Contemporary Social Problems

Parrillo (William Patterson U.) and his New Jersey colleagues have updated the 1996 edition to reflect current events that have since redirected thinking about contentious issues such as welfare, assistance to immigrants, affirmative action, HMOs as for profit businesses, and domestic terrorism. The

In the three years since the publication of the last edition of this book, unfolding events and social changes have redirected public thinking about some of our social problems. Affirmative action -- as a result of initiatives in California, Texas, and Washington, DC -- is a far less potent entity. Welfare is now more of a state program than a national one. Federal assistance to non-citizens is drastically lower, and HMO's now appear to many as profit-motivated businesses often denying important medical care to patients because of their costs. These and other pervasive problems in our society need to be examined, analyzed, and considered, so that readers both can not only have a heightened awareness of social ills, but can also contribute to the solution. This clear, concise and well-organized book helps readers to understand their stake in social problems. A highly readable, visually stimulating book, it encourages readers to look at social problems and to ask "What if?" The book combines theory and sociohistoric perspectives with real, everyday problems. Topics include alcohol and drug use, adolescent and young adult suicide, pornography, crime, poverty, family, education, and work, among others. Sociologists, policy makers, government officials, and professors.