Investigating Social Problems

Fourth Edition

Edited by:

A. Javier Trevino - Wheaton College

Other Titles in:
Social Problems

February 2025 | 696 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

The extensively updated Fourth Edition of Investigating Social Problems, edited by A. Javier Trevino, promises a specialized study into societal troubles such as poverty, racism, crime, drug addiction, and environmental disasters. Not just a single author's perspective, but more than two dozen experts deliver informed discussions on their area of specialization, making this text unique in its breadth and depth. With a ministry towards understanding, grappling with, and crafting solutions to these problems, the book moves beyond fundamental sociological concepts, offering students theory-loaded, empirically-rich explorations into pressing issues of the contemporary world.

A. Javier Treviño

1. Sociology and Social Problems

The Mobility Puzzle

The Sociological Study of Social Problems

The Sociological Imagination

Sociological Research

Three Sociological Theories

Applying the Three Theories to Social Problems

Social Policy

Service Sociology and Social Problems

Leslie Hossfeld, E. Brooke Kelly, and Julia Waity

2. Poverty and Class Inequality

Patterns and Trends

Social Class

Inequality

Using Theory to Explain Poverty and Class Inequality

Specialized Theories Applied to Poverty and Inequality

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Maria D. Dueñas

3. Race and Ethnicity

Defining Race and Ethnicity

Patterns and Trends

Using Theory to Explain Racial Inequality

Theories About Racial Inequality

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Paulina d. C. Inara Rodis and Sara C. Francisco

4. Gender

Defining Sex and Gender

The Study of Gender as a Social Problem

Patterns and Trends

Using Theory to Understand Gender Inequality

Specialized Theory: Queer Theory

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Janelle M. Pham and Anna C. Ziering

5. Sexualities

Understanding Social Problems Related to Sex and Sexuality

Patterns and Trends

Using Theory to Understand Anti-LGBTQ+ Discrimination and Violence

Specialized Theories in Sexualities and Social Problems Scholarship

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Isabel García Valdivia

6. Aging

Is Aging a Social Problem?

Patterns and Trends

Using Theory to Understand Aging

Specialized Theories About Aging

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Jenny Stuber

7. Education

Inequalities in Our Education System

Patterns and Trends

U.S. Education System: A Brief History

Using Sociological Theories in Education

Specialized Theories in the Sociology of Education

Investigating Inequalities in Education

Efforts at Educational Reform

Social Change: What Can You Do?

William Hoynes, Nicholas Hoynes, and Cameron J. Bunker

8. Media

How Media Define Social Problems

Patterns and Trends

Debating Media as a Cause of Social Problems

Emerging Social Problems and New Media Technologies

Using Theory to Examine Media and Social Problems

Specialized Theories in Contemporary Media and Social Problems Scholarship

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Heather E. Dillaway, Allison Jendry James, and Nancy J. Mezey

9. Families

Social and Historical Factors Shape Families

Patterns and Trends

Family Problems and Three Social Institutions

Using Theory to Understand Families

Specialized Theories for Understanding Families

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Jacqueline M. Zalewski

10. Work and the Economy

Work and the Labor Force

Patterns and Trends

Stakeholders

Using Theory to Examine Work and the Economy

Specialized Theories: Weber and Scientific Management

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Matthew Delsesto

11. Crime

Crime as a Social Problem

The Media and Public Perceptions of Crime

The Role of Power in Defining and Responding to Crime

Data Sources and Correlates of Crime

Patterns and Trends

The U.S. Criminal Justice System

Using Theory to Examine Crime

Specialized Theories About Crime

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Scott Akins and Michelle Inderbitzin

12. Drugs

Drug Use Across Time and Society

Prevalence of Drug Use in Society

Risks of Drug Use

Categories of Drugs

Drug Policy

Using Theory to Understand Drug Use

Specialized Theories on Drug Use

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Valerie Leiter

13. Health

What Are Disease and Illness?

Health Inequities

The U.S. Health Care System and Its Stakeholders

Using Theory to Understand Health

Specialized Theories

Social Change: What Can You Do?

J. M. Bacon

14. The Environment

Environmental Problems as Social Problems

Patterns and Trends

Using Theory to Examine the Environment

Specialized Theories in Environmental Sociology

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Lisa-Jo K. van den Scott

15. Science and Technology

Science and Technology as Socially Defined

Science and Technology as Social Problems

Patterns and Trends

Science, Technology, and Their Stakeholders

Using Theory to Examine Science and Technology

Specialized Theories

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Ori Swed

16. War and Terrorism

War as a Social Phenomenon

The Changing Face of War

The Cost of War

Terrorism as a Social Phenomenon

Counterterrorism

Using Theory to Examine War and Terrorism

Specialized Theories on War and Terrorism

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Meghan Ashlin Rich

17. Urbanization

Urbanization, Growth, and Social Problems

Patterns and Trends

Theoretical Perspectives in Urban Sociology

Specialized Theories in Urban Sociology

Social Change: What Can You Do?

Supplements

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