Understanding Social Problems,
11th Edition

Part I: SOCIOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS.
1. Thinking about Social Problems.
Part II: PROBLEMS OF WELL-BEING.
2. Physical and Mental Health and Health Care.
3. Alcohol and Other Drugs.
4. Crime and Social Control.
5. Family Problems.
Part III: PROBLEMS OF INEQUALITY.
6. Economic Inequality, Wealth, and Poverty.
7. Work and Unemployment.
8. Problems in Education.
9. Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration.
10. Gender Inequality.
11. Sexual Orientation and the Struggle for Equality.
Part IV: PROBLEMS OF GLOBALIZATION.
12. Population Growth and Aging.
13. Environmental Problems.
14. Science and Technology.
15. Conflict, War, and Terrorism.

• Linda A. Mooney

  Linda A. Mooney, Ph.D., is an emeritus faculty member at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. In addition to social problems, her specialties include sociology of law, criminology and juvenile delinquency. Dr. Mooney has served as senior author for eleven editions of this prominent text. She has also published more than 30 professional articles in such journals as Social Forces, Sociological Inquiry, Sex Roles, Sociological Quarterly and Teaching Sociology. Dr. Mooney has won numerous teaching awards, including the University of North Carolina, Board of Governor's Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award.

• Molly Clever

  Molly Clever, Ph.D., is an associate professor of sociology and social justice at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV. She teaches on social conflict, war, social movements, community engagement and issues related to political and economic inequality. She has recently published in Teaching Sociology and has authored numerous articles and book chapters focused on community engagement teaching and learning practices as well as the changing nature of war and military organizations.

• Marieke Van Willigen

  Marieke Van Willigen, Ph.D., is professor of sociology at Georgia Southern University, where she teaches global sociology, family, social statistics, medical sociology and sociology of mental health. She recently concluded eleven years of serving as university administrator at two different universities. She is the author or co-author of numerous articles published in such journals as the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Journal of Gerontology, Journal of Marriage and Family and the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. More than 20 of Dr. Willigen's students have earned doctoral degrees and now serve in faculty positions across the country.

• UPDATED OPENING CHAPTER FOCUSES EXTENSIVELY ON POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN THE U.S. This edition opens with a close look at the current climate of political polarization in the United States. This introduction sets the stage for students to study a wide range of social issues and place those issues in today’s socio-political context.

• NEW "THE WORLD IN QUARANTINE" FEATURE EXAMINES THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON EXISTING SOCIAL PROBLEMS. These features in five chapters address issues such as racial inequality, the gender wage gap, domestic violence, population decline and science and technology. Engaging topics encourage students to think through the long-term implications of the pandemic on American society. You can use these features as springboards for meaningful classroom discussions and debates.

• NUMEROUS QUOTES AND TWEETS FROM PROMINENT PUBLIC FIGURES BRING CONTENT TO LIFE. Each chapter includes quotes from well-known individuals, such as Joe Biden, Donald Trump, John Lewis, Katy Perry, Greta Thunberg, Pope Francis, Viola Davis, Lady Gaga and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. These significant quotes reinforce data and theories discussed in the text, making the information memorable for students. Select specific quotes or Tweets from the book to highlight points during class lectures and discussion.

• UPDATED CHAPTER-OPENING VIGNETTES OFFER THE LATEST EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL ISSUES. All of this edition's chapter-opening vignettes are updated to include new, relevant, contemporary examples of social issues. For example, the chapter on economic inequality, wealth and poverty (Ch. 6) begins with a scenario of a family living in their car after losing their jobs and home when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the tourist industry in Orlando, Florida. You can use these powerful vignettes to illustrate how real people experience social problems.

• MORE THAN 100 NEW KEY TERMS REFLECT CURRENT DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES. This edition's revised vocabulary and key terms reflect today's transformations in the way scholars talk about contemporary social problems. Some of these new key terms include populist movements, substance use disorder, ransomware, social mobility, gig economy, sanctuary city, cisgender, Paris Climate Agreement, QAnon and white supremacist terrorism.

• UPDATES HIGHLIGHT THE LATEST DATA TRENDS AND STATISTICS FROM WORLD-RENOWNED RESEARCH AGENCIES AND GOVERNMENT BODIES. Each chapter includes data or statistics from organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, Pew Research Center, Bureau of Labor Statistics, World Health Organization, the United Nations, Bureau of Justice Statistics or the U.S. Census Bureau. These references illustrate the power of information from expert sources rather than partisan news outlets, social media disinformation or "fake news."

• LEARNING OBJECTIVES CORRESPOND WITH CHAPTER HEADINGS TO DIRECT STUDY AND REVIEW. Proven leaning objectives at the start of each chapter align with chapter headings to help focus students' attention on important concepts as they read.

• "WHAT DO YOU THINK?" FEATURES PROMPT CRITICAL THINKING AND DISCOVERY. Students must clarify their own opinions as they review probing questions in these features throughout each chapter. The features also serve as excellent conversation starters in class as they ask questions such as: Should U.S. colleges or universities be free? How much should a CEO make? What age is too young to get married? Should prisoners work to pay the cost of incarceration? Do states have the right to ban transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice? Should deep fake videos should be outlawed?

• AUTHORS ORGANIZE TOPICS INTO FOUR PRIMARY SECTIONS TO GUIDE STUDENT PROGRESS. This edition structures content into four parts: Sociology and the Study of Social Problems, Problems of Well-Being, Problems of Inequality and Problems of Globalization. This organization supports seamless progress from micro- to macro-level analysis as students steadily build their knowledge and confidence with the material.

• THIS EDITION'S FULL COVERAGE TAKES A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT KEY SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND ISSUES. This edition examines contemporary social issues related to race, class, gender and sexual orientation. The authors also integrate coverage of feminist theory with material designed to ensure all content is relevant to students with a wide variety of backgrounds, perspectives and interests.

• NEW TOPICS HIGHLIGHT THE MOST PRESSING SOCIAL ISSUES OF TODAY'S TIME. Students examine relevant issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, growing threats from white supremacist terrorists, marijuana decriminalization in the United States, the media’s role in defining social problems, changes in immigration policy during the Trump era, the criminalization of mental illness, the role of black feminism in contemporary social movements, the rise in hate crimes, the #MeToo movement, disinformation campaigns and the changing role of the United States in global politics.

• "SOCIAL PROBLEMS RESEARCH UP CLOSE" HIGHLIGHTS SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH. These special features demonstrate the sociological enterprise, from theory and data collection to findings and conclusions. Readers learn exactly how research in social sciences occurs in the real world. For example, students examine what motivates residents of a rural Pennsylvania community to invite fracking into their backyards (Ch. 13). You can use these examples to discuss the research process, the importance of appropriate research methods and how data sets are used to answer research questions.

• "SELF AND SOCIETY" FEATURES HELP STUDENTS ASSESS THEIR OWN ATTITUDES, BELIEFS, KNOWLEDGE OR BEHAVIOR. This feature uses social surveys to help students analyze their thinking or behavior toward some aspect of a social problem. For example, a survey in the feature in Chapter 7 measures students' attitudes toward capitalism and socialism. You can ask students to complete the surveys in class and discuss individual and class results.

• "THE HUMAN SIDE" FEATURES PROVIDE FIRST-HAND INSIGHT INTO THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS. This feature highlights individuals who are directly affected by social issues. For instance, this feature in Chapter 11 presents genderqueer actor and activist Billy Porter’s understanding of a new kind of positive masculinity. This feature prompts students to use their sociological imagination to understand the perspectives of the individual or individuals being highlighted.

• "THE HUMAN SIDE" FEATURES PROVIDE FIRST-HAND INSIGHT INTO THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS. These features hear from individuals who are directly affected by social issues. For instance, this feature in Chapter 11 presents genderqueer actor and activist Billy Porter’s understanding of a new kind of positive masculinity. This feature prompts students to use their sociological imagination to understand the perspectives of the individual or individuals being featured.

Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

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