary	447	(1)
Questions for Critical Thinking	448	(1)
Key Terms	448	(1)
Further Readings	449	(1)
Notes	449	(4)
Part IV Problems of a Changing World	453
Urbanization	455
Understanding Human Communities	457
Problems of Urbanization	463
Personal Perspectives: A Former Member of a Los Angeles Gang	465
Signs of Hope: Safer Transportation	469
Solving the Problems of Urbanization	472
Debate: Should We Limit Suburban Growth?	476
Sociological Perspectives on Problems of Urbanization	476
Summary	480
Questions for Critical Thinking	481
Key Terms	482
Further Readings	482
Notes	482
Population	485
Why the Explosive Growth?	487
The Impact of Population Growth	491
Migration	495
Personal Perspectives: A Political Refugee	497
Solving the Population Problem	498
Sociological Perspectives on Population	504
Debate: Are Mandatory Limits on Family Size Needed to Control the Population Explosion?	505
Signs of Hope: A Successful Birth Control Program	506
Summary	509
Questions for Critical Thinking	510
Key Terms	510
Further Readings	510
Notes	511
The Environment	513
Ecology	514
The Human Impact	515
Dwindling Resources	527
Origins of Environmental Crisis	531
Debate: Are We Headed for an Environmental Disaster?	532
Solving Our Environmental Problems	535
Personal Perspectives: Environmentalists Speak Out	536
Signs of Hope: Less Smog and More Recycling	538
Sociological Perspectives on the Environment	540
Summary	543
Questions for Critical Thinking	544
Key Terms	545
Further Readings	545
Notes	545
The Global Divide: Problems of International Inequality	548
Global Inequality	549
Personal Perspectives: Growing Up as a Guatamalan Peasant	553
Explaining the Global Divide	559
Signs of Hope: The Quality of Life Improves	559
Solving the Problems of Global Inequality	563
Debate: Are the Rich Nations Exploiting the Poor Ones?	564
Sociological Perspectives on the Global Divide	572
Summary	575
Questions for Critical Thinking	576
Key Terms	576
Further Readings	576
Notes	577
Warfare: Revolutionary, Ethnic, and International Conflict	579
The Nature of War	580
The Escalation of Military Violence	581
The Consequences of War	582
Terrorism	585
The Causes of Warfare	587
Personal Perspectives: A Victim of Repressive Terrorism	587
Solving the Problems of Warfare and International Conflict	593
The Prospects for the Future	597
Debate: Is World Government the Way to Eliminate International Warfare?	598
Signs of Hope: The World's Military Spending Declines	601
Sociological Perspectives on Warfare and International Conflict	601
Summary	604
Questions for Critical Thinking	605
Key Terms	605
Further Readings	606
Notes	606
Epilogue Social Problems in the Twenty-first Century: Looking Forward and Looking Back	608
Three Critical Issues: Justice, Cohesion, and Survival	608
Looking to the Twenty-first Century: Three Scenarios for the Future	612
Glossary	615
Credits	626
Name Index	627
Subject Index	629