Intended as the primary text for a social problems course, DeFronzo and Gill's Social Problems and Social Movements stresses the need for collective action and social movements to solve social problems. Both instructors and students will find this a useful framework in which to view today's most pressing social issues.

Chapter 1 introduces the topic of social problems. Chapter 2 explains how social movements address social problems and describes sociological explanations for the development of social movements. Chapter 3 describes the power frameworks that participants in social movements must deal with in order to achieve success. Each following chapter presents overviews of social problems and provides examples of how working together can bring about positive change.Social Movements and Special Topics boxes provide information on aspects of specific social problems as well as how people organize and work together to solve them.

By James DeFronzo and Jungyun Gill

List of Boxes Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors The Social Context of Social Problems Opposing Explanations for Social Problems Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective The Benefit of a Combined Perspective Survey Research Experiments Field Research Focus Groups Secondary Data Analysis Historical and Comparative Research Student Participation in Movements for Social Change Absolute Deprivation and Relative Deprivation Theories Resource Mobilization Theory Political Opportunities Theory Leadership Theory Framing Theory Multi-Factor Theory Incipiency Coalescence Institutionalization Fragmentation Demise Revival Capitalism Socialism The Reality of Blended Systems Are There Links between Types of Economies and Types of Political Systems? Modern Concentrated Economic Power Upper Class Upper-Middle Class Middle Class Working Class Lower Classes Income Inequality Income Inequality Internationally Wealth Inequality The Power Elite A Ruling Class? Money and Elections Who Votes? The Impact of the 2010 Midterm Elections Definition and Measurement of Poverty in the United States A Profile of the Poor Health Family Troubles Limited Education Poor Housing Conditions Homelessness Crime Barriers to Political Participation Individual Characteristics Social Structure Cultural Factors Structural-Functional Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Conflict Perspective Encourage Personal Reliance More Effective Government Programs Change Social Structure The Great Depression and Social Welfare Welfare Reform of 1996 Other Assistance Programs Childbirth-Related Leave Policies and Publicly Supported Child Care What are Race, Ethnicity, and Racism? Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the United States The American Nativist Movement Against Immigration in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries The Elimination of Immigration Quotas in the 1960s The Continuing Debate over Immigration Mutually Beneficial Trade and Cultural ExchangesGenocide Slavery Removal and Segregation Colonialism Assimilation Racial and Ethnic Pluralism/Multicultural Pluralism Prejudice and Stereotypes Discrimination White Privilege Institutional Discrimination Personality TypeSituation Culture Social Structure Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective The Role of EducationEconomic Reform Political Reform Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Family Schools Language Media Religion EducationWork and Income Politics and Government The Military Religion Family and Peers Schools and Media FamilyEducation Work Politics, Government, and the Military Family Authority Types Types of Marriage Age at First Marriage and Cohabitation Divorce Children Born Outside of Marriage and Single-Parent-Headed Households Race/Ethnic and Class Differences Mass Incarceration and the American Black Family Intimate Partner Abuse and Violence Income and Racial/Ethnic Differences Effects of Intimate Partner Violence Decline in Intimate Partner Violence since 1994 Demographic Characteristics of VictimsPerpetrators and Risk Factors Effects of Child Abuse Increase and Decrease of Child Abuse Reports Incidence and Correlates of Elder Abuse Economic Political Cultural Individual Characteristics Providing Safety for Abuse Victims Causes of Teen Pregnancies Consequences of Teen Pregnancies Preventing Teen Pregnancies Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective The Problem of American Students' Academic Performance Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Impacts on Academic Performance The Dropout Problem Functional Illiteracy The School Segregation Problem School Crime, Bullying, and Discipline Problems Soaring College Tuition and Student Debt Criticisms of the Public School System Distinctive Points of View The No Child Left Behind Program Protests and Strikes by Teachers Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Newsworthiness and News Objectivity Digital Divide Media and Crime Effects of Global Travel and Trade A Major Global Infectious Threat: HIV/AIDS Inequities in HealthRising Costs of Health Care Consequences of the High Cost of Health Care Smoking Obesity Environmental Poisoning Causes of Mental Illness and Links to Gender, Race, and Class Treatments for Mental Illness Deinstitutionalization Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Medicaid Children's Health Insurance Program Military Health Care Medicare State Reforms The Affordable Health Care Act Official Crime Statistics Victimization Surveys Self-Report Studies Violent Street Crime Street Property Crime Occupational Crime Corporate Crime Punishment for White-Collar Crime Assassinations Burglaries Hacking Political Campaigns and Elections Age Gender Social Class Race and Ethnicity Biological Factors Psychiatric Factors Sociological Factors Transporting People Transporting Goods and Resources Communication, Finance, News, Entertainment Positive Views of Globalization Negative Views of Globalization PovertyIncome and Wealth Inequality Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Population Growth Worldwide: Past, Present, and Future Regional Differences in Population Growth Population Growth in the United States The Effect on Population of Immigration to the United States Social Problems Related to Excessive Population Growth Worldwide Urbanization Worldwide Urbanization in the United States Urban Problems Worldwide Urban Problems in the United States Aging Worldwide Aging in the United States Aging Problems Worldwide Aging Problems in the United States Reduce Population Growth in High-Birth-Rate Countries by Improving Women's Education and Employment Levels Reduce Problems Related to Urbanization Worldwide Reduce Problems Related to Urbanization in the United States Worldwide Responses to Aging Problems Responses to Aging Problems in the United States Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Global Warming Impacts of Increasing Global Energy Use Air Pollution Land Pollution Hazardous Waste E-Waste Radioactive Material Wars and the Environment Water Availability and Quality Dangers to Biodiversity Structural-Functional Perspective Conflict Perspective Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective Population Growth Technological Progress, Urbanization, and Economic Development Militarism and International Competition Materialist Consumerism Excessive Individualism Environmental Education Environmental Activism Green Energy and Technology Carbon Capture and Storage International Government Policies U.S. Government Policies Extent of Drug Use Internationally …