Social Problems and the Family

In the search for the causes of and solutions to social problems, no social institution has been allocated such a central role as the family. This volume examines how `the family' is constituted both in explanations of social problems and in modes of state intervention. The contributors consider some of the most controversial social policy issues in Britain today: domestic violence; child abuse; old age; mental health; juvenile delinquency; and poverty and homelessness. In examining these social problems, the contributors address key definitional issues, assess traditional and alternative theoretical perspectives and survey different modes of intervention. They show just how pervasive and complex the state regulation of fam