The Sociology of Social Problems: Theoretical Perspectives and Methods of Intervention

This book examines the sociology of social problems from new and challenging perspectives. It analyzes how social problems emerge and are defined as such, who takes responsibility for them, who is threatened by them, and how they are managed, solved or ignored. The authors examine and critique existing theories of social problems before developing their own theoretical framework. They explain how certain social problems threaten legitimate power structures, so that they are transformed into personal problems that are left to the "helping professions."