ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY

(MALAPPURAM CENTRE, KERALA)

MID-TERM-Assignment- Semester VI

Subject; Sociology-III

Topic: Social Problem – Definition, Effects, Characteristics,

Classification & Causes

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. Faisal KP sir Zaheer Alam
Director 18BALLB32
AMU-MC GH9706

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Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Definition of social problems
3. Characteristics of social problems
4. Causes of social problems
5. Classification of social problems
6. Effects of the concept
7. Conclusion
8. Bibliography

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Introduction:

Social Problems is the official publication of the The Society for the Study of Social
Problems. A social problem is a condition that at least some people in a community view as
being undesirable. Everyone would agree about some social problems, such as murders and
DWI traffic deaths. Other social problems may be viewed as such by certain groups of
people.

Social issues are matters which directly or indirectly affect many or all members of a society
and are considered to be problems, controversies related to moral values, or both.

A social problem is a condition that at least some people in a community view as being
undesirable. Everyone would agree about some social problems, such as murders and DWI
traffic deaths. Other social problems may be viewed as such by certain groups of people.
Teenagers who play loud music in a public park obviously do not view it as a problem, but
some other people may consider it an undesirable social condition. Some nonsmokers view
smoking as an undesirable social condition that should be banned or restricted in public
buildings.

Every newspaper is filled with stories about undesirable social conditions. Examples include
crime, violence, drug abuse, and environmental problems. Such social problems can be found
at the local, state, national and international levels. You will be focusing in the Public Policy
Analyst on social problems in your own community.

 Child labor: refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labor. This
practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal
in many countries. Child labor was utilized to varying extents through most of history,
but entered public dispute with the advent of universal schooling, with changes in
working conditions during the industrial revolution, and with the emergence of the
concepts of workers’ and children’s rights.
In many developed countries, it is considered inappropriate or exploitative if a child
below a certain age works (excluding household chores or school-related work). An
employer is usually not permitted to hire a child below a certain minimum age. This
minimum age depends on the country and the type of work involved. States ratifying
the Minimum Age Convention adopted by the International Labour Organization in
1973, have adopted minimum ages varying from 14 to 16. Child labor laws in the
United States set the minimum age to work in an establishment without restrictions
and without parents’ consent at age 16.
The incidence of child labor in the world decreased from 25 to 10 percent between
1960 and 2003, according to the World Bank.
 Dowry; A dowry (also known as trousseau or ocher or, in Latin, dos, or in Croatian
and Slovenian, dote) is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her
husband in marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride’s parents,
and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of

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 marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry and bride price.
Dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may well predate records of it.

Definition of social problems

Some important definitions of social problems are given below:

 Horton and Leslie: It is often defined as a condition which many people consider
undesirable and wish to correct.
 Lindbergh: “It is any deviant behavior in a disapproved direction of such a degree
that it exceeds the tolerance limit of the community“.
 L.K. Frank: Any difficulty of misbehavior of a fairly large number of persons which
we wish to remove or correct.”
 Fuler & Mayer: “A social problem starts with the awakening of people in a given
locality, with the realization of certain cherished values that are threatened by the
conditions which have become acute.”

We can say that an undesirable and unwanted disturbing situation, which has no readymade
solution, is called a social problem.

Characteristics of Social Problems

Salient features and characteristics of social problem are that it changes the situation in such a
way that a problem is created to the extent that existing social order have to be changed. It
also means that it is difficult to solve the problem but to feel that such a solution is inevitable
or undesirable is not proper. But one of the significant characteristics are that it becomes
problem only when the people begin to feel and take that in that sense. As long as the people
are not aware of the problem, even though that exists, there is no social disharmony, but
maladjustment comes to the front only when the masses become conscious of it.

Mahoney (2003) believes that the following four conditions must exist before an issue or a
situation is considered a social problem:

1. The condition or situation must be publicly seen as a social problem because of a

public outcry
2. The condition must be at odds with the values of the larger society.
3. Most people must be in agreement that a problem exists.
4. There must be a solution to a social problem

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Causes of Social Problems

Social problem is not welcomed in any society. Problems create disharmony and
maladjustment but still the problems exist. What are the main causes, which has been posed
by our sociologists. So far the problem has found no solution and every attempt made in this
regard has failed. The main reason for this is that the sociologists cannot pinpoint a single
cause responsible for creating such problem. The cause, which may be responsible in one
society, may not be responsible in the other society. Similarly what may be responsible under
certain circumstances may not be under certain other circumstances and so on. In fact in
actual practice it has been found difficult to find out any single cause responsible for creating
social problem. Some of the many causes include feeble mindedness of the individual and his
physical disability. Industrialization, immobility and weak social institutions may be other
causes responsible for it

Classification of Social Problems

So far no universally accepted classification has been produced about social problem. Our
sociologists have tried to give different classifications. According to Harold A. Phelp’s
classification such problems as biological. e.g. physical defects; bio-psychological e.g.
feeble mindedness cultural, e.g. juvenile delinquency and economic e.g. poverty and
unemployment. Another classification is based on heritage e.g. physical heritage, biological
heritage, and social heritage. But so far no universally accepted classification has been
produced. Primary reason for this is that in society no problem is absolute. Every problem is
relative and is also linked with one or more aspects of our life.

Effects of Social Problems

Social problem very adversely affect our society. One of the major effects is that our
harmony disturbed and in its stead in the society there is hostility and suspicion. These also
result in large-scale social dissatisfaction and create suffering and misery. On the whole
These do not at all help in solving any problem but creates problem of serious magnitude,
which is disadvantageous to the whole society. But in this connection it may be pointed out
that ‘problem’ is not an absolute term. It is only a relative term because what is problem for
one society may not be problem for the other. Similarly ‘problem’ is not permanent and
universal. What may appear problem today may not remain so tomorrow.

We found that in India, child marriage was problem till yesterday but today it has received
universal condemnation and as such is no problem at all. So is the case with Sati System and
so on. But in spite of this there are still some universal problems which are same all around
e.g. poverty, unemployment and crime etc.

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Conclusion:

We have seen that social problems are ‘social’ in the sense that they capture public attention.
They are more than private troubles, perhaps through reasons of scale but certainly because
they are able to connect with other public issues, values and concerns – for example, with
contemporary concerns about social justice or social order.

They are historically and culturally specific – that is, they belong to, or are visible in,
particular societies at particular times. Finally, while they may be associated with changing
social conditions (a rise or fall in the numbers of people in a particular condition such as
poverty or homelessness), their status as social problems depends upon how they are
perceived. If, for example, a condition such as homelessness is seen as a matter of individual
choice or misfortune, it is unlikely to be viewed as a ‘social’ problem requiring public
attention and action. A process of social construction determines both which issues are
defined as social problems and the ways in which they are defined as such.

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Bibliography

1. Social problems
BY RAM AHUJA
2. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/politics-policy-
people/sociology/social-problems-who-makes-them/content-section-1.4
3. http://studylecturenotes.com/social-problem-definition-effects-
characteristics-classification-causes/