Social Problems: A Critical Approach

A critical approach to the analysis of social problems facing the world today that examines both the causes of those problems and their human implications. Twelve chapters look at large societal issues such as Environmental Abuse and Economic Inequality and Poverty. The final five chapters focus on problems of an individual nature such as family-related problems and criminal behavior. The Fourth Edition has been substantively revised to include current issues such as the rise of temporary employees, the growing concentration of wealth, immigration in an increasingly diverse United States, an entirely new chapter on Heterosexism, the failures of the U.S. health care system, suicide among the young and old, and more.

Kenneth J. Neubeck is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut-Storrs. His articles have appeared in such journals as Social Problems, Social Policy, and Teaching Sociology, as well as several anthologies. Much of his work has focused upon issues of social and economic justice, covering such topics as the politics surrounding income maintenance programs, cultural values supporting economic inequality, and the relationship between central city downtown developmental and local neighborhood decline. The author of Corporate Response to Urban Crisis (Lexington Books) and Social Problems: A Critical Approach (McGraw-Hill), he is currently conducting research on the impact of racism on U.S. welfare policy.