The Social Problem Of Poverty

The Social Problem Of Poverty
The social problem is poverty, a risk factor that predisposes disadvantaged groups to incarceration. Data shows that the incarcerated majority are
minority groups like African Americans and Latinos. In today's society, one can argue that both the state and people tend to place the blame solely on
the individual. The poor are often stigmatized, associating them with an undesirable stereotype that reduces their value as an individual. Furthermore,
people tend to think that those in poverty engage in unlawful activities more often than the White population. As a result, African Americans and
Latinos are more likely to be associated with crime and are more likely to be subjected to policing than the White population. There is a racial bias
...show more content...
Often times, people in poverty live in neighborhoods where crime is abundant. Moreover, there is an unequal distribution of resources like
education, access to healthcare, and jobs which determine individual level outcomes that further predisposes the individual to crime. Individuals are
forced to engage in unlawful activities in order to cope with poverty. Moreover, disadvantaged groups like African Americans face discrimination
when looking for employment; hence, it is more difficult for them to secure a stable income. In a study, Black applicants who completed high
school and had no felony convictions were less likely to be called in for an interview compared to their White counterparts who did not complete
high school and had felony convictions (Miller, 2014). One explanation for this might be that Whites are not usually associated with poverty.
Stereotypes define those in poverty to look a certain way and often times, African Americans and Latinos are the main groups in poverty. Additionally,
people tend to associate poverty with crime. With low skill levels and education, it is difficult to find quality jobs. Under these conditions, people are
left with limited options to partake in criminal activities or find legal means to obtain resources, if available at all (Poverty and Crime, 2015).
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The Social Problems in Communities
Introduction Social problems are undesirable conditions that relate to the way in which a majority of people in society perceive certain issues.
Social problems may also be referred to social ills or issues. People from diverse communities may perceive social problems differently and have
varied solutions to these issues (Stark, 2007). Social problems differ from personal problems where issues are dealt with at an individual level. On
the other hand, social problems may destroy values held collectively in a society. Social problems that occur in different societies include; inequality,
unemployment, crime, poverty, drugs and substance abuse, illiteracy, religious extremism, immigration, political related violence and overpopulation.
The investigations of social problems in the society often lead to sociological findings. The investigation and research results provide a better
understanding of the society that one lives in and develop ways to deal with social problems. The social problems in communities may lead to
conflict, which results to hostility between different individuals within a community or groups with other groups in a similar society. The problems
destruct the values that held the community or society together. People who were previously united may create gaps between the due to social
problems. For instance, those with low income may be termed as poor while the well up in the community will be considered rich. This is why social
problems should be dealt with

Education And Social Problem Solving Skills
Introduction Teachers have different ways of engaging children in social problem solving skills. The literature review revolves around this argument.
The different topics to be discussed are inclusive of the children capabilities in terms of their social emotional development and skills that children need
in order to become problem solvers. The other topic is the methodology which discusses the strategies used in different articles, the classroom
environment and the action of teachers as models following their professional development from their training to coaching activities. At the end the
paper the influence of this training on children is discussed. Children capabilities Social emotional development Whitted, K. S. (2011),...show more
content...
This provides significant positive impacts statistically on the social behaviors of the three year olds and a mutual closeness with their teachers and with
each other. The results point to new potential directions for future research and the development of pre–school interventions to enhance. Skills that
children need to become a problem solver (such as imaginations, flexibility, etc.) Pitri, E. (2013), discusses Creative Problem solving via artwork. It
involves analysis and logical thinking and also irrational thinking through ways such as fantasy and play. Creativity is ideally not a requirement in
problem solving but creative production is a situation that needs problem solving. Individuals who are creative are able to solve problems in a more
innovative, appropriate manner and high quality. Art activities help children face technical, interpersonal and contextual problems, following critical
thinking skills the children can make choices among a variety of possible solutions (Pitri, E. 2013). Children who solve problems using creative
thinking skills to solve problems are usually focused on the task and they continuously define new problems and can ask questions out loud. Problem
solving skills and reasoning create a foundation for the learning of a lifetime. Reasoning, making inferences, implementing decisions and analysing
arguments to solve the common problems are all important skills across all the areas of development. The skills give

Social Problems, Values and Norms
A social problem is a condition that directly or indirectly affects at least some members of society who consider it to be in violation of certain
values or morals. Values are what people think is good or bad, right or wrong. One groups values can be entirely different from another groups
values based on what each group deems important to them. Norms are more specific and they are "rules of conduct that guide people's behavior"
(Sullivan, 2012). Therefore, when a group of people behave or act out in a certain way that is in contrast to other group's values or norms it can
create a social problem. Furthermore, social problems can be labeled as such when an influential group places significant light on the issue. This
allows for public debate about the issue or condition. This debate drives opinions and allows people to consider what is more important to them
with their values and norms. Eventually social policy or collective action is put into place in an attempt to elevate the condition. The condition can
be affecting many or only a small group of people but in order for it to be considered a social problem the condition needs to be considered a threat
to a group's values or norms. The larger the number of people affected the more likely the condition will be addressed as a social problem. There are a
vast number of examples of social problems that are current conditions affecting groups in our society today. Unemployment is a condition that affects
all of society directly

Social Problems Of Education Today
Education today is very important because it is the foundation for everything in life. Influences in a student's personal life can affect the student's
learning ability, for example, if there is something negative going on in the students' life it may be a distraction from their learning. One of the biggest
issues with education in today's society is social problems. There are many different types of social problems, but three major problems I will discuss
are teen pregnancy, family relationships, and bullying. Teen pregnancy has a huge impact on students and their education. Life is just so hard for
these young teens because they are still trying to figure out their path. These young men and women don't get to experience the life they are
supposed to be living at the age of 16, 17, and 18 because they have a baby to take care of. Most of the time, the baby's father is going to walk out of
the picture and this young girl is on her own with maybe a family to support her, but no money for her and the baby. It's not fair for the baby to have
to grow up that way. Teen pregnancy also takes away from ahigh school diploma. These young men and women have to drop out of school and put
their education on hold because of their pregnancy. Most of the time these teens don't return to school and graduate along side of their peers. It is just
very difficult for a young teen to not only have a child, but to raise a child when they are still one themselves. Because teen pregnancy is so

Examples Of Social Problems In Sociology
Kyle Olmsted Introduction to Sociology Homework #1 9/18/17 Part–1 Problem# 1: The first problem that I am dealing with in my life is that I have
Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD). This problem is something that I deal with everyday since I was diagnosed with and has been made easier due
to the use of Adderall. This issue that I have encountered really was not influenced or made worse by me, it was kinda uncontrollable. However it
was heavily influenced by society and the social forces that we have covered in class. The first aspect of this problem that society played a huge
role in was that my second grade teacher Mrs. Carlson notice that I may have ADD and informed my mom. This interaction that I had with my
teacher is a good example of a social relationship. I really don't think that a lot of people understand what it is like to have ADD. Most people are
like you are so lucky to be able to get Adderall. They do not know though that I take Adderall to feel normal like how they feel everyday. They do
not understand that if I do not take it that it is near impossible for me to be able to do homework, study, or to just stay on one task that I need to get
done. I find this to be a good ideology because kids who do not have ADD have a set view and belief on not even ADD but the use of Adderall.
They think that it is like a superdrug for them to focus when in all reality it just makes me feel normal while if they take it they might get a whole
different effect but for them to think that, that is how it is for me everyday is so false. Problem# 2: The second problem that I face in my life is
stress from trying to get into the nursing program here at NIU. I am getting ready to apply this semester and am also really nervous about not
getting in. The pressure that I have put on myself is due to the fact that I know that the nursing program here is super competitive and only a
fraction of the kids that apply get in. I am also a bit behind due to the fact that I missed over a month of school last fall when my dad suddenly and
unexpectedly passed away. There is also pressure Problem# 3: The last problem that I chose to discuss in my paper is that I have not really made that
many new friends. I am the kind of

Social Problems Of A Social Problem Essay
Social Problem a)What is a Social Problem? My understanding of a social problem is that a substantial group of individuals consider an issue to
be problematic and that the matter in question does not reconcile itself between the good of the group and what has been done for society.
Although the issue can be advantageous for some members of a culture or community, it can be detrimental to others and therefore must be
examined. b)What are some social problems that currently exist in society? Problems that occur recycle themselves over time in a society. As an
example, in the 1950's many people believed that there could be a nuclear war at any time. Today, even though we have disarmed many nuclear
warheads, the threat of a war is still a concern from nations who desire to use nuclear power as a weapon. Another concern is economic stability.
During the "Great Depression" many people were out of work and families stood in soup lines to be fed. Today our economic situation is still a
concern and we have shelters and foundations to feed and care for those unable to find work. Our government has also provided programs whereby
individual and families can obtain food and shelter while trying to find work. I also recognize that many have given up the quest to find employment.
Some other social concerns in society are: education, wage equality, and human trafficking only to name a few in the mountain of issues we face
today. c)How do sociologists define a social

Essay On Social Problems
What is a Social Problem Throughout society there are a multitude of social problems ranging from micro to macro scales. Social problems are
considered something that negatively affects an individual's state of being in a society. Unfortunately, there are a wide range of social problems that
effect such a magtiude of people. Some examples of nationwide social problems: LGBT adoption rights, abortion, planned parenthood funding,
transgender soldiers, death penalty, and many others. Some of the most pressing social problems in my community are racism, transgender
acceptance, and abortion. These problems have always been in existence throughout society on a macro scale. My community has marches
throughout the town to spread the word that abortion is not okay. Abortion in my opinion will never be settled due to the multitude of arguments that
could be presented to make abortion widely accepted or denied. Transgender acceptance has become an issue due to the fact that we have an older
gentleman that cross dresses and is in the middle of transitioning to a woman and wants to use the lady's restroom. Being from a small town and
having kept the standards from ancestors we do not accept what he is trying to do. Currently we are trying to resolve the issue by compromising with
the individual by just allowing him to use the family restroom. Finally, racism is especially a problem throughout our community. A lot of individuals
are racist towards black individuals and will not

Essay On Social Problems
Ellie Caylor
Miss O.
Social Problems
11/1/17
Many people wonder, what is a social problem? Social problems are all over the world and affect many people. The definition of a social problem
is an aspect of society that a large number of people or community are concerned about. They depend on your values or if you believe something is
good or bad. There are two kinds of social problems, objective condition and subjective concern. An objective condition is a condition within society
that can be measured. Subjective concern is an aspect of society that many people are concerned about. Social problems are major events that affect a
lot of people. The social problem I will cover is poverty.
Poverty is an extreme social problem and it means to...show more content...
Everyone put their savings into the stock market in New York City on Wall Street. Then the stock market crashed and people were financially
wiped out. Factories and businesses began firing people and for those who still had jobs got paid barely anything. Over 12,000 Americans were
becoming unemployed every single day, this lead up to having 12 million people without jobs. Also, the drought in the middle of the country
decreased the amount of farm production. Farmers couldn't support themselves because they couldn't grow crops. Kids couldn't go to school because
schools had to shut down due to lack of money. People couldn't even make enough money to meet their basic needs. Then in 1932, Franklin D
Roosevelt won the next election over Herbert Hoover. This was the change the country needed in order to get back on their feet. The economy
continued to improve and the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) grew at an average rate of 9% per year. TheGreat Depression was another historical event
that put many people in poverty (Great Depression Poverty).
Throughout the years, the world have been living in poverty because of different events that occur. Natural disasters leave many people with nothing.
Hurricanes, Earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters affect a lot of people. Every year, 26 million people are put into poverty because of a
natural disaster. The tropical Storm Agatha increased the rate of poverty by

Social Problems Essays
A way of distinguishing a realist perspective between theories of social problems within is to contrast the 'level of analysis' on which their
explanations are focused. Many theories that seek to explain social problems function at the level of the psychological or biological conditions that
make some people behave badly – discovering the gene, chromosome or mental characteristic that separates the deviant from the normal. Such
clarifications tend to operate at an individual level of analysis, dealing with the certain characteristics of the different and deviant individual. Others
explanations tend to focus on a micro–social level, dealing with patterns of interaction between specific individuals and groups for example peer
groups. (May...show more content...
This is a classic example of social problem construction; but the official definition ignores the most harmful drugs – tobacco and alcohol – and targets
on smaller substances like crack, cocaine, most commonly used in inner cities. (Blau 2004:7–8) But what would be the right alternative in this "war of
drugs"? The Economist suggests that, "the least bad policy is to legalise drugs. "Least bad" does not mean good. Legalisation, though clearly better
for producer countries, would bring (different) risks to consumer countries." Right now the United States alone spends about $ 40 billion each year on
trying to eliminate the supply of drugs, but with little or no result. However, those in favour of the legalisation of recreational drugs argue that
legalisation would not only drive away the gangsters but also transform drugs from a law–and–order problem into a public–health problem, which is
how, they argue, it ought to be treated. (The Economist 2009) The social policy to remedy this problem emerges from this framework and social
problems have been ought to fight earlier. The different perceptions as to how to

Marijuana is a Social Problem Essay example
Marijuana is a Social Problem
"Marijuana is the second most popular drug after alcohol in the country today. So many people smoke marijuana that the numbers alone seem to
legitimize and condone its presence in people's lives. Yet, even in moderation marijuana is not 'safe.' Somehow this information had not filtered down
to people who think they are smoking a fairly innocuous drug. Our society perpetuates the myths about pot being a fun, harmless, recreational drug.
These myths feed into people's denial of marijuana's problems" (Baum 6). However, the abuse of marijuana is a problem. It is not only a personal
problem, but also more importantly a social problem. Throughout history marijuana has been used to serve various purposes in many...show more
content...
It's destructive to the learning performance, memory, and attention span. It has insidious side effects including lung damage and cancer risks. It also
impairs ability to work, drive, and make clear decisions, not to mention, the lack of motivation, depression, and paranoia. In addition, "daily
marijuana use has been associated with a doubling of the risk for psychosis. The most common type was a brief acute organic reaction characterized
by mental dulling, distortion of time, dreamlike euphoria progressing to fragmenting thoughts, and hallucinations. More potent marijuana can cause
even more severe reactions" (Baum 16). This means marijuana has tremendous costs on those who use it as well as society. The effects of marijuana
abuse on an individual can be substantial, but the costs to society are innumerable. The effects can be felt in the rising of health care to increased
insurance premiums. As the number of marijuana users increase, the number seeking medical attention also increases. In addition, being treated for
various illnesses caused by marijuana abuse, results in missed days at work. Productivity levels fall not only because of absenteeism, but also as a
result of impaired abilities. Workers under the influence of marijuana suffer from cognitive disorders that hampers their productivity. Further, as a
social problem, marijuana costs society billions of tax dollars every year in an effort to obliterate drugs.

The Media As A social Problem Essay
The Media as a Social Problem            The mass media plays a large role in modern
society. Indeed, many have argued that people spend more time in "mass–mediated" interaction than in actual human interaction. The mass media, then,
would seemingly be an excellent position to initiate social change, positively affect social problems, and help combat social ills that are considered
normal patterns of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largely failed in addressing and helping to solve social problems. As seen through its
presentation of the three major variables of race, class, and gender, the mass media has actually served to contribute to the social problems it covers,
reinforcing...show more content...
As those in minority areas are portrayed and viewed negatively a flight of capital and economic activity develops in conjunction with the stereotypes.
Those with capital, typically white, avoid neighborhoods seen as violent or dangerous, and money is not spent or invested in these communities. Once
this happens, "the catastrophe of the inner–city increasingly becomes one of economic isolation more than simply of race". Jobs quickly disappear,
and welfare reforms are doomed to failure without hope of potential employment. Once the welfare system fails the "United States will further divide
into two societies: one multiracial and reasonably prosperous; the other, disadvantaged and often dark skinned, living in semi–permanent poverty". As
the inner–city minority neighborhoods become increasingly poor vis–Г –vis society as a whole, it becomes increasingly likely that the members of the
television news media will not come from this area of society and continue to promote the fixed images they have developed of these neighborhoods,
perhaps ignoring other methods to present the problems of the inner–city. Thus, the two concepts of race and class are closely related and act to
reinforce one another.      While failing to contribute to a solution to the problems of race and class, the television
news media has been much more successful in promoting gender equality. News features often show and expose

The Life Cycle of a Social Problem
The Life Cycle of a Social Problem A social problem is a condition that a group of people view as being undesirable. These can be a variety of
different "problems."They can occur in your community, school, church or any place that people interact with each other or an object. When a
social problem arises there is a general way that they are handled. The earliest of definition on how a social problem is recognized was made by
Richard Fuller and Richard Myers. There cycle had three stages. The first stage was that the group had to some situation or behavior as a problem.
Once they stated that there was a problem the next step was to transforms the situation or beahvior into a public debate to discuss that certain problem
and how it...show more content...
These roles of power also have concentrated link to the critical approach. When a problem is merely a micro problem it is normally blamed on the
attributes of people rather than the integrity of the system. With any social problem in general there are two moral entrepreneurs. They are the
rule creators ,which is the group that is trying to fix a behavior or situation that doesn't agree with there ideals or belifs, and the rule enforcers
which are the police and other public officals that will have to oversee that the law or resolution is upheld by the public. The simple one of these
two are the rule enforcers. There main part is just to uphold these rules so therefore they look at it is a job and not a way of life persay like a rule
creator would.They also come into the life cycle after the solution or resoultion has been determined .During their time of upholding the new law
they will make many enemies and friends but the only thing that really matters is that the new law or rule will be upheld so there will not be another
social problem of this nature. The second of the moral entrepreneurs and the most complex one is the rule creators. They are the ones that start
fighting for the social problem and have to continue even if they are successful in getting a new rule or law established. The first step in a rule creator
is the stage of becoming a

Social Problems; Sociology of the Workplace
Full name SOC–220 Social Problems October 21, 2011 Instructor name Sociology of the Workplace We might have been equal around 200B.C. but
those days are over. Political control, unequal income and unequal status changed the way American families had to break away for economic
independency due to the massive industrialization. Jobs and careers are a core value in American society (Macionis 2008). Two revolutions, Industrial
and Information, changed the workplace for most Americans, creating a new status quo for them and their families. With the new modern economy, the
quality of life can only be improved. Structural–functional, social conflict, and symbolic interaction are the three major approaches in sociology that
guides thinking...show more content...
I have seen in the retail business that the managers don't have to leave the stores anymore to attend a meeting. They simply now have to make a
phone call, enter a code, and they are in a "conference call" allowing them to still manage their stores. There are telecommunicating jobs that now
allow workers to stay at home and earn income. The social ramifications to this new way of work have changed people for the good and some for the
bad. While moms can now stay at home with their children while working and earning income; this saves them the expenses from traveling. The
negative impact on this is that stay–home–jobs isolate the person from the outside world that they once had. It is harder to get a promotion and adds
to the gender inequality in the workplace (Macionis, 2008). I just purchased a home and never saw my loan officer; she worked out of California
from her office and home. I liked the convenience of the process because I was able to retrieve my emails from her and resend them on my free
time. The personal contact has diminished, resulting in some sort of isolation. Society is created by ongoing social conflict between the more
powerful groups who exploit groups with lesser power. There was a fine line between work and home which now has been blurred from the
stay–home–jobs (Macionis, 2008). The pressure of work that used to just fill the office now is taken home, so where do you find the balance again for
this new

Interconnection to Social Problems Essay
The Interconnection of Social Problems
By: Kelly L. Dudley
September 2, 2012
SOC 203: Social Problems
Professor Barbara Carter
We are going to discuss the overlap of crime, punishment, and poverty. Here are the points that will be elaborated on: Criminal sanctions and
victimization work to form a system of disadvantage that perpetuates stratification and poverty; Punishment impacts individuals convicted of felonies,
as well as their families, peer groups, neighborhoods, and racial group; After controlling for population differences, African Americans are incarcerated
approximately seven times as often as Whites; Variation in criminal punishment is linked to economic deprivation; As the number of felons and former
felons rises,...show more content...
However, race does have a major impact here too. The economy falling like it is today is another reason we see so many social issues. There is a
lack of jobs and that can lead to criminal behavior. This in that case leads to incarcerations especially if it happens over and over again. There is such
an overflow in prisons that they are trying their best to give them smaller sentences today. "Criminal sanctions are typically inflicted by the state. The
central role of the state in determining the severity of these sanctions and inflicting them requires justification. One justification for state–inflicted
sanctions is simply that the state is more likely than other agents to determine accurately what a wrongdoer justly deserves and to inflict a just sanction
on those who deserve it. Hence, in principle, the state could be replaced by other agents, for example, private individuals. This hypothesis has given
rise to recent calls to reform the state's criminal justice system by introducing privately inflicted sanctions, for example, shaming penalties, private
prisons, or private probationary services. This paper challenges this view and argues that the agency of the state is indispensable to criminal sanctions.
Privately inflicted sanctions sever the link between the state's judgments concerning the wrongfulness of the action and the appropriateness of the
sanction and the infliction of sufferings on the criminal. When a private

Problems With Social Media Essay
Problems with Social Media Social media or any other type of social networking can be harmful. There are many studies showing that social media
may help our society, but they don't tell you any of the problems being caused by social media. One of the main problems occurring are cyberbullies.
Cyberbullies are bullies over the internet that try to harm people with rude or hateful messages and even misuse personal information. Cyberbullying
causes a big issue in society, often leading to stress, anger, and even suicide. To get started, Cyberbullying causes stress on a lot of people, not just the
person getting bullied, their friends and their families to. Everyone around the victim must put up with what the cyberbully has done to the...show more
content...
When people think they are the only ones getting bullied, they are scared to go out in public, which makes them angry. They don't know how to
solve the problem and that cause huge issues with their life. Constantly feeling lonely makes you feel like you have no friends, nor can you get any
friends because of it. More studies shown from Carl shows that males get angry and vengeful whenever they are cyberbullied, which causes them to
say something back to a bully or try to fight. When teens do that when getting bullied rather than trying to solve the problem in a good way only
makes things worse. Ignoring a cyberbully and deleting your social media account is a good step into stopping the bullying. If you fire words back at a
bully, they know they are getting the attention they want. Bullies strive off attention. Ignoring a bully is one of the most important steps in getting a
bully to stop. If that doesn't work it's better to start trying to get help from other people such as counseling. The last issue is suicide. Suicide is also a
huge problem when it comes to cyberbullying or any other type of bullying. Studies have shown from Jama Pediatrics that Cyberbullying are more
strongly related to suicidal thoughts in children and adolescents than traditional bullying. Estimates have confirmed that almost 20% of victims are
cyberbullied. Previous studies have also shown that bullying is a strong factor for adolescent

The Social Problem Of Social Problems
1.0.0 SOCIAL PROBLEM The term "social problem" cannot be comprehensively defined without understanding the meaning of social itself before
joining problem. 1.0.1 SOCIAL The word social comes from the Latin socius meaning "friend." When you 're being social, you 're everyone 's friend.
Go to a social, or mixer and you might make a lot of new friends. Stand in the corner pouting, however, and you 're being anti–social. Humans are
described as social being ones that tend to move or live in groups together, Social is relating to society or it is organization, needing companionship
and therefore best suited to living in communities", relating to or designed for activities in which people meet each other for pleasure. Cambridge
dictionary defined social as relating to activities in which you meet and spend time with other people and that happen during the time when you are
not working: 1.0.2 PROBLEM Problem is a condition of discontentment resented by someone. But when it is resented on many people, it becomes a
social problem. For a problem to be social, it must involve a large number of people, sometimes groups and institutions who consider a particular
condition as undesirable and intolerable and want to it to be corrected through collective effort or action. It is also a perceived gap between the
existing state and a desired state, or a deviation from a norm, standard, although many problems turn out to have several

Poverty As A Contemporary Social Problem Essay
Poverty as a Contemporary Social Problem
A social problem, is "a general factor that effects and damages society". It can be used to describe an issue or a problem within a certain group of
people or an area in the world. Examples of contemporary social problems today include anti–social behaviour, drug abuse, and sexual abuse. Poverty is
an example of a social problem that exists all over the world, and to different extents. In the UK, poverty has effected at least a third of the
population, as shown by the Office of National Statistics, providing evidence that it is a massive social problem in the country. Tameside has a big
poverty problem. 1 in 4 children in Tameside are born into poverty, and workers in Tameside earn significantly less than other workers in the rest of the
North–West area. In addition, Tameside has the largest proportion of people claiming unemployment benefits compared to the rest of the North West of
England.
There is evidence everywhere to suggest that poverty is a cause of crime, anti–social behaviour, and drug abuse. However, this can be counter–argued,
as these can be a symptom of poverty – for example, an individual spending all their money on drugs and alcohol can lead to having no money to pay
for sanitation, food, water, and shelter.
Poverty is a massive issue today, it surrounds all of life's experiences, and it impacts on the future for people everywhere, and on health everywhere in
society. Poverty is not just related to unemployment or

Sociology: Identifying Social Problems Essay
Identifying Social Problems
The definition of a social problem varies greatly depending on whether an objectivist approach or a constructionist approach is taken. This is
because sociologists that adopt these unique perspectives will differ in how they view the nature of a social problem. The objectivist definition of a
social problem is perhaps more common sense because it "suggests that the essence of social problems lies in objective social conditions and that
some conditions are problems." [1] This definition focuses around the evaluation of conditions in society to decide whether they are harmful to either
individuals or society, and then defining them as social problems. If a condition fails to meet a given...show more content...
[4] This approach is quite unique as a social problem refers to the activities of individuals or groups, which make assertions towards some harmful
condition. The constructionists will focus on and examine what the claimsmakers say about conditions, rather than the conditions themselves. [5]
This examination will often take the form of case studies, in which sociologists will look at how a particular public issue is constructed.
Constructionism is also interested in problem identification, or its perception and definition. Of interest is how certain conditions come to be
defined as problems by certain groups, as this usually reflects an issue of power that this group stands to lose or benefit from. Typification, or the
characterization of a problem's nature [6] is also important to sociologists. Typification will take the common forms of assuming a particular
orientation for a problem, in order to provide a solution, as well as using typifying examples to capture public attention. Examples of this can be found
later in this paper, in the discussion of Best's logical structure of claimsmaking as applied to child sexual abuse. While constructionists agree that social
problems are a subjective phenomenon, there is a division among them over the nature of constructionism, which manifests into

The Social Problem Of Poverty

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