2

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/3.3.0.jpg

Explaining Prejudice

Where does racial and ethnic prejudice come from? Why are some people more prejudiced than others? Scholars

have tried to answer these questions at least since the 1940s, when the horrors of Nazism were still fresh in

people’s minds. Theories of prejudice fall into two camps, social-psychological and sociological. We will look at

social-psychological explanations first and then turn to sociological explanations. We will also discuss distorted

mass media treatment of various racial and ethnic groups.

Social-Psychological Explanations

One of the first social-psychological explanations of prejudice centered on the authoritarian personality (Adorno,

Frenkel-Brunswick, Levinson, & Sanford, 1950). According to this view, authoritarian personalities develop

in childhood in response to parents who practice harsh discipline. Individuals with authoritarian personalities

emphasize such things as obedience to authority, a rigid adherence to rules, and low acceptance of people (out-

groups) not like oneself. Many studies find strong racial and ethnic prejudice among such individuals (Sibley &

Duckitt, 2008). But whether their prejudice stems from their authoritarian personalities or instead from the fact

that their parents were probably prejudiced themselves remains an important question.

Authoritarian personalities are said to develop in childhood from harsh parental discipline and to be linked to racial and ethnic

88 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

prejudice. Although many people with authoritarian personalities are prejudiced, it remains unclear whether their prejudice stems

from their personalities or from their parents’ own prejudice.

Flickr – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Another early and still popular social-psychological explanation is called frustration theory (or scapegoat theory)

(Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer, & Sears, 1939). In this view individuals with various problems become frustrated

and tend to blame their troubles on groups that are often disliked in the real world (e.g., racial, ethnic, and religious

minorities). These minorities are thus scapegoats for the real sources of people’s misfortunes. Several psychology

experiments find that when people are frustrated, they indeed become more prejudiced. In one early experiment,

college students who were purposely not given enough time to solve a puzzle were more prejudiced after the

experiment than before it (Cowen, Landes, & Schaet, 1959).

Sociological Explanations

One popular sociological explanation emphasizes conformity and socialization and is called social learning

theory. In this view, people who are prejudiced are merely conforming to the culture in which they grow up, and

prejudice is the result of socialization from parents, peers, the news media, and other various aspects of their

culture. Supporting this view, studies have found that people tend to become more prejudiced when they move

to areas where people are very prejudiced and less prejudiced when they move to locations where people are less

prejudiced (Aronson, 2008). If people in the South today continue to be more prejudiced than those outside the

South, as we discuss later, even though legal segregation ended more than four decades ago, the influence of their

culture on their socialization may help explain these beliefs.

Children and Our Future

Growing Up as Farmworkers’ Kids

In the large agricultural fields of California work thousands of farmworkers and their families. Adults and children alike live in poor, crowded conditions and do backbreaking work in the hot sun, day after day after day.

Because their parents are migrant workers, many children attend a specific school for only a few weeks or months at most before their parents move to another field in another town or even another state. At Sherwood Elementary School in Salinas, California, in the heart of the state’s agricultural sector, 97 percent of students live in or near poverty. With their Latino backgrounds, more than three-fourths do not speak English well or at all, and many of their parents cannot read or write their own language, Spanish.

At the Sherwood school, according to a news report, many students “sleep beneath carports and live in such cramped quarters that their parents take them to the local truck stop to wash up before school.” A local high school teacher said many of his students see little of their parents, who spend most of their waking hours working in the fields. “They have little brothers and sisters to take care of, maybe cook for. Yet they’re supposed to turn in a 10-page paper by tomorrow? I mean, it’s unreal.”

These conditions have grievous consequences for California’s migrant farmworker children, almost half of whom fail to complete high school. The principal of the Sherwood Elementary School said the key strategy for her faculty and school was “understanding where the students come from but also having high expectations.”

The plight of farmworkers’ children is just one aspect of the difficulties facing Latino children around the country. Thanks

3.3 Prejudice 89

https://www.flickr.com/photos/imcomkorea/6945359625/

to reproduction and immigration, the number of Latino children nationwide has grown significantly during the past few decades: in 2009, 23 percent of US kindergarten children were Latino, compared to only 10 percent in 1989. These growing numbers underscore the need to pay attention to the health and welfare of Latino children.

Against this backdrop, it is distressing to note that their health and welfare is not very good at all. About one-third of Latino children live in poverty. The average Latino child grows up in a poor neighborhood where almost half of the residents do not speak English fluently, where the schools are substandard, and where the high school dropout and teen unemployment rates are high. A number of factors, including their ethnicity, poverty, language barriers, and the immigrant status of many of their parents, limit Latino children’s access to adequate health care and various kinds of social services.

Amid all these problems, however, the situation of California’s farmworker children stands out as a national embarrassment for a prosperous country like the United States. As the country struggles to end racial and ethnic inequality, it must not forget the children of Salinas who have to use a truck stop to wash up before school.

Sources: P. L. Brown, 2011; Landale, McHale, & Booth, 2011; Tavernise, 2011

The mass media play a key role in how many people learn to be prejudiced. This type of learning happens because

the media often present people of color in a negative light. By doing so, the media unwittingly reinforce the

prejudice that individuals already have or even increase their prejudice (Larson, 2005). Examples of distorted

media coverage abound. Even though poor people are more likely to be white than any other race or ethnicity (see

Chapter 2 “Poverty”), the news media use pictures of African Americans far more often than those of whites in

stories about poverty. In one study, national news magazines, such as Time and Newsweek, and television news

shows portrayed African Americans in almost two-thirds of their stories on poverty, even though only about one-

fourth of poor people are African Americans. In the magazine stories, only 12 percent of the African Americans

had a job, even though in the real world more than 40 percent of poor African Americans were working at the time

the stories were written (Gilens, 1996). In a Chicago study, television news shows there depicted whites fourteen

times more often in stories of good Samaritans, even though whites and African Americans live in Chicago in

roughly equal numbers (Entman & Rojecki, 2001). Many other studies find that newspaper and television stories

about crime and drugs feature higher proportions of African Americans as offenders than is true in arrest statistics

(Surette, 2011). Studies like these show that the news media “convey the message that black people are violent,

lazy, and less civic minded” (Jackson, 1997, p. A27).

A second sociological explanation emphasizes economic and political competition and is commonly called group

threat theory (Quillian, 2006). In this view, prejudice arises from competition over jobs and other resources and

from disagreement over various political issues. When groups vie with each other over these matters, they often

become hostile toward each other. Amid such hostility, it is easy to become prejudiced toward the group that

threatens your economic or political standing. A popular version of this basic explanation is Susan Olzak’s (1992)

ethnic competition theory, which holds that ethnic prejudice and conflict increase when two or more ethnic groups

find themselves competing for jobs, housing, and other goals.

The competition explanation is the macro equivalent of the frustration/scapegoat theory already discussed.

Much of the white mob violence discussed earlier stemmed from whites’ concern that the groups they attacked

threatened their jobs and other aspects of their lives. Thus lynchings of African Americans in the South increased

when the Southern economy worsened and decreased when the economy improved (Tolnay & Beck, 1995).

Similarly, white mob violence against Chinese immigrants in the 1870s began after the railroad construction

that employed so many Chinese immigrants slowed and the Chinese began looking for work in other industries.

Whites feared that the Chinese would take jobs away from white workers and that their large supply of labor

90 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

would drive down wages. Their assaults on the Chinese killed several people and prompted the passage by

Congress of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 that prohibited Chinese immigration (Dinnerstein & Reimers,

2009).

During the 1870s, whites feared that Chinese immigrants would take away their jobs. This fear led to white mob violence against the

Chinese and to an act of Congress that prohibited Chinese immigration.

Wikimedia Commons – public domain.

Correlates of Prejudice

Since the 1940s, social scientists have investigated the individual correlates of racial and ethnic prejudice

(Stangor, 2009). These correlates help test the theories of prejudice just presented. For example, if authoritarian

personalities do produce prejudice, then people with these personalities should be more prejudiced. If frustration

also produces prejudice, then people who are frustrated with aspects of their lives should also be more prejudiced.

Other correlates that have been studied include age, education, gender, region of country, race, residence in

integrated neighborhoods, and religiosity. We can take time here to focus on gender, education, and region of

country and discuss the evidence for the racial attitudes of whites, as most studies do in view of the historic

dominance of whites in the United States.

The findings on gender are rather surprising. Although women are usually thought to be more empathetic than

men and thus to be less likely to be racially prejudiced, recent research indicates that the racial views of (white)

women and men are in fact very similar and that the two genders are about equally prejudiced (Hughes & Tuch,

2003). This similarity supports group threat theory, outlined earlier, in that it indicates that white women and men

are responding more as whites than as women or men, respectively, in formulating their racial views.

3.3 Prejudice 91

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/c679f3135d7588079beec8cd6785fd5f.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_Emigration_to_America.jpg

Findings on education and region of country are not surprising. Focusing again just on whites, less educated

people are usually more racially prejudiced than better-educated people, and Southerners are usually more

prejudiced than non-Southerners (Krysan, 2000). Evidence of these differences appears in Figure 3.2 “Education,

Region, and Opposition by Non-Latino Whites to a Close Relative Marrying an African American”, which

depicts educational and regional differences in a type of racial prejudice that social scientists call social distance,

or feelings about interacting with members of other races and ethnicities. The General Social Survey asks

respondents how they feel about a “close relative” marrying an African American. Figure 3.2 “Education, Region,

and Opposition by Non-Latino Whites to a Close Relative Marrying an African American” shows how responses

by white (non-Latino) respondents to this question vary by education and by Southern residence. Whites without

a high school degree are much more likely than those with more education to oppose these marriages, and

whites in the South are also much more likely than their non-Southern counterparts to oppose them. To recall the

sociological perspective (see Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”), our social backgrounds certainly do

seem to affect our attitudes.

Figure 3.2 Education, Region, and Opposition by Non-Latino Whites to a Close Relative Marrying an African American

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

92 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/d128b233a8940a7f8c5494043a7348cc.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/9b85d76124749e3ecd0ad4453b1e2ab2.jpg

The Changing Nature of Prejudice

Although racial and ethnic prejudice still exists in the United States, its nature has changed during the past half-

century. Studies of these changes focus on whites’ perceptions of African Americans. Back in the 1940s and

before, an era of overt Jim Crow racism (also called traditional or old-fashioned racism) prevailed, not just in the

South but in the entire nation. This racism involved blatant bigotry, firm beliefs in the need for segregation, and the

view that blacks were biologically inferior to whites. In the early 1940s, for example, more than half of all whites

thought that blacks were less intelligent than whites, more than half favored segregation in public transportation,

more than two-thirds favored segregated schools, and more than half thought whites should receive preference

over blacks in employment hiring (Schuman, Steeh, Bobo, & Krysan, 1997).

The Nazi experience and then the civil rights movement led whites to reassess their views, and Jim Crow racism

gradually waned. Few whites believe today that African Americans are biologically inferior, and few favor

segregation. So few whites now support segregation and other Jim Crow views that national surveys no longer

include many of the questions that were asked a half-century ago.

But that does not mean that prejudice has disappeared. Many scholars say that Jim Crow racism has been replaced

by a more subtle form of racial prejudice, termed laissez-faire, symbolic, or modern racism, that amounts to a

“kinder, gentler, antiblack ideology” that avoids notions of biological inferiority (Bobo, Kluegel, & Smith, 1997,

p. 15; Quillian, 2006; Sears, 1988). Instead, it involves stereotypes about African Americans, a belief that their

poverty is due to their cultural inferiority, and opposition to government policies to help them. Similar views exist

about Latinos. In effect, this new form of prejudice blames African Americans and Latinos themselves for their

low socioeconomic standing and involves such beliefs that they simply do not want to work hard.

Evidence for this modern form of prejudice is seen in Figure 3.3 “Attribution by Non-Latino Whites of Blacks’

Low Socioeconomic Status to Blacks’ Low Innate Intelligence and to Their Lack of Motivation to Improve”,

which presents whites’ responses to two General Social Survey (GSS) questions that asked, respectively, whether

African Americans’ low socioeconomic status is due to their lower “in-born ability to learn” or to their lack of

“motivation and will power to pull themselves up out of poverty.” While only 8.5 percent of whites attributed

blacks’ status to lower innate intelligence (reflecting the decline of Jim Crow racism), about 48 percent attributed

it to their lack of motivation and willpower. Although this reason sounds “kinder” and “gentler” than a belief in

blacks’ biological inferiority, it is still one that blames African Americans for their low socioeconomic status.

Figure 3.3 Attribution by Non-Latino Whites of Blacks’ Low Socioeconomic Status to Blacks’ Low Innate Intelligence and to Their

Lack of Motivation to Improve

3.3 Prejudice 93

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Prejudice and Public Policy Preferences

If whites do continue to believe in racial stereotypes, say the scholars who study modern prejudice, they are that

much more likely to oppose government efforts to help people of color. For example, whites who hold racial

stereotypes are more likely to oppose government programs for African Americans (Quillian, 2006). We can see

an example of this type of effect in Figure 3.4 “Racial Stereotyping by Non-Latino Whites and Their Opposition

to Government Spending to Help African Americans”, which compares two groups: whites who attribute blacks’

poverty to lack of motivation, and whites who attribute blacks’ poverty to discrimination. Those who cite lack of

motivation are more likely than those who cite discrimination to believe the government is spending too much to

help blacks.

Figure 3.4 Racial Stereotyping by Non-Latino Whites and Their Opposition to Government Spending to Help African Americans

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

94 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/85db83d1fdf5f60a4d515f87326f3e7c.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/3.3.1.jpg

Whites who are racially prejudiced are more likely to favor harsher treatment of criminals and in particular are more likely to support

the death penalty.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 3.0.

Racial prejudice influences other public policy preferences as well. In the area of criminal justice, whites who

hold racial stereotypes or hostile feelings toward African Americans are more likely to be afraid of crime, to think

that the courts are not harsh enough, to support the death penalty, to want more money spent to fight crime, and to

favor excessive use of force by police (Barkan & Cohn, 2005; Unnever & Cullen, 2010).

If racial prejudice influences views on all these issues, then these results are troubling for a democratic society

like the United States. In a democracy, it is appropriate for the public to disagree on all sorts of issues, including

criminal justice. For example, citizens hold many reasons for either favoring or opposing the death penalty. But is

it appropriate for racial prejudice to be one of these reasons? To the extent that elected officials respond to public

opinion, as they should in a democracy, and to the extent that racial prejudice affects public opinion, then racial

prejudice may be influencing government policy on criminal justice and on other issues. In a democratic society,

it is unacceptable for racial prejudice to have this effect.

Key Takeaways

• Social-psychological explanations of prejudice emphasize authoritarian personalities and frustration, while

3.3 Prejudice 95

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights#/media/File:Man_being_arrested.jpg

sociological explanations emphasize social learning and group threat.

• Education and region of residence are related to racial prejudice among whites; prejudice is higher among whites with lower levels of formal education and among whites living in the South.

• Jim Crow racism has been replaced by symbolic or modern racism that emphasizes the cultural inferiority of people of color.

• Racial prejudice among whites is linked to certain views they hold about public policy. Prejudice is associated with lower support among whites for governmental efforts to help people of color and with greater support for a more punitive criminal justice system.

For Your Review

1. Think about the last time you heard someone say a remark that was racially prejudiced. What was said? What was your reaction?

2. The text argues that it is inappropriate in a democratic society for racial prejudice to influence public policy. Do you agree with this argument? Why or why not?

References

Adorno, T. W., Frenkel-Brunswick, E., Levinson, D. J., & Sanford, R. N. (1950). The authoritarian personality.

New York, NY: Harper.

Aronson, E. (2008). The social animal (10th ed.). New York, NY: Worth.

Barkan, S. E., & Cohn, S. F. (2005). Why whites favor spending more money to fight crime: The role of racial

prejudice. Social Problems, 52, 300–314

Bobo, L., Kluegel, J. R., & Smith, R. A. (1997). Laissez-faire racism: The crystallization of a kinder, gentler,

antiblack ideology. In S. A. Tuch & J. K. Martin (Eds.), Racial attitudes in the 1990s: Continuity and change (pp.

15–44). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Brown, P. L. (2011, March 13). Itinerant life weighs on farmworkers’ children. New York Times, p. A18

Cowen, E. L., Landes, J., & Schaet, D. E. (1959). The effects of mild frustration on the expression of prejudiced

attitudes. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 64, 33–38.

Dinnerstein, L., & Reimers, D. M. (2009). Ethnic Americans: A history of immigration. New York, NY: Columbia

University Press.

Dollard, J., Doob, L. W., Miller, N. E., Mowrer, O. H., & Sears, R. R. (1939). Frustration and Aggression. New

Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

96 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Entman, R. M., & Rojecki, A. (2001). The black image in the white mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago

Press.

Gilens, M. (1996). Race and poverty in America: Public misperceptions and the American news media. Public

Opinion Quarterly, 60, 515–541.

Hughes, M., & Tuch, S. A. (2003). Gender differences in whites’ racial attitudes: Are women’s attitudes really

more favorable? Social Psychology Quarterly, 66, 384–401.

Jackson, D. Z. (1997, December 5). Unspoken during race talk. The Boston Globe, p. A27.

Krysan, M. (2000). Prejudice, politics, and public opinion: Understanding the sources of racial policy attitudes.

Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 135–168.

Landale, N. S., McHale, S., & Booth, A. (Eds.). (2011). Growing up Hispanic: Health and development of

children of immigrants. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.

Larson, S. G. (2005). Media & minorities: The politics of race in news and entertainment. Lanham, MD: Rowman

& Littlefield.

Olzak, S. (1992). The dynamics of ethnic competition and conflict. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Quillian, L. (2006). New approaches to understanding racial prejudice and discrimination. Annual Review of

Sociology, 32, 299–328.

Schuman, H., Steeh, C., Bobo, L., & Krysan, M. (1997). Racial attitudes in America: Trends and interpretations

(Rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Sears, D. O. (1988). Symbolic racism. In P. A. Katz & D. A. Taylor (Eds.), Eliminating racism: Profiles in

controversy (pp. 53–84). New York, NY: Plenum.

Sibley, C. G., & Duckitt, J. (2008). Personality and prejudice: A meta-analysis and theoretical review. Personality

and Social Psychology Review, 12, 248–279.

Stangor, C. (2009). The study of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination within social psychology: A quick

history of theory and research. In T. D. Nelson (Ed.), Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination

(pp. 1–22). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

Surette, R. (2011). Media, crime, and criminal justice: Images, realities, and policies (4th ed.). Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth.

Tavernise, S. (2011, February 8). Among nation’s youngest, analysis finds fewer whites. New York Times, p. A14.

Tolnay, S. E., & Beck, E. M. (1995). A festival of violence: An analysis of southern lynchings, 1882–1930. Urbana,

IL: University of Illinois Press.

Unnever, J. D., & Cullen, F. T. (2010). The social sources of Americans’ punitiveness: A test of three competing

models. Criminology, 48, 99–129.

3.3 Prejudice 97

3.4 Discrimination

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss Merton’s views on whether prejudice and discrimination always coincide.

2. Distinguish between individual discrimination and institutional discrimination.

3. Provide two examples of institutional discrimination.

Often racial and ethnic prejudice lead to discrimination against the subordinate racial and ethnic groups in a

given society. Discrimination in this context refers to the arbitrary denial of rights, privileges, and opportunities to

members of these groups. The use of the word arbitrary emphasizes that these groups are being treated unequally

not because of their lack of merit but because of their race and ethnicity.

Usually prejudice and discrimination go hand-in-hand, but Robert Merton (1949) stressed this is not always

so. Sometimes we can be prejudiced and not discriminate, and sometimes we might not be prejudiced and still

discriminate. Table 3.1 “The Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination” illustrates his perspective. The

top-left cell and bottom-right cell consist of people who behave in ways we would normally expect. The top-left

one consists of “active bigots,” in Merton’s terminology, people who are both prejudiced and discriminatory. An

example of such a person is the white owner of an apartment building who dislikes people of color and refuses

to rent to them. The bottom-right cell consists of “all-weather liberals,” as Merton called them, people who are

neither prejudiced nor discriminatory. An example would be someone who holds no stereotypes about the various

racial and ethnic groups and treats everyone the same regardless of her or his background.

Table 3.1 The Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudiced?

Yes No

Discriminates?

Yes Active bigots Fair-weather liberals

No Timid bigots All-weather liberals

Source: Adapted from Merton, R. K. (1949). Discrimination and the American creed. In R. M. MacIver (Ed.), Discrimination and national

welfare (pp. 99–126). New York, NY: Institute for Religious Studies.

The remaining two cells of Table 3.1 “The Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination” are the more

unexpected ones. On the bottom left, we see people who are prejudiced but who nonetheless do not discriminate;

Merton called them “timid bigots.” An example would be white restaurant owners who do not like people of color

but still serve them anyway because they want their business or are afraid of being sued if they do not serve them.

At the top right, we see “fair-weather liberals,” or people who are not prejudiced but who still discriminate. An

example would be white store owners in the South during the segregation era who thought it was wrong to treat

blacks worse than whites but who still refused to sell to them because they were afraid of losing white customers.

Individual Discrimination

The discussion so far has centered on individual discrimination, or discrimination that individuals practice in

their daily lives, usually because they are prejudiced but sometimes even if they are not prejudiced. Individual

discrimination is common, as Joe Feagin (1991), a former president of the American Sociological Association,

found when he interviewed middle-class African Americans about their experiences. Many of the people he

interviewed said they had been refused service, or at least received poor service, in stores or restaurants. Others

said they had been harassed by the police, and even put in fear of their lives, just for being black. Feagin concluded

that these examples are not just isolated incidents but rather reflect the larger racism that characterizes US society.

3.4 Discrimination 99

In February 2012, neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon

Martin as Martin was walking back from a 7-Eleven carrying some Skittles and iced tea. Critics said

Zimmerman was suspicious of Martin only because Martin was black.

Michael Fleshman – Trayvon_Martin_Occupy March 21 – CC BY-SA 2.0.

100 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/11f822b1d525ab9d60148a02f8b65434.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fleshmanpix/7010115775/

Sociologist Joe Feagin’s study of middle-class African Americans found that many had been harassed by police and had otherwise

experienced various kinds of racial slights.

USAG- Humphreys – USAG-Humphreys teens participate in a focus group – CC BY 2.0.

Sociologist Denise Segura found that more than 40 percent of the Mexican American women she interviewed at a public university

had encountered workplace discrimination based on their ethnicity and/or gender.

Jodi Womack – DSC05104 – CC BY 2.0.

To many observers, the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in February 2012 was a deadly example of individual

discrimination. Martin, a 17-year-old African American, was walking in a gated community in Sanford, Florida,

as he returned from a 7-Eleven with a bag of Skittles and some iced tea. An armed neighborhood watch

3.4 Discrimination 101

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/3.4.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaghumphreys/3568673346

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/3.4.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jodiwomack/8471726554/

volunteer, George Zimmerman, called 911 and said Martin looked suspicious. Although the 911 operator told

Zimmerman not to approach Martin, Zimmerman did so anyway; within minutes Zimmerman shot and killed the

unarmed Martin and later claimed self-defense. According to many critics of this incident, Martin’s only “crime”

was “walking while black.” As an African American newspaper columnist observed, “For every black man in

America, from the millionaire in the corner office to the mechanic in the local garage, the Trayvon Martin tragedy

is personal. It could have been me or one of my sons. It could have been any of us” (Robinson, 2012).

Much individual discrimination occurs in the workplace, as sociologist Denise Segura (Segura, 1992) documented

when she interviewed 152 Mexican American women working in white-collar jobs at a public university in

California. More than 40 percent of the women said they had encountered workplace discrimination based on their

ethnicity and/or gender, and they attributed their treatment to stereotypes held by their employers and coworkers.

Along with discrimination, they were the targets of condescending comments like “I didn’t know that there were

any educated people in Mexico that have a graduate degree.”

Institutional Discrimination

Individual discrimination is important to address, but at least as consequential in today’s world is institutional

discrimination, or discrimination that pervades the practices of whole institutions, such as housing, medical

care, law enforcement, employment, and education. This type of discrimination does not just affect a few

isolated people of color. Instead, it affects large numbers of individuals simply because of their race or ethnicity.

Sometimes institutional discrimination is also based on gender, disability, and other characteristics.

In the area of race and ethnicity, institutional discrimination often stems from prejudice, as was certainly true

in the South during segregation. However, just as individuals can discriminate without being prejudiced, so can

institutions when they engage in practices that seem to be racially neutral but in fact have a discriminatory effect.

Individuals in institutions can also discriminate without realizing it. They make decisions that turn out, upon close

inspection, to discriminate against people of color even if they did not mean to do so.

The bottom line is this: Institutions can discriminate even if they do not intend to do so. Consider height

requirements for police. Before the 1970s, police forces around the United States commonly had height

requirements, say five feet ten inches. As women began to want to join police forces in the 1970s, many found

they were too short. The same was true for people from some racial/ethnic backgrounds, such as Latinos, whose

stature is smaller on the average than that of non-Latino whites. Of course, even many white males were too short

to become police officers, but the point is that even more women, and even more men of certain ethnicities, were

too short.

This gender and ethnic difference is not, in and of itself, discriminatory as the law defines the term. The law allows

for bona fide (good faith) physical qualifications for a job. As an example, we would all agree that someone has

to be able to see to be a school bus driver; sight therefore is a bona fide requirement for this line of work. Thus

even though people who are blind cannot become school bus drivers, the law does not consider such a physical

requirement to be discriminatory.

102 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Institutional discrimination can occur even if this type of discrimination is not intended. Police forces used to have height

requirements, but these were deemed by courts to discriminate against women, Latinos, and other individuals. In response, police

forces lowered their height requirements.

Thomas Hawk – Oakland Police Memorial – CC BY-NC 2.0.

But were the height restrictions for police work in the early 1970s bona fide requirements? Women and members

of certain ethnic groups challenged these restrictions in court and won their cases, as it was decided that there

was no logical basis for the height restrictions then in effect. In short (pun intended), the courts concluded that

a person did not have to be five feet ten inches to be an effective police officer. In response to these court

challenges, police forces lowered their height requirements, opening the door for many more women, Latino men,

and some other men to join police forces (Appier, 1998). Whether police forces back then intended their height

requirements to discriminate, or whether they honestly thought their height requirements made sense, remains in

dispute. Regardless of the reason, their requirements did discriminate.

Institutional discrimination affects the life chances of people of color in many aspects of life today. To illustrate

this, we turn briefly to some examples of institutional discrimination that have been the subject of government

investigation and scholarly research.

3.4 Discrimination 103

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/3.4.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/3390446963/

Health Care

People of color have higher rates of disease and illness than whites, a fact explored further in Chapter 12 “Work

and the Economy”’s treatment of health and medicine. One question that arises is why their health is worse. One

possible answer involves institutional discrimination based on race and ethnicity.

Several studies use hospital records to investigate whether people of color receive optimal medical care, including

coronary bypass surgery, angioplasty, and catheterization. After taking the patients’ medical symptoms and needs

into account, these studies find that African Americans are much less likely than whites to receive the procedures

just listed. This is true when poor blacks are compared to poor whites and also when middle-class blacks are

compared to middle-class whites (Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2003). In a novel way of studying race and cardiac

care, one study performed an experiment in which several hundred doctors viewed videos of African American

and white patients, all of whom, unknown to the doctors, were actors. In the videos, each “patient” complained

of identical chest pain and other symptoms. The doctors were then asked to indicate whether they thought the

patient needed cardiac catheterization. The African American patients were less likely than the white patients to

be recommended for this procedure (Schulman et al., 1999).

Why does discrimination like this occur? It is possible, of course, that some doctors are racists and decide that the

lives of African Americans just are not worth saving, but it is far more likely that they have unconscious racial

biases that somehow affect their medical judgments. Regardless of the reason, the result is the same: African

Americans are less likely to receive potentially life-saving cardiac procedures simply because they are black.

Institutional discrimination in health care, then, is literally a matter of life and death.

Mortgages, Redlining, and Residential Segregation

When loan officers review mortgage applications, they consider many factors, including the person’s income,

employment, and credit history. The law forbids them to consider race and ethnicity. Yet African Americans and

Latinos are more likely than whites to have their mortgage applications declined (Blank, Venkatachalam, McNeil,

& Green, 2005). Because members of these groups tend to be poorer than whites and to have less desirable

employment and credit histories, the higher rate of mortgage rejections may be appropriate, albeit unfortunate.

To control for this possibility, researchers take these factors into account and in effect compare whites, African

Americans, and Latinos with similar incomes, employment, and credit histories. Some studies are purely

statistical, and some involve white, African American, and Latino individuals who independently visit the same

mortgage-lending institutions. Both types of studies find that African Americans and Latinos are still more likely

than whites with similar qualifications to have their mortgage applications rejected (Turner et al., 2002). We will

probably never know whether loan officers are consciously basing their decisions on racial prejudice, but their

practices still amount to racial and ethnic discrimination whether the loan officers are consciously prejudiced or

not.

There is also evidence of banks rejecting mortgage applications for people who wish to live in certain urban,

supposedly high-risk neighborhoods, and of insurance companies denying homeowner’s insurance or else

104 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

charging higher rates for homes in these same neighborhoods. Practices like these that discriminate against houses

in certain neighborhoods are called redlining, and they also violate the law (Ezeala-Harrison, Glover, & Shaw-

Jackson, 2008). Because the people affected by redlining tend to be people of color, redlining, too, is an example

of institutional discrimination.

Banks have rejected mortgage applications from people who wish to live in certain urban, high-risk neighborhoods. This practice,

called redlining, violates the law. Because many of the loan applicants who experience redlining are people of color, redlining is an

example of institutional discrimination.

Taber Andrew Bain – US Bank – CC BY 2.0.

Mortgage rejections and redlining contribute to another major problem facing people of color: residential

segregation. Housing segregation is illegal but is nonetheless widespread because of mortgage rejections and

other processes that make it very difficult for people of color to move out of segregated neighborhoods and into

unsegregated areas. African Americans in particular remain highly segregated by residence in many cities, much

more so than is true for other people of color. The residential segregation of African Americans is so extensive that

it has been termed hypersegregation and more generally called American apartheid (Massey & Denton, 1993).

In addition to mortgage rejections, a pattern of subtle discrimination by realtors and homeowners makes it

difficult for African Americans to find out about homes in white neighborhoods and to buy them (Pager, 2008).

For example, realtors may tell African American clients that no homes are available in a particular white

neighborhood, but then inform white clients of available homes. The now routine posting of housing listings on

the Internet might be reducing this form of housing discrimination, but not all homes and apartments are posted,

and some are simply sold by word of mouth to avoid certain people learning about them.

The hypersegregation experienced by African Americans cuts them off from the larger society, as many rarely

leave their immediate neighborhoods, and results in concentrated poverty, where joblessness, crime, and other

3.4 Discrimination 105

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/bfafd7336f5330a909c2d66b20724879.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/88442983@N00/2943913721

problems reign. For several reasons, then, residential segregation is thought to play a major role in the seriousness

and persistence of African American poverty (Rothstein, 2012; Stoll, 2008).

Employment Discrimination

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned racial discrimination in employment, including hiring,

wages, and firing. However, African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans still have much lower earnings

than whites. Several factors explain this disparity, including the various structural obstacles discussed in Chapter

2 “Poverty”’s examination of poverty. Despite Title VII, however, an additional reason is that people of color

continue to face discrimination in hiring and promotion (Hirsh & Cha, 2008). It is again difficult to determine

whether such discrimination stems from conscious prejudice or from unconscious prejudice on the part of

potential employers, but it is racial discrimination nonetheless.

A now-classic field experiment documented such discrimination. Sociologist Devah Pager (2003) had young

white and African American men apply independently in person for entry-level jobs. They dressed the same and

reported similar levels of education and other qualifications. Some applicants also admitted having a criminal

record, while other applicants reported no such record. As might be expected, applicants with a criminal record

were hired at lower rates than those without a record. However, in striking evidence of racial discrimination

in hiring, African American applicants without a criminal record were hired at the same low rate as the white

applicants with a criminal record.

Key Takeaways

• People who practice racial or ethnic discrimination are usually also prejudiced, but not always. Some people practice discrimination without being prejudiced, and some may not practice discrimination even though they are prejudiced.

• Individual discrimination is common and can involve various kinds of racial slights. Much individual discrimination occurs in the workplace.

• Institutional discrimination often stems from prejudice, but institutions can also practice racial and ethnic discrimination when they engage in practices that seem to be racially neutral but in fact have a discriminatory effect.

For Your Review

1. If you have ever experienced individual discrimination, either as the person committing it or as the person affected by it, briefly describe what happened. How do you now feel when you reflect on this incident?

2. Do you think institutional discrimination occurs because people are purposely acting in a racially discriminatory manner? Why or why not?

106 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

References

Appier, J. (1998). Policing women: The sexual politics of law enforcement and the LAPD. Philadelphia, PA:

Temple University Press.

Blank, E. C., Venkatachalam, P., McNeil, L., & Green, R. D. (2005). Racial discrimination in mortgage lending in

Washington, DC: A mixed methods approach. The Review of Black Political Economy, 33(2), 9–30.

Ezeala-Harrison, F., Glover, G. B., & Shaw-Jackson, J. (2008). Housing loan patterns toward minority borrowers

in Mississippi: Analysis of some micro data evidence of redlining. The Review of Black Political Economy, 35(1),

43–54.

Feagin, J. R. (1991). The continuing significance of race: Antiblack discrimination in public places. American

Sociological Review, 56, 101–116.

Hirsh, C. E., & Cha, Y. (2008). Understanding employment discrimination: A multilevel approach. Sociology

Compass, 2(6), 1989–2007.

Massey, D. S., & Denton, N. A. (1993). American apartheid: Segregation and the making of the underclass.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Merton, R. K. (1949). Discrimination and the American creed. In R. M. MacIver (Ed.), Discrimination and

national welfare (pp. 99–126). New York, NY: Institute for Religious Studies.

Pager, D. (2008). The dynamics of discrimination. In A. C. Lin & D. R. Harris (Eds.), The colors of poverty: Why

racial and ethnic disparities exist (pp. 21–51). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Pager, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal record. American Journal of Sociology, 108, 937–975.

Robinson, E. (2012, March 23). Perils of walking while black. The Washington Post, p. A19.

Rothstein, R. (2012). Racial segregation continues, and even intensifies. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org/

publication/racial-segregation-continues-intensifies/.

Schulman, K. A., et al. (1999). The effect of race and sex on physicians’ recommendations for cardiac

catheterization. The New England Journal of Medicine, 340, 618–626.

Segura, D. A. (1992). Chicanas in white-collar jobs: “You have to prove yourself more.” In C. G. Ellison & W.

A. Martin (Eds.), Race and ethnic relations in the United States: Readings for the 21st century (pp. 79–88). Los

Angeles, CA: Roxbury.

Smedley, B. D., Stith, A. Y., & Nelson, A. R. (2003). Unequal treatment: Confronting racial and ethnic disparities

in health care. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Stoll, M. A. (2008). Race, place, and poverty revisited. In A. C. Lin & D. R. Harris (Eds.), The colors of poverty:

Why racial and ethnic disparities persist (pp. 201–231). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

3.4 Discrimination 107

http://www.epi.org/publication/racial-segregation-continues-intensifies/

Turner, M. A., Freiberg, F., Godfrey, E., Herbig, C., Levy, D. K., & Smith, R. R. (2002). All other things being

equal: A paired testing study of mortgage lending institutions. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.

108 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

3.5 Dimensions of Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Learning Objectives

1. Describe any two manifestations of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States.

2. Explain how and why racial inequality takes a hidden toll on people of color.

3. Provide two examples of white privilege.

Racial and ethnic inequality manifests itself in all walks of life. The individual and institutional discrimination just

discussed is one manifestation of this inequality. We can also see stark evidence of racial and ethnic inequality in

various government statistics. Sometimes statistics lie, and sometimes they provide all too true a picture; statistics

on racial and ethnic inequality fall into the latter category. Table 3.2 “Selected Indicators of Racial and Ethnic

Inequality in the United States” presents data on racial and ethnic differences in income, education, and health.

Table 3.2 Selected Indicators of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the United States

White African American

Latino Asian Native American

Median family income, 2010 ($) 68,818 39,900 41,102 76,736 39,664

Persons who are college educated, 2010 (%) 30.3 19.8 13.9 52.4 14.9 (2008)

Persons in poverty, 2010 (%) 9.9 (non-Latino)

27.4 26.6 12.1 28.4

Infant mortality (number of infant deaths per 1,000 births), 2006

5.6 12.9 5.4 4.6 8.3

Sources: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing

Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab; US Census Bureau. (2012). American FactFinder. Retrieved from

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml; MacDorman, M., & Mathews, T. J. (2011). Infant Deaths—United States,

2000–2007. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 60(1), 49–51.

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

Asian Americans have higher family incomes than whites on the average. Although Asian Americans are often viewed as a “model

minority,” some Asians have been less able than others to achieve economic success, and stereotypes of Asians and discrimination

against them remain serious problems.

LindaDee2006 – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The picture presented by Table 3.2 “Selected Indicators of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the United States”

is clear: US racial and ethnic groups differ dramatically in their life chances. Compared to whites, for example,

African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans have much lower family incomes and much higher rates

of poverty; they are also much less likely to have college degrees. In addition, African Americans and Native

Americans have much higher infant mortality rates than whites: Black infants, for example, are more than twice

as likely as white infants to die. Later chapters in this book will continue to highlight various dimensions of racial

and ethnic inequality.

Although Table 3.2 “Selected Indicators of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the United States” shows that African

Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans fare much worse than whites, it presents a more complex pattern for

Asian Americans. Compared to whites, Asian Americans have higher family incomes and are more likely to hold

college degrees, but they also have a higher poverty rate. Thus many Asian Americans do relatively well, while

others fare relatively worse, as just noted. Although Asian Americans are often viewed as a “model minority,”

meaning that they have achieved economic success despite not being white, some Asians have been less able than

others to climb the economic ladder. Moreover, stereotypes of Asian Americans and discrimination against them

remain serious problems (Chou & Feagin, 2008). Even the overall success rate of Asian Americans obscures the

fact that their occupations and incomes are often lower than would be expected from their educational attainment.

They thus have to work harder for their success than whites do (Hurh & Kim, 1999).

110 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/3.5.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/61091655@N00/15012380505/

The Increasing Racial/Ethnic Wealth Gap

At the beginning of this chapter, we noted that racial and ethnic inequality has existed since the beginning of the

United States. We also noted that social scientists have warned that certain conditions have actually worsened for

people of color since the 1960s (Hacker, 2003; Massey & Sampson, 2009).

Recent evidence of this worsening appeared in a report by the Pew Research Center (2011). The report focused on

racial disparities in wealth, which includes a family’s total assets (income, savings and investments, home equity,

etc.) and debts (mortgage, credit cards, etc.). The report found that the wealth gap between white households on

the one hand and African American and Latino households on the other hand was much wider than just a few

years earlier, thanks to the faltering US economy since 2008 that affected blacks more severely than whites.

According to the report, whites’ median wealth was ten times greater than blacks’ median wealth in 2007, a

discouraging disparity for anyone who believes in racial equality. By 2009, however, whites’ median wealth had

jumped to twenty times greater than blacks’ median wealth and eighteen times greater than Latinos’ median

wealth. White households had a median net worth of about $113,000, while black and Latino households had a

median net worth of only $5,700 and $6,300, respectively (see Figure 3.5 “The Racial/Ethnic Wealth Gap (Median

Net Worth of Households in 2009)”). This racial and ethnic difference is the largest since the government began

tracking wealth more than a quarter-century ago.

Figure 3.5 The Racial/Ethnic Wealth Gap (Median Net Worth of Households in 2009)

Source: Pew Research Center, 2011.

A large racial/ethnic gap also existed in the percentage of families with negative net worth—that is, those whose

debts exceed their assets. One-third of black and Latino households had negative net worth, compared to only

15 percent of white households. Black and Latino households were thus more than twice as likely as white

households to be in debt.

The Hidden Toll of Racial and Ethnic Inequality

An increasing amount of evidence suggests that being black in a society filled with racial prejudice,

3.5 Dimensions of Racial and Ethnic Inequality 111

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/7f7ac1e754dccab8c3ebaf39860b4efa.jpg

discrimination, and inequality takes what has been called a “hidden toll” on the lives of African Americans

(Blitstein, 2009). As we shall see in later chapters, African Americans on the average have worse health than

whites and die at younger ages. In fact, every year there are an additional 100,000 African American deaths than

would be expected if they lived as long as whites do. Although many reasons probably explain all these disparities,

scholars are increasingly concluding that the stress of being black is a major factor (Geronimus et al., 2010).

In this way of thinking, African Americans are much more likely than whites to be poor, to live in high-crime

neighborhoods, and to live in crowded conditions, among many other problems. As this chapter discussed earlier,

they are also more likely, whether or not they are poor, to experience racial slights, refusals to be interviewed for

jobs, and other forms of discrimination in their everyday lives. All these problems mean that African Americans

from their earliest ages grow up with a great deal of stress, far more than what most whites experience. This

stress in turn has certain neural and physiological effects, including hypertension (high blood pressure), that

impair African Americans’ short-term and long-term health and that ultimately shorten their lives. These effects

accumulate over time: black and white hypertension rates are equal for people in their twenties, but the black rate

becomes much higher by the time people reach their forties and fifties. As a recent news article on evidence of this

“hidden toll” summarized this process, “The long-term stress of living in a white-dominated society ‘weathers’

blacks, making them age faster than their white counterparts” (Blitstein, 2009, p. 48).

Although there is less research on other people of color, many Latinos and Native Americans also experience

the various sources of stress that African Americans experience. To the extent this is true, racial and ethnic

inequality also takes a hidden toll on members of these two groups. They, too, experience racial slights, live under

disadvantaged conditions, and face other problems that result in high levels of stress and shorten their life spans.

White Privilege: The Benefits of Being White

American whites enjoy certain privileges merely because they are white. For example, they usually do not have to fear that a police

112 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/3.5.1.jpg

officer will stop them simply because they are white, and they also generally do not have to worry about being mistaken for a bellhop,

parking valet, or maid.

Loren Kerns – Day 73 – CC BY 2.0.

Before we leave this section, it is important to discuss the advantages that US whites enjoy in their daily lives

simply because they are white. Social scientists term these advantages white privilege and say that whites benefit

from being white whether or not they are aware of their advantages (McIntosh, 2007).

This chapter’s discussion of the problems facing people of color points to some of these advantages. For example,

whites can usually drive a car at night or walk down a street without having to fear that a police officer will

stop them simply because they are white. Recalling the Trayvon Martin tragedy, they can also walk down a street

without having to fear they will be confronted and possibly killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. In addition,

whites can count on being able to move into any neighborhood they desire to as long as they can afford the rent or

mortgage. They generally do not have to fear being passed up for promotion simply because of their race. White

students can live in college dorms without having to worry that racial slurs will be directed their way. White

people in general do not have to worry about being the victims of hate crimes based on their race. They can be

seated in a restaurant without having to worry that they will be served more slowly or not at all because of their

skin color. If they are in a hotel, they do not have to think that someone will mistake them for a bellhop, parking

valet, or maid. If they are trying to hail a taxi, they do not have to worry about the taxi driver ignoring them

because the driver fears he or she will be robbed.

Social scientist Robert W. Terry (1981, p. 120) once summarized white privilege as follows: “To be white in

America is not to have to think about it. Except for hard-core racial supremacists, the meaning of being white is

having the choice of attending to or ignoring one’s own whiteness” (emphasis in original). For people of color

in the United States, it is not an exaggeration to say that race and ethnicity is a daily fact of their existence. Yet

whites do not generally have to think about being white. As all of us go about our daily lives, this basic difference

is one of the most important manifestations of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States.

Perhaps because whites do not have to think about being white, many studies find they tend to underestimate

the degree of racial inequality in the United States by assuming that African Americans and Latinos are much

better off than they really are. As one report summarized these studies’ overall conclusion, “Whites tend to have

a relatively rosy impression of what it means to be a black person in America. Whites are more than twice as

likely as blacks to believe that the position of African Americans has improved a great deal” (Vedantam, 2008, p.

A3). Because whites think African Americans and Latinos fare much better than they really do, that perception

probably reduces whites’ sympathy for programs designed to reduce racial and ethnic inequality.

Key Takeaways

• Compared to non-Latino whites, people of color have lower incomes, lower educational attainment, higher poverty rates, and worse health.

• Racial and ethnic inequality takes a hidden toll on people of color, as the stress they experience impairs their health and ability to achieve.

3.5 Dimensions of Racial and Ethnic Inequality 113

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenkerns/8555364755/

• Whites benefit from being white, whether or not they realize it. This benefit is called white privilege.

For Your Review

1. Write a brief essay that describes important dimensions of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States.

2. If you are white, describe a time when you benefited from white privilege, whether or not you realized it at the time. If you are a person of color, describe an experience when you would have benefited if you had been white.

References

Blitstein, R. (2009). Weathering the storm. Miller-McCune, 2(July–August), 48–57.

Chou, R. S., & Feagin, J. R. (2008). The myth of the model minority: Asian Americans facing racism. Boulder,

CO: Paradigm.

Geronimus, A. T., Hicken, M., Pearson, J., Seashols, S., Brown, K., & Cruz., T. D. (2010). Do US black

women experience stress-related accelerated biological aging? Human Nature: An Interdisciplinary Biosocial

Perspective, 21, 19–38.

Hacker, A. (2003). Two nations: Black and white, separate, hostile, unequal (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Scribner.

Hurh, W. M., & Kim, K. C. (1999). The “success” image of Asian Americans: Its validity, and its practical and

theoretical implications. In C. G. Ellison & W. A. Martin (Eds.), Race and ethnic relations in the United States

(pp. 115–122). Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.

Massey, D. S., & Sampson, R. J. (2009). Moynihan redux: Legacies and lessons. The ANNALS of the American

Academy of Political and Social Science, 621, 6–27.

McIntosh, P. (2007). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondence

through work in women’s studies. In M. L. Andersen & P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, class, and gender: An

anthology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Pew Research Center. (2011). Twenty-to-one: Wealth gaps rise to record highs between whites, blacks and

Hispanics. Washington, DC: Author.

Terry, R. W. (1981). The negative impact on white values. In B. P. Bowser & R. G. Hunt (Eds.), Impacts of racism

on white Americans (pp. 119–151). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Vedantam, S. (2008, March 24). Unequal perspectives on racial equality. The Washington Post, p. A3.

114 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

3.6 Explaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Learning Objectives

1. Understand cultural explanations for racial and ethnic inequality.

2. Describe structural explanations for racial and ethnic inequality.

Why do racial and ethnic inequality exist? Why do African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and some

Asian Americans fare worse than whites? In answering these questions, many people have some very strong

opinions.

Biological Inferiority

One long-standing explanation is that blacks and other people of color are biologically inferior: They are naturally

less intelligent and have other innate flaws that keep them from getting a good education and otherwise doing

what needs to be done to achieve the American Dream. As discussed earlier, this racist view is no longer common

today. However, whites historically used this belief to justify slavery, lynchings, the harsh treatment of Native

Americans in the 1800s, and lesser forms of discrimination. In 1994, Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray

revived this view in their controversial book, The Bell Curve (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994), in which they argued

that the low IQ scores of African Americans, and of poor people more generally, reflect their genetic inferiority

in the area of intelligence. African Americans’ low innate intelligence, they said, accounts for their poverty and

other problems. Although the news media gave much attention to their book, few scholars agreed with its views,

and many condemned the book’s argument as a racist way of “blaming the victim” (Gould, 1994).

Cultural Deficiencies

Another explanation of racial and ethnic inequality focuses on supposed cultural deficiencies of African

Americans and other people of color (Murray, 1984). These deficiencies include a failure to value hard work and,

for African Americans, a lack of strong family ties, and are said to account for the poverty and other problems

facing these minorities. This view echoes the culture-of-poverty argument presented in Chapter 2 “Poverty” and

is certainly popular today. As we saw earlier, more than half of non-Latino whites think that blacks’ poverty is due

to their lack of motivation and willpower. Ironically some scholars find support for this cultural deficiency view

in the experience of many Asian Americans, whose success is often attributed to their culture’s emphasis on hard

work, educational attainment, and strong family ties (Min, 2005). If that is true, these scholars say, then the lack

of success of other people of color stems from the failure of their own cultures to value these attributes.

How accurate is the cultural deficiency argument? Whether people of color have “deficient” cultures remains

hotly debated (Bonilla-Silva, 2009). Many social scientists find little or no evidence of cultural problems in

minority communities and say the belief in cultural deficiencies is an example of symbolic racism that blames

the victim. Citing survey evidence, they say that poor people of color value work and education for themselves

and their children at least as much as wealthier white people do (Holland, 2011; Muhammad, 2007). Yet other

social scientists, including those sympathetic to the structural problems facing people of color, believe that certain

cultural problems do exist, but they are careful to say that these cultural problems arise out of the structural

problems. For example, Elijah Anderson (1999) wrote that a “street culture” or “oppositional culture” exists

among African Americans in urban areas that contributes to high levels of violent behavior, but he emphasized

that this type of culture stems from the segregation, extreme poverty, and other difficulties these citizens face in

their daily lives and helps them deal with these difficulties. Thus even if cultural problems do exist, they should

not obscure the fact that structural problems are responsible for the cultural ones.

Structural Problems

A third explanation for US racial and ethnic inequality is based in conflict theory and reflects the blaming-the-

system approach outlined in Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”. This view attributes racial and ethnic

inequality to structural problems, including institutional and individual discrimination, a lack of opportunity in

education and other spheres of life, and the absence of jobs that pay an adequate wage (Feagin, 2006). Segregated

housing, for example, prevents African Americans from escaping the inner city and from moving to areas with

greater employment opportunities. Employment discrimination keeps the salaries of people of color much lower

than they would be otherwise. The schools that many children of color attend every day are typically overcrowded

and underfunded. As these problems continue from one generation to the next, it becomes very difficult for people

already at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder to climb up it because of their race and ethnicity (see Note 3.33

“Applying Social Research”).

Applying Social Research

The Poor Neighborhoods of Middle-Class African Americans

In a society that values equal opportunity for all, scholars have discovered a troubling trend: African American children from middle-class families are much more likely than white children from middle-class families to move down the socioeconomic ladder by the time they become adults. In fact, almost half of all African American children born during the 1950s and 1960s to middle-class parents ended up with lower incomes than their parents by adulthood. Because these children had parents who had evidently succeeded despite all the obstacles facing them in a society filled with racial inequality, we have to assume they were raised with the values, skills, and aspirations necessary to stay in the middle class and even to rise beyond it. What, then, explains why some end up doing worse than their parents?

According to a recent study written by sociologist Patrick Sharkey for the Pew Charitable Trusts, one important answer lies in the neighborhoods in which these children are raised. Because of continuing racial segregation, many middle- class African American families find themselves having to live in poor urban neighborhoods. About half of African American children born between 1955 and 1970 to middle-class parents grew up in poor neighborhoods, but hardly any middle-class white children grew up in such neighborhoods. In Sharkey’s statistical analysis, neighborhood poverty was a much more important factor than variables such as parents’ education and marital status in explaining the huge racial difference in the eventual socioeconomic status of middle-class children. An additional finding of the study underscored

116 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

the importance of neighborhood poverty for adult socioeconomic status: African American children raised in poor neighborhoods in which the poverty rate declined significantly ended up with higher incomes as adults than those raised in neighborhoods where the poverty rate did not change.

Why do poor neighborhoods have this effect? It is difficult to pinpoint the exact causes, but several probable reasons come to mind. In these neighborhoods, middle-class African American children often receive inadequate schooling at run-down schools, and they come under the influence of youths who care much less about schooling and who get into various kinds of trouble. The various problems associated with living in poor neighborhoods also likely cause a good deal of stress, which, as discussed elsewhere in this chapter, can cause health problems and impair learning ability.

Even if the exact reasons remain unclear, this study showed that poor neighborhoods make a huge difference. As a Pew official summarized the study, “We’ve known that neighborhood matters…but this does it in a new and powerful way. Neighborhoods become a significant drag not just on the poor, but on those who would otherwise be stable.” Sociologist Sharkey added, “What surprises me is how dramatic the racial differences are in terms of the environments in which children are raised. There’s this perception that after the civil rights period, families have been more able to seek out any neighborhood they choose, and that…the racial gap in neighborhoods would whittle away over time, and that hasn’t happened.”

Data from the 2010 Census confirm that the racial gap in neighborhoods persists. A study by sociologist John R. Logan for the Russell Sage Foundation found that African American and Latino families with incomes above $75,000 are more likely to live in poor neighborhoods than non-Latino white families with incomes below $40,000. More generally, Logan concluded, “The average affluent black or Hispanic household lives in a poorer neighborhood than the average lower- income white household.”

One implication of this neighborhood research is clear: to help reduce African American poverty, it is important to do everything possible to improve the quality and economy of the poor neighborhoods in which many African American children, middle-class or poor, grow up.

Sources: Logan, 2011; MacGillis, 2009; Sharkey, 2009

As we assess the importance of structure versus culture in explaining why people of color have higher poverty

rates, it is interesting to consider the economic experience of African Americans and Latinos since the 1990s.

During that decade, the US economy thrived. Along with this thriving economy, unemployment rates for African

Americans and Latinos declined and their poverty rates also declined. Since the early 2000s and especially since

2008, the US economy has faltered. Along with this faltering economy, unemployment and poverty rates for

African Americans and Latinos increased.

To explain these trends, does it make sense to assume that African Americans and Latinos somehow had fewer

cultural deficiencies during the 1990s and more cultural deficiencies since the early 2000s? Or does it make

sense to assume that their economic success or lack of it depended on the opportunities afforded them by the US

economy? Economic writer Joshua Holland (2011) provides the logical answer by attacking the idea of cultural

deficiencies: “That’s obviously nonsense. It was exogenous economic factors and changes in public policies,

not manifestations of ‘black culture’ [or ‘Latino culture’], that resulted in those widely varied outcomes…While

economic swings this significant can be explained by economic changes and different public policies, it’s simply

impossible to fit them into a cultural narrative.”

Key Takeaways

• Although a belief in biological inferiority used to be an explanation for racial and ethnic inequality, this

3.6 Explaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality 117

belief is now considered racist.

• Cultural explanations attribute racial and ethnic inequality to certain cultural deficiencies among people of color.

• Structural explanations attribute racial and ethnic inequality to problems in the larger society, including discriminatory practices and lack of opportunity.

For Your Review

1. Which of the three explanations of racial and ethnic inequality makes the most sense to you? Why?

2. Why should a belief in the biological inferiority of people of color be considered racist?

References

Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city. New York, NY:

W. W. Norton.

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2009). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in

the United States (3rd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Feagin, J. R. (2006). Systematic racism: A theory of oppression. New York, NY: Routledge.

Gould, S. J. (1994, November 28). Curveball. The New Yorker, pp. 139–149.

Herrnstein, R. J., & Murray, C. (1994). The bell curve: Intelligence and class structure in American life. New

York, NY: Free Press.

Holland, J. (2011, July 29). Debunking the big lie right-wingers use to justify black poverty and unemployment.

AlterNet. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/151830/debunking_the_big_lie_right-

wingers_use_to_justify_black_poverty _and_unemployment_.

Logan, J. R. (2011). Separate and unequal: The neighborhood gap for blacks, Hispanics and Asians in

metropolitan America. New York, NY: US201 Project.

MacGillis, A. (2009, July 27). Neighborhoods key to future income, study finds. The Washington Post, p. A06.

Min, P. G. (Ed.). (2005). Asian Americans: Contemporary trends and issues (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Publications.

Muhammad, K. G. (2007, December 9). White may be might, but it’s not always right. The Washington Post, p.

B3.

118 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/151830/debunking_the_big_lie_right-wingers_use_to_justify_black_poverty_and_unemployment_

Murray, C. (1984). Losing ground: American social policy, 1950–1980. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Sharkey, P. (2009). Neighborhoods and the black-white mobility gap. Washington, DC: Pew Charitable Trusts.

3.6 Explaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality 119

3.7 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the debate over affirmative action.

2. Describe any three policies or practices that could reduce racial and ethnic inequality in the United States.

Now that we have examined race and ethnicity in the United States, what have we found? Where do we stand

in the second decade of the twenty-first century? Did the historic election of Barack Obama as president in 2008

signify a new era of equality between the races, as many observers wrote, or did his election occur despite the

continued existence of pervasive racial and ethnic inequality?

On the one hand, there is cause for hope. Legal segregation is gone. The vicious, “old-fashioned” racism that was

so rampant in this country into the 1960s has declined dramatically since that tumultuous time. People of color

have made important gains in several spheres of life, and African Americans and other people of color occupy

some important elected positions in and outside the South, a feat that would have been unimaginable a generation

ago. Perhaps most notably, Barack Obama has African ancestry and identifies as an African American, and on his

2008 election night people across the country wept with joy at the symbolism of his victory. Certainly progress

has been made in US racial and ethnic relations.

On the other hand, there is also cause for despair. Old-fashioned racism has been replaced by a modern, symbolic

racism that still blames people of color for their problems and reduces public support for government policies

to deal with their problems. Institutional discrimination remains pervasive, and hate crimes, such as the cross

burning that began this chapter, remain all too common. So does suspicion of people based solely on the color of

their skin, as the Trayvon Martin tragedy again reminds us.

If adequately funded and implemented, several types of programs and policies show strong promise of reducing

racial and ethnic inequality. We turn to these in a moment, but first let’s discuss affirmative action, an issue that

has aroused controversy since its inception.

People Making a Difference

College Students and the Southern Civil Rights Movement

The first chapter of this book included this famous quotation by anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The beginnings of the Southern civil rights movement provide an inspirational example of Mead’s wisdom and remind us that young people can make a difference.

Although there had been several efforts during the 1950s by African Americans to end legal segregation in the South,

the start of the civil rights movement is commonly thought to have begun on February 1, 1960. On that historic day, four brave African American students from the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, dressed in coats and ties, sat down quietly at a segregated lunch counter in a Woolworth’s store in the city of Greensboro and asked to be served. When they were refused service, they stayed until the store closed at the end of the day, and then went home. They returned the next day and were joined by some two dozen other students. They were again refused service and sat quietly the rest of the day. The next day some sixty students and other people joined them, followed by some three hundred on the fourth day. Within a week, sit-ins were occurring at lunch counters in several other towns and cities inside and outside of North Carolina. In late July, 1960, the Greensboro Woolworth’s finally served African Americans, and the entire Woolworth’s chain desegregated its lunch counters a day later. Although no one realized it at the time, the civil rights movement had “officially” begun thanks to the efforts of a small group of college students.

During the remaining years of the heyday of the civil rights movement, college students from the South and North joined thousands of other people in sit-ins, marches, and other activities to end legal segregation. Thousands were arrested, and at least forty-one were murdered. By risking their freedom and even their lives, they made a difference for millions of African Americans. And it all began when a small group of college students sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro and politely refused to leave until they were served.

Sources: Branch, 1988; Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action refers to special consideration for minorities and women in employment and education to

compensate for the discrimination and lack of opportunities they experience in the larger society. Affirmative

action programs were begun in the 1960s to provide African Americans and, later, other people of color and

women access to jobs and education to make up for past discrimination. President John F. Kennedy was the first

known official to use the term, when he signed an executive order in 1961 ordering federal contractors to “take

affirmative action” in ensuring that applicants are hired and treated without regard to their race and national origin.

Six years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson added sex to race and national origin as demographic categories for

which affirmative action should be used.

Although many affirmative action programs remain in effect today, court rulings, state legislation, and other

efforts have limited their number and scope. Despite this curtailment, affirmative action continues to spark much

controversy, with scholars, members of the public, and elected officials all holding strong views on the issue.

One of the major court rulings just mentioned was the US Supreme Court’s decision in Regents of the University

of California v. Bakke, 438 US 265 (1978). Allan Bakke was a 35-year-old white man who had twice been rejected

for admission into the medical school at the University of California, Davis. At the time he applied, UC–Davis

had a policy of reserving sixteen seats in its entering class of one hundred for qualified people of color to make up

for their underrepresentation in the medical profession. Bakke’s college grades and scores on the Medical College

Admission Test were higher than those of the people of color admitted to UC–Davis either time Bakke applied.

He sued for admission on the grounds that his rejection amounted to reverse racial discrimination on the basis of

his being white (Stefoff, 2005).

The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which ruled 5–4 that Bakke must be admitted into the UC–Davis

medical school because he had been unfairly denied admission on the basis of his race. As part of its historic

but complex decision, the Court thus rejected the use of strict racial quotas in admission, as it declared that no

3.7 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Inequality 121

applicant could be excluded based solely on the applicant’s race. At the same time, however, the Court also

declared that race may be used as one of the several criteria that admissions committees consider when making

their decisions. For example, if an institution desires racial diversity among its students, it may use race as an

admissions criterion along with other factors such as grades and test scores.

Two more recent Supreme Court cases both involved the University of Michigan: Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 US 244

(2003), which involved the university’s undergraduate admissions, and Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 US 306 (2003),

which involved the university’s law school admissions. In Grutter the Court reaffirmed the right of institutions

of higher education to take race into account in the admissions process. In Gratz, however, the Court invalidated

the university’s policy of awarding additional points to high school students of color as part of its use of a point

system to evaluate applicants; the Court said that consideration of applicants needed to be more individualized

than a point system allowed.

Drawing on these Supreme Court rulings, then, affirmative action in higher education admissions on the basis of

race/ethnicity is permissible as long as it does not involve a rigid quota system and as long as it does involve an

individualized way of evaluating candidates. Race may be used as one of several criteria in such an individualized

evaluation process, but it must not be used as the only criterion.

The Debate over Affirmative Action

Opponents of affirmative action cite several reasons for opposing it (Connors, 2009). Affirmative action, they say,

is reverse discrimination and, as such, is both illegal and immoral. The people benefiting from affirmative action

are less qualified than many of the whites with whom they compete for employment and college admissions. In

addition, opponents say, affirmative action implies that the people benefiting from it need extra help and thus are

indeed less qualified. This implication stigmatizes the groups benefiting from affirmative action.

In response, proponents of affirmative action give several reasons for favoring it (Connors, 2009). Many say it

is needed to make up not just for past discrimination and a lack of opportunities for people of color but also for

ongoing discrimination and a lack of opportunity. For example, because of their social networks, whites are much

better able than people of color to find out about and to get jobs (Reskin, 1998). If this is true, people of color

are automatically at a disadvantage in the job market, and some form of affirmative action is needed to give them

an equal chance at employment. Proponents also say that affirmative action helps add diversity to the workplace

and to the campus. Many colleges, they note, give some preference to high school students who live in a distant

state in order to add needed diversity to the student body; to “legacy” students—those with a parent who went

to the same institution—to reinforce alumni loyalty and to motivate alumni to donate to the institution; and to

athletes, musicians, and other applicants with certain specialized talents and skills. If all these forms of preferential

admission make sense, proponents say, it also makes sense to take students’ racial and ethnic backgrounds into

account as admissions officers strive to have a diverse student body.

Proponents add that affirmative action has indeed succeeded in expanding employment and educational

opportunities for people of color, and that individuals benefiting from affirmative action have generally fared well

in the workplace or on the campus. In this regard research finds that African American students graduating from

selective US colleges and universities after being admitted under affirmative action guidelines are slightly more

122 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

likely than their white counterparts to obtain professional degrees and to become involved in civic affairs (Bowen

& Bok, 1998).

As this brief discussion indicates, several reasons exist for and against affirmative action. A cautious view is

that affirmative action may not be perfect but that some form of it is needed to make up for past and ongoing

discrimination and lack of opportunity in the workplace and on the campus. Without the extra help that affirmative

action programs give disadvantaged people of color, the discrimination and other difficulties they face are certain

to continue.

Other Programs and Policies

As indicated near the beginning of this chapter, one message from DNA evidence and studies of evolution is that

we are all part of one human race. If we fail to recognize this lesson, we are doomed to repeat the experiences

of the past, when racial and ethnic hostility overtook good reason and subjected people who happened to look

different from the white majority to legal, social, and violent oppression. In the democracy that is America, we

must try to do better so that there will truly be “liberty and justice for all.”

As the United States attempts, however haltingly, to reduce racial and ethnic inequality, sociology has much

insight to offer in its emphasis on the structural basis for this inequality. This emphasis strongly indicates that

racial and ethnic inequality has much less to do with any personal faults of people of color than with the structural

obstacles they face, including ongoing discrimination and lack of opportunity. Efforts aimed at such obstacles,

then, are in the long run essential to reducing racial and ethnic inequality (Danziger, Reed, & Brown, 2004; Syme,

2008; Walsh, 2011). Some of these efforts resemble those for reducing poverty discussed in Chapter 2 “Poverty”,

given the greater poverty of many people of color, and include the following:

1. Adopt a national “full employment” policy involving federally funded job training and public works

programs.

2. Increase federal aid for the working poor, including earned income credits and child-care subsidies for

those with children.

3. Establish and expand well-funded early childhood intervention programs, including home visitation by

trained professionals, for poor families, as well as adolescent intervention programs, such as Upward

Bound, for low-income teenagers.

4. Improve the schools that poor children attend and the schooling they receive, and expand early

childhood education programs for poor children.

5. Provide better nutrition and health services for poor families with young children.

6. Strengthen efforts to reduce teenage pregnancies.

7. Strengthen affirmative action programs within the limits imposed by court rulings.

8. Strengthen legal enforcement of existing laws forbidding racial and ethnic discrimination in hiring and

promotion.

9. Strengthen efforts to reduce residential segregation.

3.7 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Inequality 123

Key Takeaways

• There is reason to be both hopeful and less hopeful in regard to the future of racial and ethnic relations and inequality in the United States.

• Affirmative action continues to be a very controversial issue. Proponents think it is necessary to compensate for past and continuing racial and ethnic discrimination and lack of opportunity, while opponents think it discriminates against qualified whites.

• A variety of policies and practices hold strong potential for reducing racial and ethnic inequality, providing they are adequately funded and successfully implemented.

For Your Review

1. How hopeful are you in regard to the future of race and ethnicity in the United States? Explain your answer.

2. Do you favor or oppose affirmative action? Why?

References

Bowen, W. G., & Bok, D. C. (1998). The shape of the river: Long-term consequences of considering race in

college and university admissions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Branch, T. (1988). Parting the waters: America in the King years, 1954–1963. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Connors, P. (Ed.). (2009). Affirmative action. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.

Danziger, S., Reed, D., & Brown, T. N. (2004). Poverty and prosperity: Prospects for reducing racial economic

disparities in the United States. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.

Reskin, B. F. (1998). Realities of affirmative action in employment. Washington, DC: American Sociological

Association.

Southern Poverty Law Center. (2011). 41 lives for freedom. Retrieved from http://www.crmvet.org/mem/

41lives.htm.

Stefoff, R. (2005). The Bakke case: Challenging affirmative action. New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish

Benchmark.

Syme, S. L. (2008). Reducing racial and social-class inqualities in health: The need for a new approach. Health

Affairs, 27, 456–459.

124 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.crmvet.org/mem/41lives.htm

Walsh, R. (2011). Helping or hurting: Are adolescent intervention programs minimizing racial inequality?

Education & Urban Society, 43(3), 370–395.

3.7 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Inequality 125

3.8 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Racial and ethnic prejudice and discrimination have been an “American dilemma” in the United States ever since the colonial period. Slavery was only the ugliest manifestation of this dilemma. The urban riots of the 1960s led to warnings about the racial hostility and discrimination confronting African Americans and other groups, and these warnings continue down to the present.

2. Social scientists today tend to consider race more of a social category than a biological one for several reasons. Race is thus best considered a social construction and not a fixed biological category.

3. Ethnicity refers to a shared cultural heritage and is a term increasingly favored by social scientists over race. Membership in ethnic groups gives many people an important sense of identity and pride but can also lead to hostility toward people in other ethnic groups.

4. Prejudice, racism, and stereotypes all refer to negative attitudes about people based on their membership in racial or ethnic categories. Social-psychological explanations of prejudice focus on scapegoating and authoritarian personalities, while sociological explanations focus on conformity and socialization or on economic and political competition. Jim Crow racism has given way to modern or symbolic racism that considers people of color to be culturally inferior.

5. Discrimination and prejudice often go hand in hand, but not always. People can discriminate without being prejudiced, and they can be prejudiced without discriminating. Individual and institutional discrimination both continue to exist in the United States.

6. Racial and ethnic inequality in the United States is reflected in income, employment, education, and health statistics. In their daily lives, whites enjoy many privileges denied to their counterparts in other racial and ethnic groups.

7. On many issues Americans remain sharply divided along racial and ethnic lines. One of the most divisive issues is affirmative action. Its opponents view it among other things as reverse discrimination, while its proponents cite many reasons for its importance, including the need to correct past and present discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities.

Using What You Know

After graduating college, you obtain a job in a medium-sized city in the Midwest and rent an apartment in a house in a nearby town. A family with an African American father and white mother has recently moved into a house down the street. You think nothing of it, but you begin to hear some of the neighbors expressing concern that the neighborhood “has begun to change.” Then one night a brick is thrown through the window of the new family’s home, and around the brick is wrapped the message, “Go back to where you came from!” Since you’re new to the neighborhood yourself, you don’t want to make waves, but you are also shocked by this act of racial hatred. You can speak up somehow or you can stay quiet. What do you decide to do? Why?

What You Can Do

To help reduce racial and ethnic inequality, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Contribute money to a local, state, or national organization that tries to help youths of color at their schools, homes, or other venues.

2. Volunteer for an organization that focuses on policy issues related to race and ethnicity.

3. Volunteer for any programs at your campus that aim at enhancing the educational success of new students of color; if no such programs exist, start one.

3.8 End-of-Chapter Material 127

3.1 Racial and Ethnic Inequality: A Historical Prelude

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the targets of nineteenth-century mob violence in US cities.

2. Discuss why the familiar saying “The more things change, the more they stay the same” applies to the history of race and ethnicity in the United States.

Race and ethnicity have torn at the fabric of American society ever since the time of Christopher Columbus,

when an estimated 1 million Native Americans populated the eventual United States. By 1900, their numbers had

dwindled to about 240,000, as tens of thousands were killed by white settlers and US troops and countless others

died from disease contracted from people with European backgrounds. Scholars say this mass killing of Native

Americans amounted to genocide (Brown, 2009).

African Americans also have a history of maltreatment that began during the colonial period, when Africans were

forcibly transported from their homelands to be sold as slaves in the Americas. Slavery, of course, continued in

the United States until the North’s victory in the Civil War ended it. African Americans outside the South were not

slaves but were still victims of racial prejudice. During the 1830s, white mobs attacked free African Americans

in cities throughout the nation, including Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. The mob violence

stemmed from a “deep-seated racial prejudice…in which whites saw blacks as ‘something less than human’”

(Brown, 1975) and continued well into the twentieth century, when white mobs attacked African Americans in

several cities, with at least seven antiblack riots occurring in 1919 that left dozens dead. Meanwhile, an era of Jim

Crow racism in the South led to the lynching of thousands of African Americans, segregation in all facets of life,

and other kinds of abuses (Litwack, 2009).

During the era of Jim Crow racism in the South, several thousand African Americans were lynched.

US Library of Congress – public domain.

African Americans were not the only targets of native-born white mobs back then (Dinnerstein & Reimers, 2009).

As immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Eastern Europe, Mexico, and Asia flooded into the United States during the

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they, too, were beaten, denied jobs, and otherwise mistreated. During

the 1850s, mobs beat and sometimes killed Catholics in cities such as Baltimore and New Orleans. During the

1870s, whites rioted against Chinese immigrants in cities in California and other states. Hundreds of Mexicans

were attacked and/or lynched in California and Texas during this period.

Nazi racism in the 1930s and 1940s helped awaken Americans to the evils of prejudice in their own country.

Against this backdrop, a monumental two-volume work by Swedish social scientist Gunnar Myrdal (Myrdal,

1944) attracted much attention when it was published. The book, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and

Modern Democracy, documented the various forms of discrimination facing blacks back then. The “dilemma”

referred to by the book’s title was the conflict between the American democratic ideals of egalitarianism and

liberty and justice for all and the harsh reality of prejudice, discrimination, and lack of equal opportunity.

The Kerner Commission’s 1968 report reminded the nation that little, if anything, had been done since Myrdal’s

book to address this conflict. Sociologists and other social scientists have warned since then that the status of

people of color has actually been worsening in many ways since this report was issued (Massey, 2007; Wilson,

2009). Evidence of this status appears in the remainder of this chapter.

3.1 Racial and Ethnic Inequality: A Historical Prelude 129

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/5cd722e46296a7b2e6fc85a789555af5.jpg

http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/npcc.12928/

Key Takeaways

• US history is filled with violence and other maltreatment against Native Americans, blacks, and immigrants.

• Social scientists warn that the status of people of color has been worsening.

For Your Review

1. Describe why Myrdal said US race relations were an “American dilemma.”

2. How much did you learn in high school about the history of race and ethnicity in the United States? Do you think you should have learned more?

References

Brown, D. A. (2009). Bury my heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian history of the American West. New York, NY:

Sterling Innovation.

Brown, R. M. (1975). Strain of violence: Historical studies of American violence and vigilantism. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press.

Dinnerstein, L., & Reimers, D. M. (2009). Ethnic Americans: A history of immigration. New York, NY: Columbia

University Press.

Litwack, L. F. (2009). How free is free? The long death of Jim Crow. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Massey, D. S. (2007). Categorically unequal: The American stratification system. New York, NY: Russell Sage

Foundation.

Myrdal, G. (1944). An American dilemma: The negro problem and modern democracy. New York, NY: Harper

and Brothers.

Wilson, W. J. (2009). The economic plight of inner-city black males. In E. Anderson (Ed.), Against the wall: Poor,

young, black, and male (pp. 55–70). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

130 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

3.2 The Meaning of Race and Ethnicity

Learning Objectives

1. Critique the biological concept of race.

2. Discuss why race is a social construction.

3. Explain why ethnic heritages have both good and bad consequences.

To begin our understanding of racial and ethnic inequality, we first need to understand what race and ethnicity

mean. These terms may seem easy to define but are much more complex than their definitions suggest.

Race

Let’s start first with race, which refers to a category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics,

such as skin color, facial features, and stature. A key question about race is whether it is more of a biological

category or a social category. Most people think of race in biological terms, and for more than three hundred years,

or ever since white Europeans began colonizing nations filled with people of color, people have been identified as

belonging to one race or another based on certain biological features.

It is certainly easy to see that people in the United States and around the world differ physically in some obvious

ways. The most noticeable difference is skin tone: Some groups of people have very dark skin, while others have

very light skin. Other differences also exist. Some people have very curly hair, while others have very straight hair.

Some have thin lips, while others have thick lips. Some groups of people tend to be relatively tall, while others

tend to be relatively short. Using such physical differences as their criteria, scientists at one point identified as

many as nine races: African, American Indian or Native American, Asian, Australian Aborigine, European (more

commonly called “white”), Indian, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian (Smedley, 2007).

Although people certainly do differ in these kinds of physical features, anthropologists, sociologists, and many

biologists question the value of these categories and thus the value of the biological concept of race (Smedley,

2007). For one thing, we often see more physical differences within a race than between races. For example, some

people we call “white” (or European), such as those with Scandinavian backgrounds, have very light skins, while

others, such as those from some Eastern European backgrounds, have much darker skins. In fact, some “whites”

have darker skin than some “blacks,” or African Americans. Some whites have very straight hair, while others

have very curly hair; some have blonde hair and blue eyes, while others have dark hair and brown eyes. Because

of interracial reproduction going back to the days of slavery, African Americans also differ in the darkness of

their skin and in other physical characteristics. In fact, it is estimated that at least 30 percent of African Americans

have some white (i.e., European) ancestry and that at least 20 percent of whites have African or Native American

ancestry. If clear racial differences ever existed hundreds or thousands of years ago (and many scientists doubt

such differences ever existed), in today’s world these differences have become increasingly blurred.

President Barack Obama had an African father and a white mother. Although his ancestry is equally black and white, Obama considers

himself an African American, as do most Americans. In several Latin American nations, however, Obama would be considered white

because of his white ancestry.

Steve Jurvetson – Barak Obama on the Primary – CC BY 2.0.

Another reason to question the biological concept of race is that an individual or a group of individuals is often

assigned to a race arbitrarily. A century ago, for example, Irish, Italians, and Eastern European Jews who left their

homelands were not regarded as white once they reached the United States but rather as a different, inferior (if

unnamed) race (Painter, 2010). The belief in their inferiority helped justify the harsh treatment they suffered in

their new country. Today, of course, we call people from all three backgrounds white or European.

In this context, consider someone in the United States who has a white parent and a black parent. What race is

this person? American society usually calls this person black or African American, and the person may adopt this

identity (as does President Barack Obama, who had a white mother and African father). But where is the logic for

doing so? This person, as well as President Obama, is as much white as black in terms of parental ancestry.

Or consider someone with one white parent and another parent who is the child of one black parent and one

white parent. This person thus has three white grandparents and one black grandparent. Even though this person’s

132 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/bf043c88e67d265c605876fde73e7438.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2175936409

ancestry is thus 75 percent white and 25 percent black, she or he is likely to be considered black in the United

States and may well adopt this racial identity. This practice reflects the traditional one-drop rule in the United

States that defines someone as black if she or he has at least one drop of black blood, and that was used in the

antebellum South to keep the slave population as large as possible (Staples, 2005). Yet in many Latin American

nations, this person would be considered white (see Note 3.7 “Lessons from Other Societies”). With such arbitrary

designations, race is more of a social category than a biological one.

Lessons from Other Societies

The Concept of Race in Brazil

As the text discusses, race was long considered a fixed, biological category, but today it is now regarded as a social construction. The experience of Brazil provides very interesting comparative evidence for this more accurate way of thinking about race.

When slaves were first brought to the Americas almost four hundred years ago, many more were taken to Brazil, where slavery was not abolished until 1888, than to the land that eventually became the United States. Brazil was then a colony of Portugal, and the Portuguese used Africans as slave labor. Just as in the United States, a good deal of interracial reproduction has occurred since those early days, much of it initially the result of rape of women slaves by their owners, and Brazil over the centuries has had many more racial intermarriages than the United States. Also like the United States, then, much of Brazil’s population has multiracial ancestry. But in a significant departure from the United States, Brazil uses different criteria to consider the race to which a person belongs.

Brazil uses the term preto, or black, for people whose ancestry is solely African. It also uses the term branco, or white, to refer to people whose ancestry is both African and European. In contrast, as the text discusses, the United States commonly uses the term black or African American to refer to someone with even a small amount of African ancestry and white for someone who is thought to have solely European ancestry or at least “looks” white. If the United States were to follow Brazil’s practice of reserving the term black for someone whose ancestry is solely African and the term white for someone whose ancestry is both African and European, many of the Americans commonly called “black” would no longer be considered black and instead would be considered white.

As sociologist Edward E. Telles (2006, p. 79) summarizes these differences, “[Blackness is differently understood in Brazil than in the United States. A person considered black in the United States is often not so in Brazil. Indeed, some U.S. blacks may be considered white in Brazil. Although the value given to blackness is similarly low [in both nations], who gets classified as black is not uniform.” The fact that someone can count on being considered “black” in one society and not “black” in another society underscores the idea that race is best considered a social construction rather than a biological category.

Sources: Barrionuevo & Calmes, 2011; Klein & Luno, 2009; Telles, 2006

A third reason to question the biological concept of race comes from the field of biology itself and more

specifically from the studies of genetics and human evolution. Starting with genetics, people from different races

are more than 99.9 percent the same in their DNA (Begley, 2008). To turn that around, less than 0.1 percent of all

DNA in our bodies accounts for the physical differences among people that we associate with racial differences.

In terms of DNA, then, people with different racial backgrounds are much, much more similar than dissimilar.

Even if we acknowledge that people differ in the physical characteristics we associate with race, modern

evolutionary evidence reminds us that we are all, really, of one human race. According to evolutionary theory,

the human race began thousands and thousands of years ago in sub-Saharan Africa. As people migrated around

the world over the millennia, natural selection took over. It favored dark skin for people living in hot, sunny

climates (i.e., near the equator), because the heavy amounts of melanin that produce dark skin protect against

3.2 The Meaning of Race and Ethnicity 133

severe sunburn, cancer, and other problems. By the same token, natural selection favored light skin for people who

migrated farther from the equator to cooler, less sunny climates, because dark skins there would have interfered

with the production of vitamin D (Stone & Lurquin, 2007). Evolutionary evidence thus reinforces the common

humanity of people who differ in the rather superficial ways associated with their appearances: We are one human

species composed of people who happen to look different.

Race as a Social Construction

The reasons for doubting the biological basis for racial categories suggest that race is more of a social category

than a biological one. Another way to say this is that race is a social construction, a concept that has no objective

reality but rather is what people decide it is (Berger & Luckmann, 1963). In this view, race has no real existence

other than what and how people think of it.

This understanding of race is reflected in the problems, outlined earlier, in placing people with multiracial

backgrounds into any one racial category. We have already mentioned the example of President Obama. As

another example, golfer Tiger Woods was typically called an African American by the news media when he burst

onto the golfing scene in the late 1990s, but in fact his ancestry is one-half Asian (divided evenly between Chinese

and Thai), one-quarter white, one-eighth Native American, and only one-eighth African American (Leland &

Beals, 1997).

Historical examples of attempts to place people in racial categories further underscore the social constructionism

of race. In the South during the time of slavery, the skin tone of slaves lightened over the years as babies were

born from the union, often in the form of rape, of slave owners and other whites with slaves. As it became difficult

to tell who was “black” and who was not, many court battles over people’s racial identity occurred. People who

were accused of having black ancestry would go to court to prove they were white in order to avoid enslavement

or other problems (Staples, 1998).

Although race is a social construction, it is also true that race has real consequences because people do perceive

race as something real. Even though so little of DNA accounts for the physical differences we associate with

racial differences, that low amount leads us not only to classify people into different races but also to treat them

differently—and, more to the point, unequally—based on their classification. Yet modern evidence shows there is

little, if any, scientific basis for the racial classification that is the source of so much inequality.

Ethnicity

Because of the problems in the meaning of race, many social scientists prefer the term ethnicity in speaking

of people of color and others with distinctive cultural heritages. In this context, ethnicity refers to the shared

social, cultural, and historical experiences, stemming from common national or regional backgrounds, that make

subgroups of a population different from one another. Similarly, an ethnic group is a subgroup of a population with

a set of shared social, cultural, and historical experiences; with relatively distinctive beliefs, values, and behaviors;

and with some sense of identity of belonging to the subgroup. So conceived, the terms ethnicity and ethnic group

avoid the biological connotations of the terms race and racial group.

134 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

At the same time, the importance we attach to ethnicity illustrates that it, too, is in many ways a social

construction, and our ethnic membership thus has important consequences for how we are treated. In particular,

history and current practice indicate that it is easy to become prejudiced against people with different ethnicities

from our own. Much of the rest of this chapter looks at the prejudice and discrimination operating today in the

United States against people whose ethnicity is not white and European. Around the world today, ethnic conflict

continues to rear its ugly head. The 1990s and 2000s were filled with ethnic cleansing and pitched battles among

ethnic groups in Eastern Europe, Africa, and elsewhere. Our ethnic heritages shape us in many ways and fill many

of us with pride, but they also are the source of much conflict, prejudice, and even hatred, as the hate crime story

that began this chapter so sadly reminds us.

Key Takeaways

• Sociologists think race is best considered a social construction rather than a biological category.

• “Ethnicity” and “ethnic” avoid the biological connotations of “race” and “racial.”

For Your Review

1. List everyone you might know whose ancestry is biracial or multiracial. What do these individuals consider themselves to be?

2. List two or three examples that indicate race is a social construction rather than a biological category.

References

Barrionuevo, A., & Calmes, J. (2011, March 21). President underscores similarities with Brazilians, but sidesteps

one. New York Times, p. A8.

Begley, S. (2008, February 29). Race and DNA. Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/

newsweek/blogs/lab-notes/2008/02/29/race-and-dna.html.

Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1963). The social construction of reality. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Klein, H. S., & Luno, F. V. (2009). Slavery in Brazil. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Leland, J., & Beals, G. (1997, May 5). In living colors: Tiger Woods is the exception that rules. Newsweek, 58–60.

Painter, N. I. (2010). The history of white people. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Smedley, A. (2007). Race in North America: Evolution of a worldview. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Staples, B. (1998, November 13). The shifting meanings of “black” and “white.” New York Times, p. WK14.

3.2 The Meaning of Race and Ethnicity 135

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/blogs/lab-notes/2008/02/29/race-and-dna.html

Staples, B. (2005, October 31). Why race isn’t as “black” and “white” as we think. New York Times, p. A18.

Stone, L., & Lurquin, P. F. (2007). Genes, culture, and human evolution: A synthesis. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Telles, E. E. (2006). Race in another America: The significance of skin color in Brazil. Princeton, NJ: Princeton

University Press.

136 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Chapter 4: Gender Inequality

Social Problems in the News

“$3.2M Awarded in Harassment Suit against Ex-Judge,” the headline said. A federal jury in Houston, Texas, awarded $3.2 million to three women, all county employees, who had accused a former judge of sexual harassment. Their suit said the judge had “hugged, groped, kissed and fondled them and had emailed them sexually explicit photographs,” according to a news report, and that county officials had ignored the judge’s behavior despite their knowledge of it. The judge had resigned his position three years earlier after pleading no contest to several charges of misdemeanor assault related to his physical contact with several women. His only criminal penalty was to pay a fine of less than $3,000.

After the verdict was announced, the plaintiffs’ attorney said, “I am very proud of this verdict, and hope it sends a message to all public officials that they are not above the law and should think twice before abusing power.” One of the plaintiffs recalled what it was like to have been harassed by the judge: “I felt alone, I felt small, I felt like he was the most powerful man in Brazoria County. I felt like there was nothing I could do. I felt scared.” At the same time, she was encouraged by the jury’s verdict and the fact that other women had come forward to speak out about the judge’s behavior: “You don’t have to go through it alone. You can stand up for yourself.”

Sources: Cisneros, 2011; Tolson, 2011

Thanks to the contemporary women’s rights movement that began in the late 1960s, much has changed for women

and men in American society during the past half-century. Still, as this news story about sexual harassment

reminds us, much more still needs to be done. Despite tremendous advancements for women since the 1960s,

gender inequality persists and manifests itself in many ways. This chapter examines the major forms of gender

inequality and the reasons for its existence, and it outlines various steps our society should take to help ensure

equality between the sexes. Our discussion begins with a critical look at the concepts of sex and gender.

References

Cisneros, C. (2011, July 15). $3.2M settlement awarded in sexual harassment case. KTRK-TV. Retrieved from

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8253455.

Tolson, M. (2011, July 15). $3.2M awarded in harassment suit against ex-judge. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved

from http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7655717.html.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8253455

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7655717.html

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender

Learning Objectives

1. Define sex, gender, femininity, and masculinity.

2. Critically assess the evidence on biology, culture and socialization, and gender.

3. Discuss agents of gender socialization.

Although the terms sex and gender are sometimes used interchangeably and do complement each other, they

nonetheless refer to different aspects of what it means to be a woman or man in any society.

Sex refers to the anatomical and other biological differences between females and males that are determined at the

moment of conception and develop in the womb and throughout childhood and adolescence. Females, of course,

have two X chromosomes, while males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. From this basic genetic

difference spring other biological differences. The first to appear are the genitals that boys and girls develop in the

womb and that the doctor (or midwife) and parents look for when a baby is born (assuming the baby’s sex is not

already known from ultrasound or other techniques) so that the momentous announcement, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s

a girl!” can be made. The genitalia are called primary sex characteristics, while the other differences that develop

during puberty are called secondary sex characteristics and stem from hormonal differences between the two

sexes. Boys generally acquire deeper voices, more body hair, and more muscles from their flowing testosterone.

Girls develop breasts and wider hips and begin menstruating as nature prepares them for possible pregnancy

and childbirth. For better or worse, these basic biological differences between the sexes affect many people’s

perceptions of what it means to be female or male, as we next discuss.

Babies are born with anatomical and other biological differences that are determined at the moment of conception. These biological

differences define the baby’s sex.

Abby Bischoff – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Gender as a Social Construction

If sex is a biological concept, then gender is a social concept. It refers to the social and cultural differences a

society assigns to people based on their (biological) sex. A related concept, gender roles, refers to a society’s

expectations of people’s behavior and attitudes based on whether they are females or males. Understood in this

way, gender, like race as discussed in Chapter 3 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality”, is a social construction. How we

think and behave as females and males is not etched in stone by our biology but rather is a result of how society

expects us to think and behave based on what sex we are. As we grow up, we learn these expectations as we

develop our gender identity, or our beliefs about ourselves as females or males.

These expectations are called femininity and masculinity. Femininity refers to the cultural expectations we have of

girls and women, while masculinity refers to the expectations we have of boys and men. A familiar nursery rhyme

nicely summarizes these two sets of traits:

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender 139

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.1.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/renawgraphy/4164575815/

What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails,

And puppy dog tails,

That’s what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice,

And everything nice,

That’s what little girls are made of.

As this rhyme suggests, our traditional notions of femininity and masculinity indicate that we think females

and males are fundamentally different from each other. In effect, we think of them as two sides of the same

coin of being human. What we traditionally mean by femininity is captured in the adjectives, both positive

and negative, we traditionally ascribe to women: gentle, sensitive, nurturing, delicate, graceful, cooperative,

decorative, dependent, emotional, passive, and weak. Thus when we say that a girl or woman is very feminine,

we have some combination of these traits in mind: she is soft, dainty, pretty, and even a bit flighty. What we

traditionally mean by masculinity is captured in the adjectives, again both positive and negative, our society

traditionally ascribes to men: strong, assertive, brave, active, independent, intelligent, competitive, insensitive,

unemotional, and aggressive. When we say that a boy or man is very masculine, we have some combination of

these traits in mind: he is tough, strong, and assertive.

These traits might sound like stereotypes of females and males in today’s society, and to some extent they are,

but differences between women and men in attitudes and behavior do in fact exist (Aulette & Wittner, 2011). For

example, women cry more often than men do. Men are more physically violent than women. Women take care

of children more than men do. Women smile more often than men. Men curse and spit more often than women.

When women talk with each other, they are more likely to talk about their personal lives than men are when they

talk with each other. The two sexes even differ when they hold a cigarette (not that anyone should smoke!). When

a woman holds a cigarette, she usually has the palm of her cigarette-holding hand facing upward; when a man

holds a cigarette, he usually has his palm facing downward.

The Development of Gender Differences

What accounts for differences in female and male behavior and attitudes? Do the biological differences between

the sexes account for these other differences? Or do these latter differences stem, as most sociologists think,

from cultural expectations and from differences in the ways in which the sexes are socialized? These are critical

questions, for they ask whether the differences between boys and girls and women and men stem more from

biology or from society. If we think behavioral and other differences between the sexes are due primarily to their

respective biological makeups, we imply that these differences are inevitable or nearly so and that any attempt to

change them goes against biology and will likely fail.

For example, consider the obvious biological fact that women bear and nurse children and men do not. Couple this

140 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

with the common view that women are also more gentle and nurturing than men, and we end up with a “biological

recipe” for women to be the primary caretakers of children. Many people think this means women are therefore

much better suited than men to take care of children once they are born, and that the family might be harmed if

mothers work outside the home or if fathers are the primary caretakers. Figure 4.1 “Belief That Women Should

Stay at Home” shows that more than one-third of the public agrees that “it is much better for everyone involved

if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family.” To the extent this

belief exists, women may not want to work outside the home or, if they choose to do so, they then face difficulties

from employers, family, and friends. Conversely, men may not even think about wanting to stay at home and

may themselves face difficulties from employees, family, and friends if they want to do so. A belief in a strong

biological basis for differences between women and men implies, then, that there is little we can or should do to

change these differences. It implies that “anatomy is destiny,” and destiny is, of course, by definition inevitable.

Figure 4.1 Belief That Women Should Stay at Home

Agreement or disagreement with the statement that “it is much better for everyone involved if the man is

the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family.”

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/

hsda?harcsda+gss10.

This implication makes it essential to understand the extent to which gender differences do, in fact, stem from

biological differences between the sexes or, instead, stem from cultural and social influences. If biology is

paramount, then gender differences are perhaps inevitable and the status quo will remain. If culture and social

influences matter much more than biology, then gender differences can change and the status quo may give way.

With this backdrop in mind, let’s turn to the biological evidence for behavioral and other differences between the

sexes and then examine the evidence for their social and cultural roots.

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender 141

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/914c26d1593999ff906559c9b350f3db.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.1.1.jpg

Biology and Gender

Several biological explanations for gender roles exist, and we discuss two of the most important ones here.

One explanation is from the field of evolutionary psychology (Buss, 2012) and argues an evolutionary basis for

traditional gender roles.

Scholars advocating this view reason as follows (Thornhill & Gangestad, 2008). In prehistoric societies, two

major social roles existed (1) hunting or gathering food to relieve hunger, and (2) bearing and nursing children.

Because only women could perform the latter role, they were also the primary caretakers for children for several

years after birth. And because women were frequently pregnant, their roles as mothers confined them to the home.

Meanwhile, men were better suited than women for hunting because they were stronger and quicker than women.

In prehistoric societies, then, biology was indeed destiny: For biological reasons, men in effect worked outside

the home (hunted), while women stayed at home with their children.

Evolutionary reasons also explain why men are more violent than women. In prehistoric times, men who were

more willing to commit violence against and even kill other men would “win out” in the competition for female

mates. They thus were more likely than less violent men to produce offspring, who would then carry these males’

genetic violent tendencies.

If the human race evolved along these lines, evolutionary psychologists continue, natural selection favored

those societies where men were stronger, braver, and more aggressive and where women were more fertile and

nurturing. Such traits over the millennia became fairly instinctual, meaning that men’s and women’s biological

natures evolved differently. Men became, by nature, more assertive, daring, and violent than women, and women

became, by nature, more gentle, nurturing, and maternal than men. To the extent this is true, these scholars add,

traditional gender roles for women and men make sense from an evolutionary standpoint, and attempts to change

them go against the sexes’ biological natures. This in turn implies that existing gender inequality must continue

because it is rooted in biology. The title of a book presenting the evolutionary psychology argument summarizes

this implication: “Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual Equality” (Browne, 2002).

142 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

According to some evolutionary psychologists, today’s gender differences in strength and physical aggression are ultimately rooted

in certain evolutionary processes that spanned millennia.

Vladimir Pustovit – Couple – CC BY 2.0.

Critics challenge the evolutionary explanation on several grounds (Begley, 2009; Fine, 2011). First, much greater

gender variation in behavior and attitudes existed in prehistoric times than the evolutionary explanation assumes.

Second, even if biological differences did influence gender roles in prehistoric times, these differences are largely

irrelevant in modern societies, in which, for example, physical strength is not necessary for survival. Third,

human environments throughout the millennia have simply been too diverse to permit the simple, straightforward

biological development that the evolutionary explanation assumes. Fourth, evolutionary arguments implicitly

justify existing gender inequality by implying the need to confine women and men to their traditional roles.

Recent anthropological evidence also challenges the evolutionary argument that men’s tendency to commit

violence was biologically transmitted. This evidence instead finds that violent men have trouble finding female

mates who would want them and that the female mates they find and the children they produce are often killed by

rivals to the men (Begley, 2009).

A second biological explanation for traditional gender roles attributes males’ higher levels of aggression to their

higher levels of testosterone (Mazur, 2009). Several studies find that males with higher levels of testosterone tend

to have higher levels of aggression. However, this correlation does not necessarily mean that their testosterone

increased their violence; as has been found in various animal species, it is also possible that their violence

increased their testosterone. Because studies of human males cannot for ethical and practical reasons manipulate

their testosterone levels, the exact meaning of the results from these testosterone-aggression studies must remain

unclear, according to a report by the National Academy of Sciences (Miczek, Mirsky, Carey, DeBold, & Raine,

1994).

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender 143

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pustovit/14445157466/

Another line of research on the biological basis for sex differences in aggression involves children, including some

as young as ages 1 or 2, in various situations (Card, Stucky, Sawalani, & Little, 2008). They might be playing

with each other, interacting with adults, or writing down solutions to hypothetical scenarios given to them by a

researcher. In most of these studies, boys are more physically aggressive in thought or deed than girls, even at a

very young age. Other studies are more experimental in nature. In one type of study, a toddler will be playing with

a toy, only to have it removed by an adult. Boys typically tend to look angry and try to grab the toy back, while

girls tend to just sit there and whimper. Because these gender differences in aggression are found at very young

ages, researchers often say they must have some biological basis. However, critics of this line of research counter

that even young children have already been socialized along gender lines (Begley, 2009; Fine, 2011), a point to

which we return later in the chapter. To the extent this is true, gender differences in children’s aggression may

reflect socialization rather than biology.

In sum, biological evidence for gender differences certainly exists, but its interpretation remains very

controversial. It must be weighed against the evidence, to which we next turn, of cultural variations in the

experience of gender and of socialization differences by gender. One thing is clear: To the extent we accept

biological explanations for gender, we imply that existing gender differences and gender inequality must continue

to exist. As sociologist Linda L. Lindsey (2011, p. 52) notes, “Biological arguments are consistently drawn upon

to justify gender inequality and the continued oppression of women.” In contrast, cultural and social explanations

of gender differences and gender inequality promise some hope for change. Let’s examine the evidence for these

explanations.

Culture and Gender

Some of the most compelling evidence against a strong biological determination of gender roles comes from

anthropologists, whose work on preindustrial societies demonstrates some striking gender variation from one

culture to another. This variation underscores the impact of culture on how females and males think and behave.

Extensive evidence of this impact comes from anthropologist George Murdock (1937), who created the Standard

Cross-Cultural Sample of almost two hundred preindustrial societies studied by anthropologists. Murdock found

that some tasks in these societies, such as hunting and trapping, are almost always done by men, while other tasks,

such as cooking and fetching water, are almost always done by women. These patterns provide evidence for the

evolutionary argument presented earlier, as they probably stem from the biological differences between the sexes.

Even so, there were at least some societies in which women hunted and in which men cooked and fetched water.

144 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Anthropological research finds a good deal of variation in gender roles for certain tasks, including planting crops, milking, and

generating fires. Other tasks, such as hunting and trapping, are typically done by men while tasks such as cooking and fetching water

are typically done by women.

World Bank Photo Collection – Somo Samo village well – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

More important, Murdock found much greater gender variation in several of the other tasks he studied, including

planting crops, milking, and generating fires. Men primarily performed these tasks in some societies, women

primarily performed them in other societies, and in still other societies both sexes performed them equally.

Murdock’s findings illustrate how gender roles differ from one culture to another and imply they are not

biologically determined.

Anthropologists continue to investigate cultural differences in gender. Some of their most interesting findings

concern gender and sexuality (Brettell & Sargent, 2009). Although all societies distinguish “femaleness” and

“maleness,” additional gender categories exist in some societies. The Native Americans known as the Mohave,

for example, recognize four genders: a woman, a woman who acts like a man, a man, and a man who acts like a

woman. In some societies, a third, intermediary gender category is recognized. Anthropologists call this category

the berdache, who is usually a man who takes on a woman’s role. This intermediary category combines aspects of

both femininity and masculinity of the society in which it is found and is thus considered an androgynous gender.

Although some people in this category are born as intersexed individuals (formerly known as hermaphrodites),

meaning they have genitalia of both sexes, many are born biologically as one sex or the other but adopt an

androgynous identity.

Anthropologists have found another androgynous gender composed of women warriors in thirty-three Native

American groups in North America. Walter L. Williams (1997) calls these women “amazons” and notes that they

dress like men and sometimes even marry women. In some tribes girls exhibit such “masculine” characteristics

from childhood, while in others they may be recruited into “amazonhood.” In the Kaska Indians, for example, a

married couple with too many daughters would select one to “be like a man.” When she was about 5 years of

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender 145

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.1.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/8000988887/

age, her parents would begin to dress her like a boy and have her do male tasks. Eventually she would grow up to

become a hunter.

The androgynous genders found by anthropologists remind us that gender is a social construction and not just

a biological fact. If culture does affect gender roles, socialization is the process through which culture has this

effect. What we experience as girls and boys strongly influences how we develop as women and men in terms of

behavior and attitudes. To illustrate this important dimension of gender, let’s turn to the evidence on socialization.

Socialization and Gender

Socialization is the process whereby individuals learn the culture of their society. Several agents of socialization

exist, including the family, peers, schools, the mass media, and religion, and all these institutions help to socialize

people into their gender roles and also help them develop their gender identity (Andersen & Hysock, 2011).

The Family

Socialization into gender roles begins in infancy, as almost from the moment of birth parents begin to socialize

their children as boys or girls without even knowing it (Begley, 2009; Eliot, 2011). Parents commonly describe

their infant daughters as pretty, soft, and delicate and their infant sons as strong, active, and alert, even though

neutral observers find no such gender differences among infants when they do not know the infants’ sex. From

infancy on, parents play with and otherwise interact with their daughters and sons differently. They play more

roughly with their sons—for example, by throwing them up in the air or by gently wrestling with them—and more

quietly with their daughters. When their infant or toddler daughters cry, they warmly comfort them, but they tend

to let their sons cry longer and to comfort them less. They give their girls dolls to play with and their boys action

figures and toy guns. While these gender differences in socialization are probably smaller now than a generation

ago, they certainly continue to exist. Go into a large toy store and you will see pink aisles of dolls and cooking

sets and blue aisles of action figures, toy guns, and related items.

Peers

Peer influences also encourage gender socialization. As they reach school age, children begin to play different

games based on their gender. Boys tend to play sports and other competitive team games governed by inflexible

rules and relatively large numbers of roles, while girls tend to play smaller, cooperative games such as hopscotch

and jumping rope with fewer and more flexible rules. Although girls are much more involved in sports now than a

generation ago, these gender differences in their play persist and continue to reinforce gender roles. For example,

boys’ games encourage them to be competitive, while girls’ games encourage them to become cooperative and

trusting. The patterns we see in adult males and females thus have roots in their play as young children (Lindsey,

2011) (see Note 4.13 “Children and Our Future”).

146 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Children and Our Future

Girls and Boys at Play

The text discusses how the types of games that girls and boys play influence their gender-role socialization. Let’s take a closer look at two early sociological studies that provided important evidence for this process.

Janet Lever (1978) studied fifth-grade children in three different communities in Connecticut. She watched them play and otherwise interact in school and also had the children keep diaries of their play and games outside school. Lever found that boys’ games were typically more complex than girls’ games: The boys’ games had a greater number of rules and more specialized roles, and they also involved more individuals playing. She attributed these differences to socialization by parents, teachers, and other adults and argued that the complexity of boys’ play and games helped them to be better able than girls to learn important social skills such as dealing with rules and coordinating actions to achieve goals.

A second sociologist, Barrie Thorne (1993), studied fourth- and fifth-graders in California and Michigan. The boys tended to play team sports and other competitive games, while the girls tended to play cooperative games such as jump rope. These differences led Thorne to conclude that gender-role socialization stems not only from practices by adults but also from the children’s own activities without adult involvement. When boys and girls interacted, it was often “girls against the boys” in classroom spelling contests and in games such as tag. Thorne concluded that these “us against them” contests helped the children learn that boys and girls are two different and antagonistic sexes. Boys also tended to disrupt girls’ games more than the reverse and in this manner both exerted and learned dominance over females. In all these ways, children were not just the passive recipients of gender-role socialization from adults (their teachers), but they also played an active role in ensuring that such socialization occurred.

These two studies were among the first to emphasize the importance of children’s play for the gender-based traits and values that girls and boys learn, which in turn affect the choices they make for careers and other matters later in life. The rise in team sports opportunities for girls in the years since Lever and Thorne did their research is a welcome development, but young children continue to play in the ways that Lever and Thorne found. The body of research on gender differences in children’s play points to the need for teachers, parents, and other adults to encourage girls and boys alike to have a mixture of both competitive and cooperative games so that both sexes may develop a better balance of values that are now commonly considered to be either feminine or masculine.

Schools

School is yet another agent of gender socialization. First of all, school playgrounds provide a location for the

gender-linked play activities just described to occur. Second, and perhaps more important, teachers at all levels

treat their female and male students differently in subtle ways of which they are probably not aware. They tend

to call on boys more often to answer questions in class and to praise them more when they give the right answer.

They also give boys more feedback about their assignments and other school work (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). At

all grade levels, many textbooks and other books still portray people in gender-stereotyped ways. It is true that

the newer books do less of this than older ones, but the newer books still contain some stereotypes, and the older

books are still used in many schools, especially those that cannot afford to buy newer volumes.

Mass Media

Gender socialization also occurs through the mass media (Renzetti, Curran, & Maier, 2012). On children’s

television shows, the major characters are male. On Nickelodeon, for example, the very popular SpongeBob

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender 147

SquarePants is a male, as are his pet snail, Gary; his best friend, Patrick Star; their neighbor, Squidward Tentacles;

and SpongeBob’s employer, Eugene Crabs. Of the major characters in Bikini Bottom, only Sandy Cheeks is a

female. For all its virtues, Sesame Street features Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and other male characters. Most

of the Muppets are males, and the main female character, Miss Piggy, depicted as vain and jealous, is hardly an

admirable female role model. As for adults’ prime-time television, more men than women continue to fill more

major roles in weekly shows, despite notable women’s roles in shows such as The Good Wife and Grey’s Anatomy.

Women are also often portrayed as unintelligent or frivolous individuals who are there more for their looks than

for anything else. Television commercials reinforce this image. Cosmetics ads abound, suggesting not only that

a major task for women is to look good but also that their sense of self-worth stems from looking good. Other

commercials show women becoming ecstatic over achieving a clean floor or sparkling laundry. Judging from the

world of television commercials, then, women’s chief goals in life are to look good and to have a clean house. At

the same time, men’s chief goals, judging from many commercials, are to drink beer and drive cars.

Women’s magazines reinforce the view that women need to be slender and wear many cosmetics in order to be considered beautiful.

Photo Editing Services Tucia.com – Glamour /Fashion Retouching by Tucia – CC BY 2.0.

Women’s and men’s magazines reinforce these gender images (Hesse-Biber, 2007; Milillo, 2008). Most of the

magazines intended for teenaged girls and adult women are filled with pictures of thin, beautiful models; advice

on dieting; cosmetics ads; and articles on how to win and please your man. Conversely, the magazines intended

for teenaged boys and men are filled with ads and articles on cars and sports, advice on how to succeed in careers

and other endeavors, and pictures of thin, beautiful (and sometimes nude) women. These magazine images again

suggest that women’s chief goals are to look good and to please men and that men’s chief goals are to succeed,

win over women, and live life in the fast lane.

148 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.1.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tucia/4286749083/

Religion

Another agent of socialization, religion, also contributes to traditional gender stereotypes. Many traditional

interpretations of the Bible yield the message that women are subservient to men (Tanenbaum, 2009). This

message begins in Genesis, where the first human is Adam, and Eve was made from one of his ribs. The major

figures in the rest of the Bible are men, and women are for the most part depicted as wives, mothers, temptresses,

and prostitutes; they are praised for their roles as wives and mothers and condemned for their other roles. More

generally, women are constantly depicted as the property of men. The Ten Commandments includes a neighbor’s

wife with his house, ox, and other objects as things not to be coveted (Exodus 20:17), and many biblical passages

say explicitly that women belong to men, such as this one from the New Testament: “Wives be subject to your

husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church. As the Church

is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands” (Ephesians 5:22–24).

Several passages in the Old Testament justify the rape and murder of women and girls. The Koran, the sacred

book of Islam, also contains passages asserting the subordinate role of women (Mayer, 2009).

A Final Word on the Sources of Gender

Scholars in many fields continue to debate the relative importance of biology and of culture and socialization for

how we behave and think as girls and boys and as women and men. The biological differences between females

and males lead many scholars and no doubt much of the public to assume that masculinity and femininity are to

a large degree biologically determined or at least influenced. In contrast, anthropologists, sociologists, and other

social scientists tend to view gender as a social construction. Even if biology does matter for gender, they say,

the significance of culture and socialization should not be underestimated. To the extent that gender is indeed

shaped by society and culture, it is possible to change gender and to help bring about a society where both men

and women have more opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Key Takeaways

• Sex is a biological concept, while gender is a social concept and refers to the social and cultural differences a society assigns to people based on their sex.

• Several biological explanations for gender roles exist, but sociologists think culture and socialization are more important sources of gender roles than biology.

• Families, schools, peers, the mass media, and religion are agents of socialization for the development of gender identity and gender roles.

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender 149

For Your Review

1. Write a short essay about one or two events you recall from your childhood that reflected or reinforced your gender socialization.

2. Do you think gender roles are due more to biology or to culture and socialization? Explain your answer.

References

Andersen, M., & Hysock, D. (2011). Thinking about women: Sociological perspectives on sex and gender (9th

ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Aulette, J. R., & Wittner, J. (2011). Gendered worlds (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Begley, S. (2009, June 29). Don’t blame the caveman. Newsweek, 52–62.

Begley, S. (2009, September 14). Pink brain, blue brain: Claims of sex differences fall apart. Newsweek, 28

Brettell, C. B., & Sargent, C. F. (Eds.). (2009). Gender in cross-cultural perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Prentice Hall.

Browne, K. (2002). Biology at work: Rethinking sexual equality. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Buss, D. (2012). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson.

Card, N. A., Stucky, B. D., Sawalani, G. M., & Little, T. D. (2008). Direct and indirect aggression during

childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic review of gender differences, intercorrelations, and relations to

maladjustment. Child Development, 79(5), 1185–1229.

Eliot, L. (2011). Pink brain, blue brain: How small differences grow into troublesome gaps—and what we can do

about it. London, United Kingdom: Oneworld Publications.

Fine, C. (2011). Delusions of gender: The real science behind sex differences. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2007). The cult of thinness. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Lever, J. (1978). Sex differences in the complexity of children’s play and games. American Sociological Review,

43, 471–483.

Lindsey, L. L. (2011). Gender roles: A sociological perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Mayer, A. E. (2009). Review of “Women, the Koran and international human rights law: The experience of

Pakistan.” Human Rights Quarterly, 31(4), 1155–1158.

150 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Mazur, A. (2009). Testosterone and violence among young men. In A. Walsh & K. M. Beaver (Eds.), Biosocial

criminology: New directions in theory and research (pp. 190–204). New York, NY: Routledge.

Miczek, K. A., Mirsky, A. F., Carey, G., DeBold, J., & Raine, A. (1994). An overview of biological influences on

violent behavior. In J. Albert, J. Reiss, K. A. Miczek & J. A. Roth (Eds.), Understanding and preventing violence:

Biobehavioral influences (Vol. 2, pp. 1–20). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Milillo, D. (2008). Sexuality sells: A content analysis of lesbian and heterosexual women’s bodies in magazine

advertisements. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 12(4), 381–392.

Murdock, G. (1937). Comparative data on the division of labor by sex. Social Forces, 15, 551–553.

Renzetti, C. M., Curran, D. J., & Maier, S. (2012). Women, men, and society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing at fairness: How America’s schools cheat girls. New York, NY: Charles

Scribner’s.

Tanenbaum, L. (2009). Taking back God: American women rising up for religious equality. New York, NY: Farrar,

Straus and Giroux.

Thorne, B. (1993). Gender play: Girls and boys in school. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press.

Williams, W. L. (1997). Amazons of America: Female gender variance. In C. B. Brettell & C. F. Sargent (Eds.),

Gender in cross-cultural perspective (2nd ed., pp. 202–213). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

4.1 Understanding Sex and Gender 151

4.2 Feminism and Sexism

Learning Objectives

1. Define feminism, sexism, and patriarchy.

2. Discuss evidence for a decline in sexism.

In the national General Social Survey (GSS), slightly more than one-third of the public agrees with this statement:

“It is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care

of the home and family.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? If you are like the majority of college

students, you disagree.

Today a lot of women, and some men, will say, “I’m not a feminist, but…,” and then go on to add that they hold

certain beliefs about women’s equality and traditional gender roles that actually fall into a feminist framework.

Their reluctance to self-identify as feminists underscores the negative image that feminists and feminism have but

also suggests that the actual meaning of feminism may be unclear.

Feminism and sexism are generally two sides of the same coin. Feminism refers to the belief that women and men

should have equal opportunities in economic, political, and social life, while sexism refers to a belief in traditional

gender role stereotypes and in the inherent inequality between men and women. Sexism thus parallels the concept

of racial and ethnic prejudice discussed in Chapter 3 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality”. Women and people of color

are both said, for biological and/or cultural reasons, to lack certain qualities for success in today’s world.

Feminism as a social movement began in the United States during the abolitionist period before the Civil War. Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(left) and Lucretia Mott (right) were outspoken abolitionists who made connections between slavery and the oppression of women.

The US Library of Congress – public domain; The US Library of Congress – public domain.

Two feminist movements in US history have greatly advanced the cause of women’s equality and changed views

about gender. The first began during the abolitionist period, when abolitionists such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia

Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton began to see similarities between slavery and the oppression of women. This

new women’s movement focused on many issues but especially the right to vote, which women won in 1920. The

second major feminist movement began in the late 1960s, as women active in the Southern civil rights movement

turned their attention to women’s rights, and it is still active today. This movement has profoundly changed public

thinking and social and economic institutions, but, as we will soon see, much gender inequality remains.

Several varieties of feminism exist. Although they all share the basic idea that women and men should be equal

in their opportunities in all spheres of life, they differ in other ways (Hannam, 2012). Liberal feminism believes

that the equality of women can be achieved within our existing society by passing laws and reforming social,

economic, and political institutions. In contrast, socialist feminism blames capitalism for women’s inequality and

says that true gender equality can result only if fundamental changes in social institutions, and even a socialist

revolution, are achieved. Radical feminism, on the other hand, says that patriarchy (male domination) lies at the

root of women’s oppression and that women are oppressed even in noncapitalist societies. Patriarchy itself must

be abolished, they say, if women are to become equal to men. Finally, multicultural feminism emphasizes that

women of color are oppressed not only because of their gender but also because of their race and class. They thus

face a triple burden that goes beyond their gender. By focusing their attention on women of color in the United

States and other nations, multicultural feminists remind us that the lives of these women differ in many ways from

those of the middle-class women who historically have led US feminist movements.

4.2 Feminism and Sexism 153

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/58eb6fa6198940b435fbbfa32b12a180.jpg

denied:%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a28976/%E2%80%9D

denied:%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a42877/%E2%80%9D

The Growth of Feminism and the Decline of Sexism

What evidence is there for the impact of the contemporary women’s movement on public thinking? The GSS, the

Gallup poll, and other national surveys show that the public has moved away from traditional views of gender

toward more modern ones. Another way of saying this is that the public has moved from sexism toward feminism.

To illustrate this, let’s return to the GSS statement that it is much better for the man to achieve outside the home

and for the woman to take care of home and family. Figure 4.2 “Change in Acceptance of Traditional Gender

Roles in the Family, 1977–2010” shows that agreement with this statement dropped sharply during the 1970s and

1980s before leveling off afterward to slightly more than one-third of the public.

Figure 4.2 Change in Acceptance of Traditional Gender Roles in the Family, 1977–2010

Percentage agreeing that “it is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family.”

Source: Data from General Social Surveys. (1977–2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Another GSS question over the years has asked whether respondents would be willing to vote for a qualified

woman for president of the United States. As Figure 4.3 “Change in Willingness to Vote for a Qualified Woman

for President” illustrates, this percentage rose from 74 percent in the early 1970s to a high of 96.2 percent in

2010. Although we have not yet had a woman president, despite Hillary Rodham Clinton’s historic presidential

primary campaign in 2007 and 2008 and Sarah Palin’s presence on the Republican ticket in 2008, the survey

evidence indicates the public is willing to vote for one. As demonstrated by the responses to the survey questions

on women’s home roles and on a woman president, traditional gender views have indeed declined.

Figure 4.3 Change in Willingness to Vote for a Qualified Woman for President

154 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/77de100767edea272d8d154c1256ee11.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/c24ded7181e8f6440306cd816b1bcd61.jpg

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Key Takeaways

• Feminism refers to the belief that women and men should have equal opportunities in economic, political, and social life, while sexism refers to a belief in traditional gender role stereotypes and in the inherent inequality between men and women.

• Sexist beliefs have declined in the United States since the early 1970s.

For Your Review

1. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

2. Think about one of your parents or of another adult much older than you. Does this person hold more traditional views about gender than you do? Explain your answer.

References

Hannam, J. (2012). Feminism. New York, NY: Pearson Longman.

4.2 Feminism and Sexism 155

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/562570a395a105e100ef0c7f21e3a13d.jpg

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the status of women around the world today.

2. Understand the extent of and reasons for gender inequality in income and the workplace in the United States.

3. Understand the extent of and reasons for sexual harassment.

The primary focus of this chapter is gender inequality in the United States, but it is also important to discuss

gender inequality worldwide. While American women are unequal to men in many respects, women’s situation

throughout much of the world is especially dire. Accordingly, we first examine the global inequality of women

before turning our attention to the United States.

The Global Inequality of Women

The problem of global poverty first discussed in Chapter 2 “Poverty” is especially severe for women. Although,

as Chapter 2 “Poverty” noted, more than 1.4 billion people on earth are desperately poor, their ranks include more

than their fair share of women, who are estimated to make up 70 percent of the world’s poor. Because women

tend to be poorer than men worldwide, they are more likely than men to experience all the problems that poverty

causes, including malnutrition and disease. But they also suffer additional problems. Some of these problems

derive from women’s physiological role of childbearing, and some arise from how they are treated simply because

they are women.

Let’s first look at childbearing. One of the most depressing examples of how global poverty affects women is

maternal mortality, or the number of women who die during childbirth for every 100,000 live births. More than

500,000 women die worldwide annually from complications during pregnancy or childbirth. Maternal mortality

usually results from one or more of the following: inadequate prenatal nutrition, disease and illness, and inferior

obstetrical care, all of which are much more common in poor nations than in wealthy nations. In wealthy nations,

the rate of maternal mortality is 14 per 100,000 births, but in poor nations the rate is a distressingly high 590 per

100,000 births, equivalent to almost 6 deaths for every 1,000 births. Women in poor nations are thus forty-two

times more likely than those in wealthy nations to die from complications during pregnancy or childbirth (World

Bank, 2012).

In India and Pakistan, thousands of new wives every year are murdered in dowry deaths because they have not provided their

husbands a suitable amount of money and goods.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 2.0.

In addition to these problems, women in poor nations fare worse than men in other ways because of how they

are treated as women. One manifestation of this fact is the violence they experience (World Health Organization,

2010).World Health Organization/London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. (2010). Preventing intimate

partner and sexual violence against women: Taking action and generating evidence. Geneva, Switzerland:

Author. About one-third of women worldwide have been raped or beaten, leading Amnesty International (2004)

to call violence against women “the greatest human rights scandal of our times.” Although violence against

women certainly occurs in wealthy nations, it is more common and extreme in poor and middle-income nations,

and in nations where women’s inequality (as reflected by criteria such as their labor force participation and

their educational attainment) is especially high (Kaya & Cook, 2010). More than half of women in Uganda, for

example, have been physically or sexually abused (Amnesty International, 2010). Many young women in India

who work outside the home have been raped by male high-school dropouts who think these women lack virtue

and should be punished with rape (Polgreen, 2011). In India and Pakistan, thousands of women are killed every

year in dowry deaths, in which a new wife is murdered by her husband and/or his relatives if she does not pay

the groom money or goods (Kethineni & Srinivasan, 2009). In many countries, young girls routinely have their

genitals cut out, often with no anesthesia, in what has been termed female genital mutilation, a practice that is

thought to affect more than 100 million girls and women across the earth and has been called an act of torture

(Kristoff, 2011; Rogo, Subayi, & Toubia, 2007).

Sex trafficking is another major problem in countries like Cambodia, India, Nepal, and Thailand, where young

girls are often stolen from their parents and forced to work as prostitutes in what amounts to sexual slavery. The

number of girls (and sometimes boys) under age 18 who work as sex slaves is thought to reach into the millions

and to be larger than the number of African slaves during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Kristoff &

WuDunn, 2010).

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality 157

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Women_moving_soil_with_bowls.jpg

Beyond violence, women in poor nations are less likely than their male counterparts to get a higher education,

and girls are less likely than boys to attend primary school. Women are also less likely than men to work in jobs

that pay a decent wage and to hold political office. In many poor nations, girls are less likely than boys to receive

adequate medical care when they become ill and are more likely than boys to die before age 5. In all these ways,

women and girls in poor nations especially suffer.

In stark contrast, women in wealthy democratic nations fare much better than their counterparts in poor nations.

In many wealthy democracies, women’s status vis-à-vis men is higher than in the United States. The Note 4.23

“Lessons from Other Societies” box discusses this situation further.

Lessons from Other Societies

Women in the Nordic Nations

The United Nations Development Programme ranks nations on a “gender empowerment measure” of women’s involvement in their nation’s economy and political life (United Nations Development Programme, 2009). Of the 109 nations included in the measure, Sweden ranks first, followed by Norway, Finland, and Denmark. The remaining Nordic nation, Iceland, ranks eighth. The other nations in the top ten are the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Germany, and New Zealand. Canada ranks twelfth, and the United States ranks only eighteenth. In trying to understand why the United States ranks this low and what it might be able to do to increase its empowerment of women, the experience of the Nordic nations provides some important lessons.

The Nordic nations rank at the top of the gender empowerment measure largely because they have made a concerted effort to boost women’s involvement in the business and political worlds (Sumer, Smithson, Guerreiro, & Granlund, 2008). They are all social democratic welfare states characterized by extensive government programs and other efforts to promote full economic and gender equality.

For example, Norway’s government provides day care for children and adult care for older or disabled individuals, and it also provides forty-four weeks of paid parental leave after the birth of a child. Parents can also work fewer hours without losing income until their child is 2 years of age. All these provisions mean that women are much more likely than their American counterparts to have the freedom and economic means to work outside the home, and they have taken advantage of this opportunity. As a recent analysis concluded, “It has been extremely important for women that social rights have been extended to cover such things as the caring of young children and elderly, sick and disabled members of society. In the Nordic countries, women have been more successful than elsewhere in combining their dual role as mothers and workers, and social policy arrangements are an integral part of the gender equality policy” (Kangas & Palme, 2009, p. 565).

The lesson for the United States is clear: An important reason for the Nordic nations’ high gender empowerment ranking is government policy that enables women to work outside the home if they want to do so. The experience of these nations indicates that greater gender equality might be achieved in the United States if it adopted policies similar to those found in these nations that make it easier for women to join and stay in the labor force.

Gender Inequality in the United States

We have said that the women’s movement changed American life in many ways but that gender inequality

persists in the United States. Let’s look at examples of such inequality, much of it taking the form of institutional

discrimination, which, as we saw in Chapter 3 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality”, can occur even if it is not intended

to happen. We start with gender inequality in income and the workplace and then move on to a few other spheres

of life.

158 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

The Gender Gap in Income

In the last few decades, women have entered the workplace in increasing numbers, partly, and for many women

mostly, out of economic necessity, and partly out of desire for the sense of self-worth and other fulfillment that

comes with work. In February 2012, 57.9 percent of US women aged 16 or older were in the labor force, compared

to only 43.3 percent in 1970; comparable figures for men were 70.3 percent in 2012 and 79.7 percent in 1970

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). Thus while women’s labor force participation continues to lag behind men’s,

this gender gap has narrowed. The figures just cited include women of retirement age. When we just look at

younger women, labor force participation is even higher. For example, 74.7 percent of women aged 35–44 were

in the labor force in 2011, compared to only 46.8 percent in 1970.

Despite the workplace gains women have made, problems persist. Perhaps the major problem is a gender gap

in income. Women have earned less money than men ever since records started being kept (Reskin & Padavic,

2002). In the United States in the early 1800s, full-time women workers in agriculture and manufacturing earned

less than 38 percent of what men earned. By 1885, they were earning about 50 percent of what men earned

in manufacturing jobs. As the 1980s began, full-time women workers’ median weekly earnings were about 65

percent of men’s. Women have narrowed the gender gap in earnings since then: Their weekly earnings now (2011)

are 82.2 percent of men’s among full-time workers ages 16 and older (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). Still, this

means that for every $10,000 men earn, women earn only about $8,220. To turn that around, for every $10,000

women earn, men earn $12,156. This gap amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime of working.

Women have earned less money than men ever since records started being kept. Women now earn about 81 percent of what men earn.

John Jacobi – receptionist answering phone at suburban eye care – CC BY 2.0.

As Table 4.1 “Median Annual Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers Aged 25–64 by Educational

Attainment, 2010*” shows, this gender gap exists for all levels of education and even increases with higher

levels of education. On the average, women with a bachelor’s degree or higher and working full time earn almost

$18,000 less per year than their male counterparts.

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality 159

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/suburbaneyecare/7269959082/

Table 4.1 Median Annual Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers Aged 25–64 by Educational Attainment, 2010*

High school dropout

High school degree

Some college or associate’s degree

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Men 25,272 36,920 43,940 69,160

Women 20,176 28,236 33,176 51,272

Difference 5,096 8,684 10,764 17,888

Gender gap (%; women ÷ men)

79.8 76.5 75.5 74.1

* Median weekly earnings × 52 weeks

Source: US Department of Labor. (2011). Highlights of women’s earnings in 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

What accounts for the gender gap in earnings? A major reason is sex segregation in the workplace, which accounts

for up to 45 percent of the gender gap (Kelley, 2011; Reskin & Padavic, 2002). Although women have increased

their labor force participation, the workplace remains segregated by gender. Almost half of all women work in a

few low-paying clerical and service (e.g., waitressing) jobs, while men work in a much greater variety of jobs,

including high-paying ones. Table 4.2 “Gender Segregation in the Workplace for Selected Occupations, 2010”

shows that many jobs are composed primarily of women or of men. Part of the reason for this segregation is that

socialization affects what jobs young men and women choose to pursue, and part of the reason is that women and

men do not want to encounter difficulties they may experience if they took a job traditionally assigned to the other

sex. A third reason is that sex-segregated jobs discriminate against applicants who are not the “right” sex for that

job. Employers may either consciously refuse to hire someone who is the “wrong” sex for the job or have job

requirements (e.g., height requirements) and workplace rules (e.g., working at night) that unintentionally make it

more difficult for women to qualify for certain jobs. Although such practices and requirements are now illegal,

they still continue. The sex segregation they help create contributes to the continuing gender gap between female

and male workers. Occupations dominated by women tend to have lower wages and salaries. Because women are

concentrated in low-paying jobs, their earnings are much lower than men’s (Reskin & Padavic, 2002).

This fact raises an important question: Why do women’s jobs pay less than men’s jobs? Is it because their jobs

are not important and require few skills (recalling the functional theory of stratification discussed in Chapter 2

“Poverty”)? The evidence indicates otherwise: Women’s work is devalued precisely because it is women’s work,

and women’s jobs thus pay less than men’s jobs because they are women’s jobs (Magnusson, 2009).

Table 4.2 Gender Segregation in the Workplace for Selected Occupations, 2010

160 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Occupation Female workers (%) Male workers (%)

Preschool and kindergarten teachers 97.0 3.0

Speech-language pathologists 96.3 3.7

Secretaries and administrative assistants 96.1 3.9

Dental hygienists 95.1 4.9

Registered nurses 91.1 8.9

Food servers (waiters/waitresses) 71.1 29.9

Pharmacists 53.0 47.0

Physicians 32.3 67.7

Lawyers 31.5 68.5

Dentists 25.5 64.5

Computer software engineers 20.9 79.1

Electricians 1.5 98.5

Carpenters 1.4 98.5

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing

Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

Studies of comparable worth support this argument (Levanon, England, & Allison, 2009). Researchers rate

various jobs in terms of their requirements and attributes that logically should affect the salaries they offer: the

importance of the job, the degree of skill it requires, the level of responsibility it requires, the degree to which the

employee must exercise independent judgment, and so forth. They then use these dimensions to determine what

salary a job should offer. Some jobs might be better on some dimensions and worse on others but still end up with

the same predicted salary if everything evens out.

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality 161

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.3.1.jpg

Some women’s jobs pay less than men’s jobs even though their comparable worth is equal to or even higher than the men’s jobs. For

example, a social worker, depicted here, may earn less money than a probation officer, even though calculations based on comparable

worth would predict that a social worker should earn at least as much.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 2.0.

When researchers make their calculations, they find that certain women’s jobs pay less than men’s even though

their comparable worth is equal to or even higher than the men’s jobs. For example, a social worker may earn less

money than a probation officer, even though calculations based on comparable worth would predict that a social

worker should earn at least as much. The comparable worth research demonstrates that women’s jobs pay less

than men’s jobs of comparable worth and that the average working family would earn several thousand dollars

more annually if pay scales were reevaluated based on comparable worth and women were paid more for their

work.

Even when women and men work in the same jobs, women often earn less than men, and men are more likely

than women to hold leadership positions in these occupations. Government data provide ready evidence of the

lower incomes women receive even in the same occupations. For example, among full-time employees, female

marketing and sales managers earn only 66 percent of what their male counterparts earn; female human resource

managers earn only 80 percent of what their male counterparts earn; female claims adjusters earn only 77 percent;

female accountants earn only 75 percent; female elementary and middle school teachers earn only 91 percent; and

even female secretaries and clerical workers earn only 91 percent (US Department of Labor, 2011).

One reason for these differences, and for women’s lower earnings in general, is their caregiving responsibilities

(Chang, 2010). Women are more likely than men to have the major, and perhaps the sole, responsibility for taking

care of children and aging parents or other adults who need care. This responsibility limits their work hours

and often prompts them to drop out of the labor force. If women rejoin the labor force after their children start

162 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Social_Work-Talk.jpg

school, or join for the first time, they are already several years behind men who began working at an earlier age.

Economics writer David Leonhardt (2010, p. B1) explains this dynamic: “Many more women take time off from

work. Many more women work part time at some point in their careers. Many more women can’t get to work

early or stay late. And our economy exacts a terribly steep price for any time away from work—in both pay and

promotions. People often cannot just pick up where they have left off. Entire career paths are closed off. The hit

to earnings is permanent.”

We can see evidence of this “hit” when we examine the gender gap in earnings by age. This gap is relatively low

for people in their early twenties, when women earn 93.8 percent of what men earn, but rises during the next

two decades of age as more and more women bear and raise children (see Figure 4.4 “Gender, Age, and Median

Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Employees, 2010”).

Figure 4.4 Gender, Age, and Median Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Employees, 2010

Source: U.S. Department of Labor. (2011). Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.

Still, when variables like number of years on the job, number of hours worked per week, and size of firm are taken

into account, gender differences in earnings diminish but do not disappear altogether, and it is very likely that sex

discrimination (conscious or unconscious) by employers accounts for much of the remaining disparity.

Some of the sex discrimination in employment reflects the existence of two related phenomena, the glass ceiling

and the glass escalator. Women may be promoted in a job only to find they reach an invisible “glass ceiling”

beyond which they cannot get promoted, or they may not get promoted in the first place. In the largest US

corporations, women constitute only about 16 percent of the top executives, and women executives are paid much

less than their male counterparts (Jenner & Ferguson, 2009). Although these disparities stem partly from the

fact that women joined the corporate ranks much more recently than men, they also reflect a glass ceiling in the

corporate world that prevents qualified women from rising up above a certain level (Hymowitz, 2009). Men, on

the other hand, can often ride a “glass escalator” to the top, even in female occupations. An example is seen in

elementary school teaching, where principals typically rise from the ranks of teachers. Although men constitute

only about 16 percent of all public elementary school teachers, they account for about 41 percent of all elementary

school principals (Aud et al., 2011).

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality 163

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/ffaa239ee6014de7ef5d27326b383d32.jpg

Women constitute only about 16 percent of the top executives in the largest US corporations, and women executives are paid much

less than their male counterparts. These disparities reflect a “glass ceiling” that limits women’s opportunities for promotion.

Baltic Development Forum – Kristovskis meeting – CC BY 2.0.

Whatever the reasons for the gender gap in income, the fact that women make so much less than men means

that female-headed families are especially likely to be poor. In 2010, almost 32 percent of these families lived

in poverty, compared to only 6 percent of married-couple families (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2011). As

noted in Chapter 2 “Poverty”, the term feminization of poverty refers to the fact that female-headed households are

especially likely to be poor. The gendering of poverty in this manner is one of the most significant manifestations

of gender inequality in the United States.

Sexual Harassment

Another workplace problem (including schools) is sexual harassment, which, as defined by federal guidelines and

legal rulings and statutes, consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or physical conduct

of a sexual nature that is used as a condition of employment or promotion or that interferes with an individual’s

job performance and creates an intimidating or hostile environment.

Although men can be, and are, sexually harassed, women are more often the targets of sexual harassment. This

gender difference exists for at least two reasons, one cultural and one structural. The cultural reason centers on the

depiction of women and the socialization of men. As our discussion of the mass media and gender socialization

indicated, women are still depicted in our culture as sexual objects that exist for men’s pleasure. At the same time,

164 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.3.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/baltic-development-forum/5380593159/

our culture socializes men to be sexually assertive. These two cultural beliefs combine to make men believe that

they have the right to make verbal and physical advances to women in the workplace. When these advances fall

into the guidelines listed here, they become sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a common experience. In surveys of women employees, up to two-thirds of respondents report

having been sexually harassed.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 4.0.

The second reason that most targets of sexual harassment are women is more structural. Reflecting the gendered

nature of the workplace and of the educational system, typically the men doing the harassment are in a position

of power over the women they harass. A male boss harasses a female employee, or a male professor harasses

a female student or employee. These men realize that subordinate women may find it difficult to resist their

advances for fear of reprisals: A female employee may be fired or not promoted, and a female student may receive

a bad grade.

How common is sexual harassment? This is difficult to determine, as the men who do the sexual harassment are

not about to shout it from the rooftops, and the women who suffer it often keep quiet because of the repercussions

just listed. But anonymous surveys of women employees in corporate and other settings commonly find that

40–65 percent of the respondents report being sexually harassed (Rospenda, Richman, & Shannon, 2009). In a

survey of 4,501 women physicians, 36.9 percent reported being sexually harassed either in medical school or in

their practice as physicians (Frank, Brogan, & Schiffman, 1998). In studies of college students, almost one-third

of women undergraduates and about 40 percent of women graduate students report being sexually harassed by a

faculty member (Clodfelter, Turner, Hartman, & Kuhns, 2010).

Studies of people who have been sexually harassed find that they often experience various psychological

problems. The Note 4.29 “Applying Social Research” box discusses this body of research further.

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality 165

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.3.3.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_harassment#/media/File:-The_Blackmail.png

Applying Social Research

The Long-Term Mental Health Consequences of Sexual Harassment

Despite the fact that sexual harassment is illegal, most women (and men) who are sexually harassed do not bring court action. Two reasons explain their decision not to sue: they fear being fired and/or they worry they will not be believed. But another reason has to do with the mental and emotional consequences of being sexually harassed. These consequences include relationship problems, a loss of self-esteem, fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, and a feeling of powerlessness. These effects are similar to those for posttraumatic stress disorder and are considered symptoms of what has been termed sexual harassment trauma syndrome. This syndrome, and perhaps especially the feeling of powerlessness, are thought to help explain why sexual harassment victims hardly ever bring court action and otherwise often keep quiet. According to law professor Theresa Beiner, the legal system should become more aware of these psychological consequences as it deals with the important question in sexual harassment cases of whether harassment actually occurred. If a woman keeps quiet about the harassment, it is too easy for judges and juries to believe, as happens in rape cases, that the woman originally did not mind the behavior that she now says is harassment.

Should the legal system begin to make better use of social science research on sexual harassment trauma syndrome, a recent study by sociologist Jason N. Houle and colleagues provides important new evidence for legal officials to consider. The authors note two faults in prior sexual harassment research. First, most studies have focused on workers in a single occupation, such as lawyers, or in a single organization, such as a university campus, rather than in a diverse set of occupations and organizations. Second, because most studies have examined workers at only one point in time, they have been unable to study the long-term psychological consequences of sexual harassment.

To correct these deficiencies, Houle et al. analyzed data from a study of 1,010 ninth-graders in St. Paul, Minnesota, that followed them from 1988 to 2004, when they were 30 or 31 years old. The study included measures of the respondents’ experience of sexual harassment at several periods over the study’s sixteen-year time span (ages 14–18, 19–26, 29–30, and 30–31), their level of psychological depression, and their sociodemographic background. Focusing on depression at ages 30 or 31, the authors found that sexual harassment at ages 14–18 did not affect the chances of depression at ages 30–31, but that sexual harassment during any of the other three age periods did increase the chances of depression at ages 30–31. These results held true for both women and men who had been harassed. The authors concluded that the “effects of harassment are indeed lasting, as harassment experiences early in the career were associated with heightened depressive symptoms nearly 10 years later.”

In finding long-term effects of sexual harassment on women and men in a variety of occupations and organizational settings, Houle et al.’s study made an important contribution to our understanding of the psychological consequences of sexual harassment. Its findings underscore the need for workplaces and campuses to do everything possible to eliminate this illegal and harmful behavior and perhaps will prove useful in sexual harassment lawsuits.

Sources: Beiner, 2005; Houle, Staff, Mortimer, Uggen, & Blackstone, 2011; Willness, Steel, & Lee, 2007

Women of Color: A Triple Burden

Earlier we mentioned multicultural feminism, which stresses that women of color face difficulties for three

reasons: their gender, their race, and, often, their social class, which is frequently near the bottom of the

socioeconomic ladder. They thus face a triple burden that manifests itself in many ways.

For example, women of color experience extra income inequality. Earlier we discussed the gender gap in earnings,

with women earning 82.2 percent of what men earn, but women of color face both a gender gap and a racial/ethnic

gap. Table 4.3 “The Race/Ethnicity and Gender Gap in Annual Earnings for Full-Time, Year-Round Workers,

2010*” depicts this double gap for full-time workers. We see a racial/ethnic gap among both women and men, as

African Americans and Latinos of either gender earn less than whites. We also see a gender gap between men and

166 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

women, as women earn less than men within any race/ethnicity. These two gaps combine to produce an especially

high gap between African American and Latina women and white men: African American women earn only about

70 percent of what white men earn, and Latina women earn only about 60 percent of what white men earn.

Table 4.3 The Race/Ethnicity and Gender Gap in Annual Earnings for Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 2010*

Annual earnings ($) Percentage of white male earnings

Men

White (non-Hispanic) 44,200 —

Black 32,916 74.5

Latino 26,416 59.8

Women

White (non-Hispanic) 35,568 80.5

Black 30,784 69.7

Latina 26,416 59.8

* Median weekly earnings × 52 weeks

Source: US Department of Labor. (2011). Highlights of women’s earnings in 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

These differences in income mean that African American and Latina women are poorer than white women.

We noted earlier that almost 32 percent of all female-headed families are poor. This figure masks race/ethnic

differences among such families: 24.8 percent of families headed by non-Latina white women are poor, compared

to 41.0 percent of families headed by African American women and also 44.5 percent of families headed by

Latina women (DeNavas-Walt et al., 2011). While white women are poorer than white men, African American

and Latina women are clearly poorer than white women.

Household Inequality

Gender inequality occurs within families and households. We will talk more about this aspect of family life in

Chapter 10 “The Changing Family”, but briefly discuss here one significant dimension of gender-based household

inequality: housework. Someone has to do housework, and that someone is usually a woman. It takes many hours

a week to clean the bathrooms, cook, shop in the grocery store, vacuum, and do everything else that needs to be

done. The research evidence indicates that women married to or living with men spend two to three times as many

hours per week on housework as men spend (Gupta & Ash, 2008). This disparity holds true even when women

work outside the home, leading sociologist Arlie Hochschild (Hochschild, 1989) to observe in a widely cited book

that women engage in a “second shift” of unpaid work when they come home from their paying job.

The good news is that gender differences in housework time are smaller than a generation ago. The bad news

is that a large gender difference remains. As one study summarized the evidence on this issue, “Women invest

significantly more hours in household labor than do men despite the narrowing of gender differences in recent

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality 167

years” (Bianchi, Milkie, Sayer, & Robinson, 2000, p. 196). In the realm of household work, then, gender

inequality persists.

Key Takeaways

• Among full-time workers, women earn about 79.4 percent of men’s earnings. This gender gap in earnings stems from several factors, including sex segregation in the workplace and the lower wages and salaries found in occupations that involve mostly women.

• Sexual harassment results partly from women’s subordinate status in the workplace and may involve up to two-thirds of women employees.

• Women of color may face a “triple burden” of difficulties based on their gender, their race/ethnicity, and their social class.

For Your Review

1. Do you think it is fair for occupations dominated by women to have lower wages and salaries than those dominated by men? Explain your answer.

2. If you know a woman who works in a male-dominated occupation, interview her about any difficulties she might be experiencing as a result of being in this sort of situation.

References

Amnesty International. (2004). It’s in our hands: Stop violence against women. Summary. London, United

Kingdom: Author.

Amnesty International. (2010). “I can’t afford justice”: Violence against women in Uganda continues unpunished

and unchecked. London, United Kingdom: Author.

Aud, S., Hussar, W., Kena, G., Bianco, K., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., & Tahan, K. (2011). The condition of education

2011 (NCES 2011-033). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011033.pdf.

Beiner, T. (2005). Gender myths v. working realities: Using social science to reformulate sexual harassment law.

New York, NY: New York University Press.

Bianchi, S. M., Milkie, M. A., Sayer, L. C., & Robinson, J. P. (2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in

the gender division of household labor. Social Forces, 79(1), 191–228.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). 2012 employment and earnings online. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved

from http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm.

168 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011033.pdf

http://www.alternet.org/rss/1/557442/today_is_equal_pay_day%557443A_women_still_earn_557477_cents_to_a_man%557445C%E2%80%99s_dollar/

Chang, M. L. (2010). Shortchanged: Why women have less wealth and what can be done about it. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press.

Clodfelter, T. A., Turner, M. G., Hartman, J. L., & Kuhns, J. B. (2010). Sexual harassment victimization during

emerging adulthood. Crime & Delinquency, 56(3), 455–481.

DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2011). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the

United States: 2010 (Current Population Reports, P60-239). Washington, DC: US Census Bureau.

Frank, E., Brogan, D., & Schiffman, M. (1998). Prevalence and correlates of harsssment among US women

physicians. Archives of Internal Medicine, 158(4), 352–358.

Gupta, S., & Ash, M. (2008). Whose money, whose time? A nonparametric approach to modeling time spent on

housework in the United States. Feminist Economics, 14(1), 93–120.

Hochschild, A. (1989). The second shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. New York, NY: Viking.

Houle, J. N., Staff, J., Mortimer, J. T., Uggen, C., & Blackstone, A. (2011). The impact of sexual harassment on

depressive symptoms during the early occupational career. Society and Mental Health, 1, 89–105.

Hymowitz, C. (2009, May 1). For executive women, it can be lonely at the top. Forbes. Retrieved from

http://www.forbes.com.

Jenner, L., & Ferguson, R. (2009). 2008 catalyst census of women corporate officers and top earners of the

FP500. New York, NY: Catalyst.

Kangas, O., & Palme, J. (2009). Making social policy work for economic development: The Nordic experience.

International Journal of Social Welfare, 18(s1), S62–S72.

Kaya, Y., & Cook, K. J. (2010). A cross-national analysis of physical intimate partner violence against women.

International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 5, 423–444.

Kelley, L. (2011, April 12). Today is equal pay day: Women still earn 77 cents to a man’s dollar. AlterNet.

Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/rss/1/557442/

today_is_equal_pay_day%557443A_women_still_earn_557477_cents_to_a_man %557445C’s_dollar/; Reskin,

B., & Padavic, I. (2002). Women and men at work (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Kethineni, S., & Srinivasan, M. (2009). Police handling of domestic violence cases in Tamil Nadu, India. Journal

of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 25, 202–213.

Kristoff, N. D. (2011, May 12). A rite of torture for girls. New York Times, p. A29.

Kristoff, N. D., & WuDunn, S. (2010). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide.

New York, NY: Vintage Books.

Leonhardt, D. (2010, August 4). A labor market punishing to mothers. New York Times, B1.

Levanon, A., England, P., & Allison, P. (2009). Occupational feminization and pay: Assessing causal dynamics

using 1950–2000 US census data. Social Forces, 88(2), 865–891.

4.3 Dimensions of Gender Inequality 169

http://www.forbes.com/

Magnusson, C. (2009). Gender, occupational prestige, and wages: A test of devaluation theory. European

Sociological Review, 25(1), 87–101.

Polgreen, L. (2011, March 27). Rapes of women show clash of old and new India. New York Times, p. A8.

Reskin, B., & Padavic, I. (2002). Women and men at work (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Rogo, K., Subayi, T., & Toubia, N. (2007). Female genital cutting, women’s health and development: The role of

the World Bank. Washington, DC: Africa Region Human Development Department.

Rospenda, K. M., Richman, J. A., & Shannon, C. A. (2009). Prevalence and mental health correlates of

harassment and discrimination in the workplace: Results from a national study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,

24(5), 819–843.

Sumer, S., Smithson, J., Guerreiro, M. D., & Granlund, L. (2008). Becoming working mothers: Reconciling work

and family at three particular workplaces in Norway, the UK, and Portugal. Community, Work & Family, 11(4),

365–384.

United Nations Development Programme. (2009). Human development report 2009. New York, NY: Author.

US Department of Labor. (2011). Highlights of women’s earnings in 2010. Washington, DC: US Department of

Labor.

Willness, C. R., Steel, P., & Lee, K. (2007). A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of workplace

sexual harassment. Personnel Psychology, 60, 127–162.

World Bank. (2012). Data. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org.

World Health Organization/London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. (2010). Preventing intimate

partner and sexual violence against women: Taking action and generating evidence. Geneva, Switzerland:

Author.

170 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://data.worldbank.org/

4.4 Violence against Women: Rape and Sexual Assault

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the extent of rape and sexual assault.

2. Explain why rape and sexual assault occur.

Susan Griffin (1971, p. 26) began a classic essay on rape in 1971 with this startling statement: “I have never been

free of the fear of rape. From a very early age I, like most women, have thought of rape as a part of my natural

environment—something to be feared and prayed against like fire or lightning. I never asked why men raped; I

simply thought it one of the many mysteries of human nature.”

When we consider interpersonal violence of all kinds—homicide, assault, robbery, and rape and sexual

assault—men are more likely than women to be victims of violence. While true, this fact obscures another fact:

Women are far more likely than men to be raped and sexually assaulted. They are also much more likely to be

portrayed as victims of pornographic violence on the Internet and in videos, magazines, and other outlets. Finally,

women are more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence, or violence between spouses and others with

intimate relationships. The gendered nature of these acts against women distinguishes them from the violence

men suffer. Violence is directed against men not because they are men per se, but because of anger, jealousy, and

the sociological reasons discussed in Chapter 8 “Crime and Criminal Justice”’s treatment of deviance and crime.

But rape and sexual assault, domestic violence, and pornographic violence are directed against women precisely

because they are women. These acts are thus an extreme manifestation of the gender inequality women face in

other areas of life. We discuss rape and sexual assault here but will leave domestic violence for Chapter 10 “The

Changing Family” and pornography for Chapter 9 “Sexual Behavior”.

The Extent and Context of Rape and Sexual Assault

Our knowledge about the extent and context of rape and reasons for it comes from three sources: the FBI Uniform

Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), both discussed in Chapter 8 “Crime

and Criminal Justice”, and surveys of and interviews with women and men conducted by academic researchers.

From these sources we have a fairly good if not perfect idea of how much rape occurs, the context in which it

occurs, and the reasons for it. What do we know?

Up to one-third of US women experience a rape or sexual assault, including attempts, at least once in their

lives.

Wikimedia Commons – public domain.

According to the UCR, which are compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from police reports,

88,767 reported rapes (including attempts, and defined as forced sexual intercourse) occurred in the United States

in 2010 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011). Because women often do not tell police they were raped, the

NCVS, which involves survey interviews of thousands of people nationwide, probably yields a better estimate of

rape; the NCVS also measures sexual assaults in addition to rape, while the UCR measures only rape. According

to the NCVS, 188,380 rapes and sexual assaults occurred in 2010 (Truman, 2011). Other research indicates that

up to one-third of US women will experience a rape or sexual assault, including attempts, at least once in their

lives (Barkan, 2012). A study of a random sample of 420 Toronto women involving intensive interviews yielded

an even higher figure: Two-thirds said they had experienced at least one rape or sexual assault, including attempts.

The researchers, Melanie Randall and Lori Haskell (1995, p. 22), concluded that “it is more common than not for

a woman to have an experience of sexual assault during their lifetime.”

Studies of college students also find a high amount of rape and sexual assault. About 20–30 percent of women

students in anonymous surveys report being raped or sexually assaulted (including attempts), usually by a male

172 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/4.4.0.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Assault_Awareness_Month#/media/File:Flickr_-_Official_U.S._Navy_Imagery_-_A_sexual_assault_awareness_poster._(2).jpg

student they knew beforehand (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000; Gross, Winslett, Roberts, & Gohm, 2006). Thus

at a campus of 10,000 students of whom 5,000 are women, about 1,000–1,500 women will be raped or sexually

assaulted over a period of four years, or about 10 per week in a four-year academic calendar. The Note 4.33

“People Making a Difference” box describes what one group of college students did to help reduce rape and sexual

assault at their campus.

People Making a Difference

College Students Protest against Sexual Violence

Dickinson College is a small liberal-arts campus in the small town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. But in the fight against sexual violence, it loomed huge in March 2011, when up to 150 students conducted a nonviolent occupation of the college’s administrative building for three days to protest rape and sexual assault on their campus. While they read, ate, and slept inside the building, more than 250 other students held rallies outside, with the total number of protesters easily exceeding one-tenth of Dickinson’s student enrollment. The protesters held signs that said “Stop the silence, our safety is more important than your reputation” and “I value my body, you should value my rights.” One student told a reporter, “This is a pervasive problem. Almost every student will tell you they know somebody who’s experienced sexual violence or have experienced it themselves.”

Feeling that college officials had not done enough to help protect Dickinson’s women students, the students occupying the administrative building called on the college to set up an improved emergency system for reporting sexual assaults, to revamp its judicial system’s treatment of sexual assault cases, to create a sexual violence prevention program, and to develop a new sexual misconduct policy.

Rather than having police or security guards take the students from the administrative building and even arrest them, Dickinson officials negotiated with the students and finally agreed to their demands. Upon hearing this good news, the occupying students left the building on a Saturday morning, suffering from a lack of sleep and showers but cheered that they had won their demands. A college public relations official applauded the protesters, saying they “have indelibly left their mark on the college. We’re all very proud of them.” On this small campus in a small town in Pennsylvania, a few hundred college students had made a difference.

Sources: Jerving, 2011; Pitz, 2011

The public image of rape is of the proverbial stranger attacking a woman in an alleyway. While such rapes do

occur, most rapes actually happen between people who know each other. A wide body of research finds that 60–80

percent of all rapes and sexual assaults are committed by someone the woman knows, including husbands, ex-

husbands, boyfriends, and ex-boyfriends, and only 20–35 percent by strangers (Barkan, 2012). A woman is thus

two to four times more likely to be raped by someone she knows than by a stranger.

In 2011, sexual assaults of hotel housekeepers made major headlines after the head of the International Monetary

Fund was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper in New York City; the charges were later

dropped because the prosecution worried about the housekeeper’s credibility despite forensic evidence supporting

her claim. Still, in the wake of the arrest, news stories reported that hotel housekeepers sometimes encounter male

guests who commit sexual assault, make explicit comments, or expose themselves. A hotel security expert said in

one news story, “These problems happen with some regularity. They’re not rare, but they’re not common either.”

A housekeeper recalled in the same story an incident when she was vacuuming when a male guest appeared: “[He]

reached to try to kiss me behind my ear. I dropped my vacuum, and then he grabbed my body at the waist, and

he was holding me close. It was very scary.” She ran out of the room when the guest let her leave but did not

call the police. A hotel workers union official said housekeepers often refused to report sexual assault and other

4.4 Violence against Women: Rape and Sexual Assault 173

incidents to the police because they were afraid they would not be believed or that they would get fired if they did

so (Greenhouse, 2011, p. B1).

Explaining Rape and Sexual Assault

Sociological explanations of rape fall into cultural and structural categories similar to those presented earlier for

sexual harassment. Various “rape myths” in our culture support the absurd notion that women somehow enjoy

being raped, want to be raped, or are “asking for it” (Franiuk, Seefelt, & Vandello, 2008). One of the most famous

scenes in movie history occurs in the classic film Gone with the Wind, when Rhett Butler carries a struggling

Scarlett O’Hara up the stairs. She is struggling because she does not want to have sex with him. The next scene

shows Scarlett waking up the next morning with a satisfied, loving look on her face. The not-so-subtle message is

that she enjoyed being raped (or, to be more charitable to the film, was just playing hard to get).

A related cultural belief is that women somehow ask or deserve to be raped by the way they dress or behave. If

she dresses attractively or walks into a bar by herself, she wants to have sex, and if a rape occurs, well, then, what

did she expect? In the award-winning film The Accused, based on a true story, actress Jodie Foster plays a woman

who was raped by several men on top of a pool table in a bar. The film recounts how members of the public

questioned why she was in the bar by herself if she did not want to have sex and blamed her for being raped.

A third cultural belief is that a man who is sexually active with a lot of women is a stud and thus someone admired

by his male peers. Although this belief is less common in this day of AIDS and other STDs, it is still with us. A

man with multiple sex partners continues to be the source of envy among many of his peers. At a minimum, men

are still the ones who have to “make the first move” and then continue making more moves. There is a thin line

between being sexually assertive and sexually aggressive (Kassing, Beesley, & Frey, 2005).

These three cultural beliefs—that women enjoy being forced to have sex, that they ask or deserve to be raped, and

that men should be sexually assertive or even aggressive—combine to produce a cultural recipe for rape. Although

most men do not rape, the cultural beliefs and myths just described help account for the rapes that do occur.

Recognizing this, the contemporary women’s movement began attacking these myths back in the 1970s, and the

public is much more conscious of the true nature of rape than a generation ago. That said, much of the public still

accepts these cultural beliefs and myths, and prosecutors continue to find it difficult to win jury convictions in

rape trials unless the woman who was raped had suffered visible injuries, had not known the man who raped her,

and/or was not dressed attractively (Levine, 2006).

Structural explanations for rape emphasize the power differences between women and men similar to those

outlined earlier for sexual harassment. In societies that are male dominated, rape and other violence against

women is a likely outcome, as they allow men to demonstrate and maintain their power over women. Supporting

this view, studies of preindustrial societies and of the fifty states of the United States find that rape is more

common in societies where women have less economic and political power (Baron & Straus, 1989; Sanday, 1981).

Poverty is also a predictor of rape; although rape in the United States transcends social class boundaries, it does

seem more common among poorer segments of the population than among wealthier segments, as is true for other

types of violence (Truman & Rand, 2010). Scholars think the higher rape rates among the poor stem from poor

174 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

men trying to prove their “masculinity” by taking out their economic frustration on women (Martin, Vieraitis, &

Britto, 2006).

Key Takeaways

• Up to one-third of US women experience a rape or sexual assault, including attempts, in their lifetime.

• Rape and sexual assault result from a combination of structural and cultural factors. In states and nations where women are more unequal, rape rates tend to be higher.

For Your Review

1. What evidence and reasoning indicate that rape and sexual assault are not just the result of psychological problems affecting the men who engage in these crimes?

2. Write a brief essay in which you critically evaluate the cultural beliefs that contribute to rape and sexual assault.

References

Barkan, S. E. (2012). Criminology: A sociological understanding (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Baron, L., & Straus, M. A. (1989). Four theories of rape in American society: A state-level analysis. New Haven,

CT: Yale University Press.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

Fisher, B. S., Cullen, F. T., & Turner, M. G. (2000). The sexual victimization of college women. Washington, DC:

National Institute of Justice.

Franiuk, R., Seefelt, J., & Vandello, J. (2008). Prevalence of rape myths in headlines and their effects on attitudes

toward rape. Sex Roles, 58(11/12), 790–801.

Greenhouse, S. (2011, May 21). Sexual affronts a known hotel hazard. New York Times, p. B1.

Griffin, S. (1971, September). Rape: The all-American crime. Ramparts, 10, 26–35.

Gross, A. M., Winslett, A., Roberts, M., & Gohm, C. L. (2006). An examination of sexual violence against college

women. Violence Against Women, 12, 288–300.

Jerving, S. (2011, March 4). Pennsylvania students protest against sexual violence and administrators respond.

The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/blog/159037/pennsylvania-students-protests-against-

sexual-violence-and-administrators-respond.

4.4 Violence against Women: Rape and Sexual Assault 175

http://www.thenation.com/blog/159037/pennsylvania-students-protests-against-sexual-violence-and-administrators-respond

Kassing, L. R., Beesley, D., & Frey, L. L. (2005). Gender role conflict, homophobia, age, and education as

predictors of male rape myth acceptance. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 27(4), 311–328.

Levine, K. L. (2006). The intimacy discount: Prosecutorial discretion, privacy, and equality in the statuory rape

caseload. Emory Law Journal, 55(4), 691–749.

Martin, K., Vieraitis, L. M., & Britto, S. (2006). Gender equality and women’s absolute status: A test of the

feminist models of rape. Violence Against Women, 12, 321–339.

Pitz, M. (2011, March 6). Dickinson College to change sexual assault policy after sit-in. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Retrieved from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11065/1130102-1130454.stm.

Randall, M., & Haskell, L. (1995). Sexual violence in women’s lives: Findings from the women’s safety project,

a community-based survey. Violence Against Women, 1, 6–31.

Sanday, P. R. (1981). The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape: A Cross-Cultural Study. Journal of Social Issues, 37,

5–27.

Truman, J. L., & Rand, M. R. (2010). Criminal victimization, 2009. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

176 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11065/1130102-1130454.stm

4.5 The Benefits and Costs of Being Male

Learning Objectives

1. List some of the benefits of being male.

2. List some of the costs of being male.

Most of the discussion so far has been about women, and with good reason: In a sexist society such as our own,

women are the subordinate, unequal sex. But gender means more than female, and a few comments about men are

in order.

Benefits

We have already discussed gender differences in occupations and incomes that favor men over women. In a

patriarchal society, men have more wealth than women and more influence in the political and economic worlds

more generally.

Men profit in other ways as well. In Chapter 3 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality”, we talked about white privilege,

or the advantages that whites automatically have in a racist society whether or not they realize they have these

advantages. Many scholars also talk about male privilege, or the advantages that males automatically have in a

patriarchal society whether or not they realize they have these advantages (McIntosh, 2007).

A few examples illustrate male privilege. Men can usually walk anywhere they want or go into any bar they

want without having to worry about being raped or sexually harassed. Susan Griffin was able to write “I have

never been free of the fear of rape” because she was a woman; it is no exaggeration to say that few men could

write the same thing and mean it. Although some men are sexually harassed, most men can work at any job they

want without having to worry about sexual harassment. Men can walk down the street without having strangers

make crude remarks about their looks, dress, and sexual behavior. Men can ride the subway system in large

cities without having strangers grope them, flash them, or rub their bodies against them. Men can apply for most

jobs without worrying about being rejected because of their gender, or, if hired, not being promoted because

of their gender. We could go on with many other examples, but the fact remains that in a patriarchal society,

men automatically have advantages just because they are men, even if race/ethnicity, social class, and sexual

orientation affect the degree to which they are able to enjoy these advantages.

Costs

Yet it is also true that men pay a price for living in a patriarchy. Without trying to claim that men have

it as bad as women, scholars are increasingly pointing to the problems men face in a society that promotes

male domination and traditional standards of masculinity such as assertiveness, competitiveness, and toughness

(Kimmel & Messner, 2010). Socialization into masculinity is thought to underlie many of the emotional problems

men experience, which stem from a combination of their emotional inexpressiveness and reluctance to admit to,

and seek help for, various personal problems (Wong & Rochlen, 2005). Sometimes these emotional problems

build up and explode, as mass shootings by males at schools and elsewhere indicate, or express themselves in

other ways. Compared to girls, for example, boys are much more likely to be diagnosed with emotional disorders,

learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorder, and they are also more likely to commit suicide and to drop out

of high school.

Men experience other problems that put themselves at a disadvantage compared to women. They commit much

more violence than women do and, apart from rape and sexual assault, also suffer a much higher rate of violent

victimization. They die earlier than women and are injured more often. Because men are less involved than

women in child rearing, they also miss out on the joy of parenting that women are much more likely to experience.

Growing recognition of the problems males experience because of their socialization into masculinity has led to

increased concern over what is happening to American boys. Citing the strong linkage between masculinity and

violence, some writers urge parents to raise their sons differently in order to help our society reduce its violent

behavior (Corbett, 2011). In all these respects, boys and men—and our nation as a whole—are paying a very real

price for being male in a patriarchal society.

Key Takeaways

• In a patriarchal society, males automatically have certain advantages, including a general freedom from fear of being raped and sexually assaulted and from experiencing job discrimination on the basis of their gender.

• Men also suffer certain disadvantages from being male, including higher rates of injury, violence, and death and a lower likelihood of experiencing the joy that parenting often brings.

For Your Review

1. What do you think is the most important advantage, privilege, or benefit that men enjoy in the United States? Explain your answer.

2. What do you think is the most significant cost or disadvantage that men experience? Again, explain your answer.

178 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

References

Corbett, K. (2011). Boyhoods: Rethinking masculinities. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Kimmel, M. S., & Messner, M. A. (Eds.). (2010). Men’s lives (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

McIntosh, P. (2007). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondence

through work in women’s studies. In M. L. Andersen & P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, class, and gender: An

anthology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Wong, Y. J., & Rochlen, A. B. (2005). Demystifying men’s emotional behavior: New directions and implications

for counseling and research. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6, 62–72.

4.5 The Benefits and Costs of Being Male 179

4.6 Reducing Gender Inequality

Learning Objectives

1. Describe any three policies or programs that should help reduce gender inequality.

2. Discuss possible ways of reducing rape and sexual assault.

Gender inequality is found in varying degrees in most societies around the world, and the United States is no

exception. Just as racial/ethnic stereotyping and prejudice underlie racial/ethnic inequality (see Chapter 3 “Racial

and Ethnic Inequality”), so do stereotypes and false beliefs underlie gender inequality. Although these stereotypes

and beliefs have weakened considerably since the 1970s thanks in large part to the contemporary women’s

movement, they obviously persist and hamper efforts to achieve full gender equality.

A sociological perspective reminds us that gender inequality stems from a complex mixture of cultural and

structural factors that must be addressed if gender inequality is to be reduced further than it already has been since

the 1970s. Despite changes during this period, children are still socialized from birth into traditional notions of

femininity and masculinity, and gender-based stereotyping incorporating these notions still continues. Although

people should certainly be free to pursue whatever family and career responsibilities they desire, socialization

and stereotyping still combine to limit the ability of girls and boys and women and men alike to imagine less

traditional possibilities. Meanwhile, structural obstacles in the workplace and elsewhere continue to keep women

in a subordinate social and economic status relative to men.

To reduce gender inequality, then, a sociological perspective suggests various policies and measures to address the

cultural and structural factors that help produce gender inequality. These steps might include, but are not limited

to, the following:

1. Reduce socialization by parents and other adults of girls and boys into traditional gender roles.

2. Confront gender stereotyping by the popular and news media.

3. Increase public consciousness of the reasons for, extent of, and consequences of rape and sexual

assault, sexual harassment, and pornography.

4. Increase enforcement of existing laws against gender-based employment discrimination and against

sexual harassment.

5. Increase funding of rape-crisis centers and other services for girls and women who have been raped

and/or sexually assaulted.

6. Increase government funding of high-quality day-care options to enable parents, and especially

mothers, to work outside the home if they so desire, and to do so without fear that their finances or

their children’s well-being will be compromised.

7. Increase mentorship and other efforts to boost the number of women in traditionally male occupations

and in positions of political leadership.

As we consider how best to reduce gender inequality, the impact of the contemporary women’s movement must

be neither forgotten nor underestimated. Since it began in the late 1960s, the women’s movement has generated

important advances for women in almost every sphere of life. Brave women (and some men) challenged the

status quo by calling attention to gender inequality in the workplace, education, and elsewhere, and they brought

rape and sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence into the national consciousness. For gender

inequality to continue to be reduced, it is essential that a strong women’s movement continue to remind us of the

sexism that still persists in American society and the rest of the world.

Reducing Rape and Sexual Assault

As we have seen, gender inequality also manifests itself in the form of violence against women. A sociological

perspective tells us that cultural myths and economic and gender inequality help lead to rape, and that the rape

problem goes far beyond a few psychopathic men who rape women. A sociological perspective thus tells us that

our society cannot just stop at doing something about these men. Instead it must make more far-reaching changes

by changing people’s beliefs about rape and by making every effort to reduce poverty and to empower women.

This last task is especially important, for, as Randall and Haskell (1995, p. 22) observed, a sociological perspective

on rape “means calling into question the organization of sexual inequality in our society.”

Aside from this fundamental change, other remedies, such as additional and better funded rape-crisis centers,

would help women who experience rape and sexual assault. Yet even here women of color face an additional

barrier. Because the antirape movement was begun by white, middle-class feminists, the rape-crisis centers they

founded tended to be near where they live, such as college campuses, and not in the areas where women of color

live, such as inner cities and Native American reservations. This meant that women of color who experienced

sexual violence lacked the kinds of help available to their white, middle-class counterparts (Matthews, 1989), and

despite some progress, this is still true today.

Key Takeaways

• Certain government efforts, including increased financial support for child care, should help reduce gender inequality.

• If gender inequality lessens, rape and sexual assault should decrease as well.

For Your Review

1. To reduce gender inequality, do you think efforts should focus more on changing socialization practices or on changing policies in the workplace and schools? Explain your answer.

4.6 Reducing Gender Inequality 181

2. How hopeful are you that rape and sexual assault will decrease significantly in your lifetime?

References

Matthews, N. A. (1989). Surmounting a legacy: The expansion of racial diversity in a local anti-rape movement.

Gender & Society, 3, 518–532.

Randall, M., & Haskell, L. (1995). Sexual violence in women’s lives: Findings from the women’s safety project,

a community-based survey. Violence Against Women, 1, 6–31.

182 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

4.7 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Sex is a concept that refers to biological differences between females and males, while gender is a concept that refers to a society’s expectations of how females and males should think and behave.

2. In understanding gender differences, scholars continue to debate the value of biological explanations. Biological explanations are provocative but ultimately imply that gender differences are inevitable and that the status quo must be maintained. In contrast, cultural and socialization explanations imply some hope for changing gender roles and for reducing gender inequality.

3. Many studies emphasize that socialization leads children in the United States to adopt the gender roles associated with femininity and masculinity. Parents view and interact with their daughters and sons differently, and children continue to learn their gender roles from their peers, schools, the mass media, and religion.

4. Feminism refers to the belief that women should be equal to men. With feminism defined in this way, many more people hold feminist beliefs than might be willing to admit to it.

5. Gender inequality in the workplace is manifested through the gender gap in earnings and through sexual harassment. Women earn only about 80 percent of what men earn. Several reasons account for this gap, including sex segregation in the workplace, women’s caring roles, the devaluing of women’s work, and outright sex discrimination by employers. Sexual harassment against women is quite common and stems from cultural beliefs about women’s and men’s roles and structural differences in the workplace in power between women and men.

6. Women of color experience a triple burden based on their gender, race/ethnicity, and social class. Even though white women earn less money and are poorer than white men, women of color earn less money and are poorer than white women.

7. Violence against women is another manifestation of gender inequality. Research shows that up to one-third of US women will be raped or sexually assaulted and that about 70–80 percent of their assailants will be men they know.

8. In a patriarchal society men enjoy privileges just for being male, whether or not they recognize these privileges. At the same time, men also experience disadvantages, including violent behavior and victimization and higher rates of certain emotional problems than those experienced by women.

Using What You Know

A friend of yours is working twenty hours per week in a local restaurant during the academic year to earn money for her tuition. She tells you that her manager has pressured her to go out on a date with him and has hinted she could be fired if she refuses. Your friend likes working there otherwise and makes good tips, but she is now dreading having to go to work. With the tight job market, she fears not being able to find other work if she quits, and she’s afraid of being fired or not believed if she complains to state authorities. She asks you what she should do. What do you tell her?

What You Can Do

To help reduce gender inequality, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Contribute money to a local, state, or national organization that provides treatment to adolescent girls with drug, alcohol, or other problems.

2. Volunteer at a rape crisis center or for a rape hotline.

3. Start or join a group on your campus that focuses on gender issues.

4. Start or join a group on your campus or in the local community that focuses on getting middle-school girls more interested in math and the sciences.

184 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Chapter 5: Sexual Orientation and Inequality

Social Problems in the News

“Miami Beach to Fire Two Officers in Gay Beating at Park,” the headline said. City officials in Miami Beach, Florida, announced that the city would fire two police officers accused of beating a gay man two years earlier and kicking and arresting a gay tourist who came to the man’s defense. The tourist said he called 911 when he saw two officers, who were working undercover, beating the man and kicking his head. According to his account, the officers then shouted antigay slurs at him, kicked him, and arrested him on false charges. The president of Miami Beach Gay Pride welcomed the news of the impending firing. “It sets a precedent that you can’t discriminate against anyone and get away with it,” he said. “[The two officers] tried to cover it up and arrested the guy. It’s an abuse of power. Kudos to the city. They’ve taken it seriously.”

Source: Smiley & Rothaus, 2011

From 1933 to 1945, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime exterminated 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, but it also

persecuted millions of other people, including gay men. Nazi officials alleged that these men harbored what

they termed a “degeneracy” that threatened Germany’s “disciplined masculinity.” Calling gay men “antisocial

parasites” and “enemies of the state,” the Nazi government arrested more than 100,000 men for violating a law

against homosexuality, although it did not arrest lesbians because it valued their child-bearing capacity. At least

5,000 gay men were imprisoned, and many more were put in mental institutions. Several hundred other gay men

were castrated, and up to 15,000 were placed in concentration camps, where most died from disease, starvation, or

murder. As the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2011) summarizes these events, “Nazi Germany did

not seek to kill all homosexuals. Nevertheless, the Nazi state, through active persecution, attempted to terrorize

German homosexuals into sexual and social conformity, leaving thousands dead and shattering the lives of many

more.”

This terrible history reminds us that sexual orientation has often resulted in inequality of many kinds, and, in

the extreme case of the Nazis, inhumane treatment that included castration, imprisonment, and death. The news

story that began this chapter makes clear that sexual orientation still results in violence, even if this violence falls

short of what the Nazis did. Although the gay rights movement has achieved much success, sexual orientation

continues to result in other types of inequality as well. This chapter examines the many forms of inequality

linked to sexual orientation today. It begins with a conceptual discussion of sexual orientation before turning to

its history, explanation, types of inequality, and other matters.

References

Smiley, D. & Rothaus, S. (2011, July 25). Miami Beach to fire two officers in gay beating at park. The Miami

Herald. Retrieved from http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2011/07/miami-beach-to-fire-two-cops-

who-beat-falsely-arrested-gay-man-at-flamingo-park.html.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2011). Nazi persecution of homosexuals 1933–1945. Retrieved

August 14, 2011, from http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hsx/.

186 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2011/07/miami-beach-to-fire-two-cops-who-beat-falsely-arrested-gay-man-at-flamingo-park.html

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hsx/

5.1 Understanding Sexual Orientation

Learning Objectives

1. Define sexual orientation and gender identity.

2. Describe what percentage of the US population is estimated to be LGBT.

3. Summarize the history of sexual orientation.

4. Evaluate the possible reasons for sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation refers to a person’s preference for sexual relationships with individuals of the other sex

(heterosexuality), one’s own sex (homosexuality), or both sexes (bisexuality). The term also increasingly refers

to transgender (also transgendered) individuals, those whose behavior, appearance, and/or gender identity (the

personal conception of oneself as female, male, both, or neither) departs from conventional norms. Transgendered

individuals include transvestites (those who dress in the clothing of the opposite sex) and transsexuals (those

whose gender identity differs from their physiological sex and who sometimes undergo a sex change). A

transgender woman is a person who was born biologically as a male and becomes a woman, while a transgender

man is a person who was born biologically as a woman and becomes a man. As you almost certainly know,

gay is the common term now used for any homosexual individual; gay men or gays is the common term

used for homosexual men, while lesbian is the common term used for homosexual women. All the types of

social orientation just outlined are often collectively referred to by the shorthand LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/

transgender). As you almost certainly also know, the term straight is used today as a synonym for heterosexual.

Counting Sexual Orientation

We will probably never know precisely how many people are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered. One

problem is conceptual. For example, what does it mean to be gay or lesbian? Does one need to actually have

sexual relations with a same-sex partner to be considered gay? What if someone is attracted to same-sex partners

but does not actually engage in sex with such persons? What if someone identifies as heterosexual but engages

in homosexual sex for money (as in certain forms of prostitution) or for power and influence (as in much prison

sex)? These conceptual problems make it difficult to determine the extent of homosexuality (Gates, 2011).

It is difficult for several reasons to know exactly how many people are LGBT.

thaths – A gay couple watching the parade – CC BY-NC 2.0.

A second problem is empirical. Even if we can settle on a definition of homosexuality, how do we then determine

how many people fit this definition? For better or worse, our best evidence of the number of gays and lesbians

in the United States comes from surveys that ask random samples of Americans various questions about their

sexuality. Although these are anonymous surveys, some individuals may be reluctant to disclose their sexual

activity and thoughts to an interviewer. Still, scholars think that estimates from these surveys are fairly accurate

but also that they probably underestimate by at least a small amount the number of gays and lesbians.

During the 1940s and 1950s, sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey carried out the first notable attempt to estimate the

number of gays and lesbians (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948; Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, & Gebhard, 1953).

His project interviewed more than 11,000 white women and men about their sexual experiences, thoughts, and

attractions, with each subject answering hundreds of questions. While most individuals had experiences and

feelings that were exclusively heterosexual, a significant number had experiences and feelings that were either

exclusively homosexual or both heterosexual and homosexual in varying degrees. These findings led Kinsey

to reject the popular idea back then that a person is necessarily either heterosexual or homosexual (or straight

or gay, to use the common modern terms). As he wrote, “It is a characteristic of the human mind that tries to

dichotomize in its classification of phenomena…Sexual behavior is either normal or abnormal, socially acceptable

or unacceptable, heterosexual or homosexual; and many persons do not want to believe that there are gradations

in these matters from one to the other extreme” (Kinsey et al., 1953, p. 469). Perhaps Kinsey’s most significant

and controversial finding was that gradations did, in fact, exist between being exclusively heterosexual on the one

hand and exclusively homosexual on the other hand. To reflect these gradations, he developed the well-known

Kinsey Scale, which ranks individuals on a continuum ranging from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively

homosexual).

188 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.1.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thaths/617964709/

In terms of specific numbers, Kinsey found that (a) 37 percent of males and 13 percent of females had had at least

one same-sex experience; (b) 10 percent of males had mostly homosexual experiences between the ages of 16 and

55, while up to 6 percent of females had mostly homosexual experiences between the ages of 20 and 35; (c) 4

percent of males were exclusively homosexual after adolescence began, compared to 1–3 percent of females; and

(d) 46 percent of males either had engaged in both heterosexual and homosexual experiences or had been attracted

to persons of both sexes, compared to 14 percent of females.

An estimated 3.8 percent of the US adult population identifies as LGBT. This figure amounts to about 9 million people.

Nathan Rupert – Crazy fun loving lesbian couple – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

More recent research updates Kinsey’s early findings and, more important, uses nationally representative samples

of Americans (which Kinsey did not use). In general, this research suggests that Kinsey overstated the numbers of

Americans who have had same-sex experiences and/or attractions. A widely cited survey carried out in the early

1990s by researchers at the University of Chicago found that 2.8 percent of men and 1.4 percent of women self-

identified as gay/lesbian or bisexual, with greater percentages reporting having had sexual relations with same-

sex partners or being attracted to same-sex persons (see Table 5.1 “Prevalence of Homosexuality in the United

States”). In the 2010 General Social Survey (GSS), 1.8 percent of men and 3.3 percent of women self-identified

as gay/lesbian or bisexual. In the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) conducted by the federal

5.1 Understanding Sexual Orientation 189

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.1.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/23855562645/

government (Chandra, Mosher, Copen, & Sionean, 2011), 2.8 percent of men self-identified as gay or bisexual,

compared to 4.6 percent of women (ages 18–44 for both sexes).

Table 5.1 Prevalence of Homosexuality in the United States

Activity, attraction, or identity Men (%) Women (%)

Find same-sex sexual relations appealing 4.5 5.6

Attracted to people of same sex 6.2 4.4

Identify as gay or bisexual 2.8 1.4

At least one sex partner of same sex during past year among those sexually active 2.7 1.3

At least one sex partner of same sex since turning 18 4.9 4.1

Source: Data from Laumann, E. O., Gagnon, J. H., Michael, R. T., & Michaels, S. (1994). The social organization of sexuality. Chicago, IL:

University of Chicago Press.

These are all a lot of numbers, but demographer Gary J. Gates (2011) drew on the most recent national survey

evidence to come up with the following estimates for adults 18 and older:

• 3.5 percent of Americans identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and 0.3 percent are transgender; these

figures add up to 3.8 percent of Americans, or 9 million people, who are LGBT.

• 3.4 percent of women and 3.6 percent of men identify as LGB.

• 66.7 percent of LGB women identify as bisexual, and 33.3 percent identify as lesbian; 33.3 percent of

LGB men identify as bisexual, and 66.7 percent identify as gay. LGB women are thus twice as likely

as LGB men to identify as bisexual.

• 8.2 percent of Americans, or 19 million people, have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior, with

women twice as likely as men to have done so.

• 11 percent of Americans, or 25.6 million people, report having some same-sex sexual attraction, with

women twice as likely as men to report such attraction.

The overall picture from these estimates is clear: Self-identified LGBT people comprise only a small percentage of

the US population, but they amount to about 9 million adults and undoubtedly a significant number of adolescents.

In addition, the total number of people who, regardless of their sexual orientation, have had a same-sex experience

is probably at least 19 million, and the number who have had same-sex attraction is probably at least 25 million.

Sexual Orientation in Historical Perspective

Based on what is known about homosexuality in past societies, it should be no surprise that so many people

in the United States identify as gay/lesbian or have had same-sex experiences. This historical record is clear:

Homosexuality has existed since ancient times and in some societies has been rather common or at least fully

accepted as a normal form of sexual expression.

190 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

In the great city of Athens in ancient Greece, male homosexuality (to be more precise, sexual relations between a

man and a teenaged boy and, less often, between a man and a man) was not only approved but even encouraged.

According to classical scholar K. J. Dover (1989, p. 12), Athenian society “certainly regarded strong homosexual

desire and emotion as normal,” in part because it also generally “entertained a low opinion of the intellectual

capacity and staying-power of women.” Louis Crompton (2003, p. 2), who wrote perhaps the definitive history of

homosexuality, agrees that male homosexuality in ancient Greece was common and notes that “in Greek history

and literature…the abundance of accounts of homosexual love overwhelms the investigator.” He adds,

Greek lyric poets sing of male love from almost the earliest fragments down to the end of classical times…Vase-painters

portray scores of homoerotic scenes, hundreds of inscriptions celebrate the love of boys, and such affairs enter into the lives of

a long catalogue of famous Greek statesmen, warriors, artists, and authors. Though it has often been assumed that the love of

males was a fashion confined to a small intellectual elite during the age of Plato, in fact it was pervasive throughout all levels

of Greek society and held an honored place in Greek culture for more than a thousand years, that is, from before 600 B.C.E. to

about 400 C.E.

Male homosexuality in ancient Rome was also common and accepted as normal sexuality, but it took a different

form from than in ancient Greece. Ancient Romans disapproved of sexual relations between a man and a freeborn

male youth, but they approved of relations between a slave master and his youthful male slave. Sexual activity of

this type was common. As Crompton (2003, p. 80) wryly notes, “Opportunities were ample for Roman masters”

because slaves comprised about 40 percent of the population of ancient Rome. However, these “opportunities” are

best regarded as violent domination by slave masters over their slaves.

By the time Rome fell in 476 CE, Europe had become a Christian continent. Influenced by several passages in the

Bible that condemn homosexuality, Europeans considered homosexuality a sin, and their governments outlawed

same-sex relations. If discovered, male homosexuals (or any men suspected of homosexuality) were vulnerable

to execution for the next fourteen centuries, and many did lose their lives. During the Middle Ages, gay men and

lesbians were stoned, burned at the stake, hanged, or beheaded, and otherwise abused and mistreated. Crompton

(2003, p. 539) calls these atrocities a “routine of terror” and a “kaleidoscope of horrors.” Hitler’s persecution of

gay men several centuries after the Middle Ages ended had ample precedent in European history.

In contrast to the European treatment of gay men and lesbians, China and Japan from ancient times onward viewed

homosexuality much more positively in what Crompton (2003, p. 215) calls an “unselfconscious acceptance

of same-sex relations.” He adds that male love in Japan during the 1500s was “a national tradition—one the

Japanese thought natural and meritorious” (Crompton, 2003, p. 412) and very much part of the samurai (military

nobility) culture of preindustrial Japan. In China, both male and female homosexuality were seen as normal

and even healthy sexual outlets. Because Confucianism, the major Chinese religion when the Common Era

began, considered women inferior, it considered male friendships very important and thus may have unwittingly

promoted same-sex relations among men. Various artistic and written records indicate that male homosexuality

was fairly common in China over the centuries, although the exact numbers can never be known. When China

began trading and otherwise communicating with Europe during the Ming dynasty, its tolerance for homosexuality

shocked and disgusted Catholic missionaries and other Europeans. Some European clergy and scientists even

blamed earthquakes and other natural disasters in China on this tolerance.

In addition to this body of work by historians, anthropologists have also studied same-sex relations in small,

5.1 Understanding Sexual Orientation 191

traditional societies. In many of these societies, homosexuality is both common and accepted as normal sexual

behavior. In one overview of seventy-six societies, the authors found that almost two-thirds regarded

homosexuality as “normal and socially acceptable for certain members of the community” (Ford & Beach, 1951,

p. 130). Among the Azande of East Africa, for example, young warriors live with each other and are not allowed

to marry. During this time, they often have sex with younger boys. Among the Sambia of New Guinea, young

males live separately from females and have same-sex relations for at least a decade. It is felt that the boys would

be less masculine if they continued to live with their mothers and that the semen of older males helps young boys

become strong and fierce (Edgerton, 1976).

This brief historical and anthropological overview provides ready evidence of what was said at its outset:

Homosexuality has existed since ancient times and in some societies has been rather common or at least fully

accepted as a normal form of sexual expression. Although Western society, influenced by the Judeo-Christian

tradition, has largely condemned homosexuality since Western civilization began some 2,000 years ago, the great

civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient China and Japan until the industrial age approved of homosexuality.

In these civilizations, male homosexuality was fairly common, and female homosexuality was far from unknown.

Same-sex relations are also fairly common in many of the societies that anthropologists have studied. Although

Western societies have long considered homosexuality sinful and unnatural and more generally have viewed it

very negatively, the historical and anthropological record demonstrates that same-sex relationships are far from

rare. They thus must objectively be regarded as normal expressions of sexuality.

In fact, some of the most famous individuals in Western political, literary, and artistic history certainly or probably

engaged in same-sex relations, either sometimes or exclusively: Alexander the Great, Hans Christian Andersen,

Marie Antoinette, Aristotle, Sir Francis Bacon, James Baldwin, Leonard Bernstein, Lord Byron, Julius Caesar,

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick the Great, Leonardo de Vinci, Herman Melville, Michelangelo, Plato, Cole

Porter, Richard the Lionhearted, Eleanor Roosevelt, Socrates, Gertrude Stein, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Henry David

Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde, and Virginia Woolf, to name just a few. Regardless or

perhaps in some cases because of their sexuality, they all made great contributions to the societies in which they

lived.

Explaining Sexual Orientation

We have seen that it is difficult to determine the number of people who are gay/lesbian or bisexual. It is even more

difficult to determine why some people have these sexual orientations while most do not, and scholars disagree

on the “causes” of sexual orientation (Engle, McFalls, Gallagher, & Curtis, 2006; Sheldon, Pfeffer, Jayaratne,

Feldbaum, & Petty, 2007). Determining the origins of sexual orientation is not just an academic exercise. When

people believe that the roots of homosexuality are biological or that gays otherwise do not choose to be gay,

they are more likely to have positive or at least tolerant views of same-sex behavior. When they believe that

homosexuality is instead merely a personal choice, they are more likely to disapprove of it (Sheldon et al., 2007).

For this reason if for no other, it is important to know why some people are gay or bisexual while most are not.

Studies of the origins of sexual orientation focus mostly on biological factors and on social and cultural factors,

and a healthy scholarly debate exists on the relative importance of these two sets of factors.

192 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Biological Factors

Research points to certain genetic and other biological roots of sexual orientation but is by no means conclusive.

One line of research concerns genetics. Although no “gay gene” has been discovered, studies of identical twins

find they are more likely to have the same sexual orientation (gay or straight) than would be expected from chance

alone (Kendler, Thornton, Gilman, & Kessler, 2000; Santtila et al., 2008). Because identical twins have the same

DNA, this similarity suggests, but does not prove, a genetic basis for sexual orientation. Keep in mind, however,

that any physical or behavioral trait that is totally due to genetics should show up in both twins or in neither twin.

Because many identical twins do not have the same sexual orientation, this dissimilarity suggests that genetics are

far from the only cause of sexual orientation, to the extent they cause it at all. Several methodological problems

also cast doubt on findings from many of these twin studies. A recent review concluded that the case for a genetic

cause of sexual orientation is far from proven: “Findings from genetic studies of homosexuality in humans have

been confusing—contradictory at worst and tantalizing at best—with no clear, strong, compelling

Despite scholarly speculation, sexual orientation does not appear to be affected by the level of prenatal hormones.

il-young ko – pregnant – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Another line of research concerns brain anatomy, as some studies find differences in the size and structure of

the hypothalamus, which controls many bodily functions, in the brains of gays versus the brains of straights

(Allen & Gorski, 1992). However, other studies find no such differences (Lasco, Jordan, Edgar, Petito, & Byne,

2002). Complicating matters further, because sexual behavior can affect the hypothalamus (Breedlove, 1997), it

is difficult to determine whether any differences that might be found reflect the influence of the hypothalamus on

sexual orientation, or instead the influence of sexual orientation on the hypothalamus (Sheldon et al., 2007).

A third line of biological research concerns hormonal balance in the womb, with scientists speculating that the

level of prenatal androgen affects which sexual orientation develops. Because prenatal androgen levels cannot be

5.1 Understanding Sexual Orientation 193

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.1.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilyoungko/6175321766/

measured, studies typically measure it only indirectly in the bodies of gays and straights by comparing the lengths

of certain fingers and bones that are thought to be related to prenatal androgen. Some of these studies suggest that

gay men had lower levels of prenatal androgen than straight men and that lesbians had higher levels of prenatal

androgen than straight women, but other studies find no evidence of this connection (Martin & Nguyen, 2004;

Mustanski, Chivers, & Bailey, 2002). A recent review concluded that the results of the hormone studies are “often

inconsistent” and that “the notion that non-heterosexual preferences may reflect [deviations from normal prenatal

hormonal levels] is not supported by the available data” (Rahman, 2005, p. 1057).

Social and Cultural Factors

Sociologists usually emphasize the importance of socialization over biology for the learning of many forms of

human behavior. In this view, humans are born with “blank slates” and thereafter shaped by their society and

culture, and children are shaped by their parents, teachers, peers, and other aspects of their immediate social

environment while they are growing up.

Given this standard sociological position, one might think that sociologists generally believe that people are gay

or straight not because of their biology but because they learn to be gay or straight from their society, culture, and

immediate social environment. This, in fact, was a common belief of sociologists about a generation ago (Engle

et al., 2006). In a 1988 review article, two sociologists concluded that “evidence that homosexuality is a social

construction [learned from society and culture] is far more powerful than the evidence for a widespread organic

[biological] predisposition toward homosexual desire” (Risman & Schwartz, 1988, p. 143). The most popular

introductory sociology text of the era similarly declared, “Many people, including some homosexuals, believe

that gays and lesbians are simply ‘born that way.’ But since we know that even heterosexuals are not ‘born that

way,’ this explanation seems unlikely…Homosexuality, like any other sexual behavior ranging from oral sex to

sadomasochism to the pursuit of brunettes, is learned” (Robertson, 1987, p. 243).

However, sociologists’ views of the origins of sexual orientation have apparently changed since these passages

were written. In a recent national survey of a random sample of sociologists, 22 percent said male homosexuality

results from biological factors, 38 percent said it results from both biological and environmental (learning) factors,

and 39 percent said it results from environmental factors (Engle et al., 2006). Thus 60 percent (= 22 + 38) thought

that biology totally or partly explains male homosexuality, almost certainly a much higher figure than would have

been found a generation ago had a similar survey been done.

In this regard, it is important to note that 77 percent (= 38 + 39) of the sociologists still feel that environmental

factors, or socialization, matter as well. Scholars who hold this view believe that sexual orientation is partly or

totally learned from one’s society, culture, and immediate social environment. In this way of thinking, we learn

“messages” from all these influences about whether it is OK or not OK to be sexually attracted to someone from

our own sex and/or to someone from the opposite sex. If we grow up with positive messages about same-sex

attraction, we are more likely to acquire this attraction. If we grow up with negative messages about same-sex

attraction, we are less likely to acquire it and more likely to have heterosexual desire.

It is difficult to do the necessary type of research to test whether socialization matters in this way, but the historical

and cross-cultural evidence discussed earlier provides at least some support for this process. Homosexuality was

194 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

generally accepted in ancient Greece, ancient China, and ancient Japan, and it also seemed rather common in those

societies. The same connection holds true in many of the societies that anthropologists have studied. In contrast,

homosexuality was condemned in Europe from the very early part of the first millennium CE, and it seems to have

been rather rare (although it is very possible that many gays hid their sexual orientation for fear of persecution

and death).

So where does this leave us? What are the origins of sexual orientation? The most honest answer is that we do

not yet know its origins. As we have seen, many scholars attribute sexual orientation to still unknown biological

factor(s) over which individuals have no control, just as individuals do not decide whether they are left-handed

or right-handed. Supporting this view, many gays say they realized they were gay during adolescence, just as

straights would say they realized they were straight during their own adolescence; moreover, evidence (from toy,

play, and clothing preferences) of future sexual orientation even appears during childhood (Rieger, Linsenmeier,

Bailey, & Gygax, 2008). Other scholars say that sexual orientation is at least partly influenced by cultural norms,

so that individuals are more likely to identify as gay or straight and be attracted to their same sex or opposite sex

depending on the cultural views of sexual orientation into which they are socialized as they grow up. At best,

perhaps all we can say is that sexual orientation stems from a complex mix of biological and cultural factors that

remain to be determined.

The official stance of the American Psychological Association (APA) is in line with this view. According

to the APA, “There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a

heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic,

hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that

permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think

that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their

sexual orientation” (American Psychological Association, 2008, p. 2).

Although the exact origins of sexual orientation remain unknown, the APA’s last statement is perhaps the most

important conclusion from research on this issue: Most people experience little or no sense of choice about their

sexual orientation. Because, as mentioned earlier, people are more likely to approve of or tolerate homosexuality

when they believe it is not a choice, efforts to educate the public about this research conclusion should help the

public become more accepting of LGBT behavior and individuals.

Key Takeaways

• An estimated 3.8 percent, or 9 million, Americans identify as LGBT.

• Homosexuality seems to have been fairly common and very much accepted in some ancient societies as well as in many societies studied by anthropologists.

• Scholars continue to debate the extent to which sexual orientation stems more from biological factors or from social and cultural factors and the extent to which sexual orientation is a choice or not a choice.

5.1 Understanding Sexual Orientation 195

For Your Review

1. Do you think sexual orientation is a choice, or not? Explain your answer.

2. Write an essay that describes how your middle school and high school friends talked about sexual orientation generally and homosexuality specifically.

References

Allen, L. S., & Gorski, R. A. (1992). Sexual orientation and the size of the anterior commissure in the human

brain. PNAS, 89, 7199–7202.

American Psychological Association. (2008). Answers to your questions: For a better understanding of sexual

orientation and homosexuality. Washington, DC: Author.

Breedlove, M. S. (1997). Sex on the brain. Nature, 389, 801.

Chandra, A., Mosher, W. D., Copen, C., & Sionean, C. (2011). Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual

identity in the United States: Data from the 2006–2008 national survey of family growth (National Health

Statistics Reports: Number 36). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr036.pdf.

Crompton, L. (2003). Homosexuality and civilization. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

Dover, K. J. (1989). Greek homosexuality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Edgerton, R. (1976). Deviance: A cross-cultural perspective. Menlo Park, CA: Cummings Publishing.

Engle, M. J., McFalls, J. A., Jr., Gallagher, B. J., III, & Curtis, K. (2006). The attitudes of American sociologists

toward causal theories of male homosexuality. The American Sociologist, 37(1), 68–76.

Ford, C. S., & Beach, F. A. (1951). Patterns of sexual behavior. New York: Harper and Row.

Gates, G. J. (2011). How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender? Los Angeles, CA: Williams

Institute.

Kendler, K. S., Thornton, L. M., Gilman, S. E., & Kessler, R. C. (2000). Sexual orientation in a US national

sample of twin and nontwin sibling pairs. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1843–1846.

Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia, PA: W.

B. Saunders.

Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., Martin, C. E., & Gebhard, P. H. (1953). Sexual behavior in the human female.

Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders.

196 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr036.pdf

Lasco, M. A., Jordan, T. J., Edgar, M. A., Petito, C. K., & Byne, W. (2002). A lack of dimporphism of sex or

sexual orientation in the human anterior commissure. Brain Research, 986, 95–98.

Martin, J. T., & Nguyen, D. H. (2004). Anthropometric analysis of homosexuals and heterosexuals: Implications

for early hormone exposure. Hormones and Behavior, 45, 31–39.

Mustanski, B. S., Chivers, M. L., & Bailey, J. M. (2002). A critical review of recent biological research on human

sexual orientation. Annual Review of Sex Research, 13, 89–140.

Rahman, Q. (2005). The neurodevelopment of human sexual orientation. Neuroscience Biobehavioral Review,

29(7), 1057–1066.

Rieger, G., Linsenmeier, J. A. W., Bailey, J. M., & Gygax, L. (2008). Sexual orientation and childhood gender

nonconformity: Evidence from home videos. Developmental Psychology, 44(1), 46–58.

Risman, B., & Schwartz, P. (1988). Sociological research on male and female homosexuality. Annual Review of

Sociology, 14, 125–147.

Robertson, I. (1987). Sociology. New York, NY: Worth.

Santtila, P., Sandnabba, N. K., Harlaar, N., Varjonen, M., Alanko, K., & Pahlen, B. v. d. (2008). Potential for

homosexual response is prevalent and genetic. Biological Psychology, 77, 102–105.

Sheldon, J. P., Pfeffer, C. A., Jayaratne, T. E., Feldbaum, M., & Petty, E. M. (2007). Beliefs about the etiology of

homosexuality and about the ramifications of discovering its possible genetic origin. Journal of Homosexuality,

52(3/4), 111–150.

5.1 Understanding Sexual Orientation 197

5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the extent and correlates of heterosexism.

2. Understand the nature of public opinion on other issues related to sexual orientation.

3. Describe how views about LGBT issues have changed since a few decades ago.

As noted earlier, views about gays and lesbians have certainly been very negative over the centuries in the areas of

the world, such as Europe and the Americas, that mostly follow the Judeo-Christian tradition. There is no question

that the Bible condemns homosexuality, with perhaps the most quoted Biblical passages in this regard found in

Leviticus:

• “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable” (Leviticus 18:22).

• “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They

must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads” (Leviticus 20:13).

The Bible contains several passages that appear to condemn homosexuality.

Sean MacEntee – Bible – CC BY 2.0.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.2.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5994051110/

The important question, though, is to what extent these passages should be interpreted literally. Certainly very

few people today believe that male homosexuals should be executed, despite what Leviticus 20:13 declares. Still,

many people who condemn homosexuality cite passages like Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13 as reasons for

their negative views.

This is not a theology text, but it is appropriate to mention briefly two points that many religious scholars

make about what the Bible says about homosexuality (Helminiak, 2000; Via & Gagnon, 2003). First, English

translations of the Bible’s antigay passages may distort their original meanings, and various contextual studies of

the Bible suggest that these passages did not, in fact, make blanket condemnations about homosexuality.

Second, and perhaps more important, most people “pick and choose” what they decide to believe from the Bible

and what they decide not to believe. Although the Bible is a great source of inspiration for many people, most

individuals are inconsistent when it comes to choosing which Biblical beliefs to believe and about which beliefs

not to believe. For example, if someone chooses to disapprove of homosexuality because the Bible condemns

it, why does this person not also choose to believe that gay men should be executed, which is precisely what

Leviticus 20:13 dictates? Further, the Bible calls for many practices and specifies many penalties that even very

devout people do not follow or believe. For example, most people except for devout Jews do not keep kosher,

even though the Bible says that everyone should do this, and most people certainly do not believe people who

commit adultery, engage in premarital sex, or work on the Sabbath should be executed, even though the Bible says

that such people should be executed. Citing the inconsistency with which most people follow Biblical commands,

many religious scholars say it is inappropriate to base public views about homosexuality on what the Bible says

about it.

We now turn our attention to social science evidence on views about LGBT behavior and individuals. We first

look at negative attitudes and then discuss a few other views.

The Extent of Heterosexism in the United States

We saw in earlier chapters that racism refers to negative views about, and practices toward, people of color, and

that sexism refers to negative views about, and practices toward, women. Heterosexism is the analogous term for

negative views about, and discriminatory practices toward, LGBT individuals and their sexual behavior.

There are many types of negative views about LGBT and thus many ways to measure heterosexism. The General

Social Survey (GSS), given regularly to a national sample of US residents, asks whether respondents think that

“sexual relations between two adults of the same sex” are always wrong, almost always wrong, sometimes wrong,

or not wrong at all. In 2010, almost 46 percent of respondents said same-sex relations are “always wrong,” and

43 percent responded they are “not wrong at all” (see Figure 5.1 “Opinion about “Sexual Relations between Two

Adults of the Same Sex,” 2010”).

Figure 5.1 Opinion about “Sexual Relations between Two Adults of the Same Sex,” 2010

5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation 199

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

As another way of measuring heterosexism, the Gallup poll asks whether “gay or lesbian relations” are “morally

acceptable or morally wrong” (Gallup, 2011). In 2011, 56 percent of Gallup respondents answered “morally

acceptable,” while 39 percent replied “morally wrong.”

Although Figure 5.1 “Opinion about “Sexual Relations between Two Adults of the Same Sex,” 2010” shows

that 57.3 percent of Americans (= 45.7 + 3.7 + 7.9) think that same-sex relations are at least sometimes wrong,

public views regarding LGBT have notably become more positive over the past few decades. We can see evidence

of this trend in Figure 5.2 “Changes in Opinion about “Sexual Relations between Two Adults of the Same

Sex,” 1973–2010”, which shows that the percentage of GSS respondents who say same-sex relations are “always

wrong” has dropped considerably since the GSS first asked this question in 1973, while the percentage who

respond “not wrong at all” has risen considerably, with both these changes occurring since the early 1990s.

Figure 5.2 Changes in Opinion about “Sexual Relations between Two Adults of the Same Sex,” 1973–2010

200 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/f9a250106d2ca133185ad48146a9a863.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/2b60a1f60b779b94d7d50509a990c013.jpg

Source: Data from General Social Surveys. (1973–2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Trends in Gallup data confirm that public views regarding homosexuality have become more positive in recent

times. Recall that 56 percent of Gallup respondents in 2011 called same-sex relations “morally acceptable,”

while 39 percent replied “morally wrong.” Ten years earlier, these percentages were 40 percent and 53 percent,

respectively, representing a marked shift in public opinion in just a decade.

Correlates of Heterosexism

Scholars have investigated the sociodemographic factors that predict heterosexist attitudes. Reflecting the

sociological axiom that our social backgrounds influence our attitudes and behavior, several aspects of our social

backgrounds influence views about gays and lesbians. Among the most influential of these factors are gender, age,

education, region of residence, and religion. We can illustrate each of these influences with the GSS question on

whether same-sex relations are wrong, using the response “always wrong” as a measure of heterosexism.

• Gender. Men are somewhat more heterosexist than women (see part a of Figure 5.3 “Correlates of

Heterosexism (Percentage Saying That Same-Sex Relations Are “Always Wrong”)”).

• Age. Older people are considerably more heterosexist than younger people (see part b of Figure 5.3

“Correlates of Heterosexism (Percentage Saying That Same-Sex Relations Are “Always Wrong”)”).

• Education. Less educated people are considerably more heterosexist than more educated people (see

part c of Figure 5.3 “Correlates of Heterosexism (Percentage Saying That Same-Sex Relations Are

“Always Wrong”)”).

• Region of residence. Southerners are more heterosexist than non-Southerners (see part d ofFigure 5.3

“Correlates of Heterosexism (Percentage Saying That Same-Sex Relations Are “Always Wrong”)”).

• Religion. Religious people are considerably more heterosexist than less religious people (see part e of

Figure 5.3 “Correlates of Heterosexism (Percentage Saying That Same-Sex Relations Are “Always

Wrong”)”).

Figure 5.3 Correlates of Heterosexism (Percentage Saying That Same-Sex Relations Are “Always Wrong”)

5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation 201

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/b232be46ca85aca6828d513c60f2fb87.jpg

202 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation 203

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/382ffb7380bedcff5a8fdcbdf9369ab9.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.2.1.jpg

Because young people are especially likely to be accepting of homosexuality, attitudes about LGBT issues should continue to improve

as the older population passes away.

hepingting – CB106492 – CC BY-SA 2.0.

The age difference in heterosexism is perhaps particularly interesting. Many studies find that young people—those

younger than 30—are especially accepting of homosexuality and of same-sex marriage. As older people, who

have more negative views, pass away, it is likely that public opinion as a whole will become more accepting of

homosexuality and issues related to it. Scholars think this trend will further the legalization of same-sex marriage

and the establishment of other laws and policies that will reduce the discrimination and inequality that the LGBT

community experiences (Gelman, Lax, & Phillips, 2010).

Opinion on the Origins of Sexual Orientation

Earlier we discussed scholarly research on the origins of sexual orientation. In this regard, it is interesting to note

that the US public is rather split over the issue of whether sexual orientation is in-born or instead the result of

environmental factors, and also over the closely related issue of whether it is something people are able to choose.

A 2011 Gallup poll asked, “In your view, is being gay or lesbian something a person is born with, or due to factors

such as upbringing and environment?” (Jones, 2011). Forty percent of respondents replied that sexual orientation

is in-born, while 42 percent said it stems from upbringing and/or environment. The 40 percent in-born figure

represented a sharp increase from the 13 percent figure that Gallup obtained when it first asked this question in

1977. A 2010 CBS News poll, asked, “Do you think being homosexual is something people choose to be, or do

you think it is something they cannot change?” (CBS News, 2010). About 36 percent of respondents replied that

homosexuality is a choice, while 51 percent said it is something that cannot be changed, with the remainder saying

they did not know or providing no answer. The 51 percent “cannot change” figure represented an increase from

the 43 percent figure that CBS News obtained when it first asked this question in 1993.

Other Views

The next section discusses several issues that demonstrate inequality based on sexual orientation. Because these

issues are so controversial, public opinion polls have included many questions about them. We examine public

views on some of these issues in this section.

A first issue is same-sex marriage. The 2010 GSS asked whether respondents agree that “homosexual couples

should have the right to marry one another”: 53.3 percent of respondents who expressed an opinion agreed with

this statement, and 46.7 percent disagreed, indicating a slight majority in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage

(SDA, 2010). In 2011, an ABC News/Washington Post poll asked about same-sex marriage in a slightly different

way: “Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?” A majority, 51

percent, of respondents replied “legal,” and 45 percent replied “illegal” (Langer, 2011). Although only bare

majorities now favor legalizing same-sex marriage, public views on this issue have become much more positive

in recent years. We can see dramatic evidence of this trend in Figure 5.4 “Changes in Opinion about Same-Sex

Marriage, 1988–2010 (Percentage Agreeing That Same-Sex Couples Should Have the Right to Marry; Those

204 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57570482@N06/5299266966/

Expressing No Opinion Excluded from Analysis)”, which shows that the percentage agreeing with the GSS

question on the right of same-sex couples to marry has risen considerably during the past quarter-century.

Figure 5.4 Changes in Opinion about Same-Sex Marriage, 1988–2010 (Percentage Agreeing That Same-Sex Couples Should Have

the Right to Marry; Those Expressing No Opinion Excluded from Analysis)

Source: Data from General Social Surveys. (1988–2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

In a related topic, public opinion about same-sex couples as parents has also become more favorable in recent

years. In 2007, 50 percent of the public said that the increasing number of same-sex couples raising children was

“a bad thing” for society. By 2011, this figure had declined to 35 percent, a remarkable decrease in just four years

(Pew Research Center, 2011).

A second LGBT issue that has aroused public debate involves the right of gays and lesbians to serve in the

military, which we discuss further later in this chapter. A 2010 ABC News/Washington Post poll asked whether

“gays and lesbians who do not publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the military”

(Mokrzycki, 2010). About 83 percent of respondents replied they “should be allowed,” up considerably from the

63 percent figure that this poll obtained when it first asked this question in 1993 (Saad, 2008).

A third issue involves the right of gays and lesbians to be free from job discrimination based on their sexual

orientation, as federal law does not prohibit such discrimination. A 2008 Gallup poll asked whether “homosexuals

should or should not have equal rights in terms of job opportunities.” About 89 percent of respondents replied that

there “should be” such rights, and only 8 percent said there “should not be” such rights. The 89 percent figure

represented a large increase from the 56 percent figure that Gallup obtained in 1977 when Gallup first asked this

question.

Two Brief Conclusions on Public Attitudes

We have had limited space to discuss public views on LGBT topics, but two brief conclusions are apparent

from the discussion. First, although the public remains sharply divided on various LGBT issues and much of the

public remains heterosexist, views about LGBT behavior and certain rights of the LGBT community have become

markedly more positive in recent decades. This trend matches what we saw in earlier chapters regarding views

5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation 205

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/bd5496a07bfad40db17c779335cfafb8.jpg

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/poll_gays_lesbians_060910.pdf

concerning people of color and women. The United States has without question become less racist, less sexist,

and less heterosexist since the 1970s.

Second, certain aspects of people’s sociodemographic backgrounds influence the extent to which they do, or

do not, hold heterosexist attitudes. This conclusion is not surprising, as sociology has long since demonstrated

that social backgrounds influence many types of attitudes and behaviors, but the influence we saw earlier of

sociodemographic factors on heterosexism was striking nonetheless. These factors would no doubt also be

relevant for understanding differences in views on other LGBT issues. As you think about your own views,

perhaps you can recognize why you might hold these views based on your gender, age, education, and other

aspects of your social background.

Key Takeaways

• Views about LGBT behavior have improved markedly since a generation ago. More than half the US public now supports same-sex marriage.

• Males, older people, the less educated, Southerners, and the more religious exhibit higher levels of heterosexism than their counterparts.

For Your Review

1. Reread this section and indicate how you would have responded to every survey question discussed in the section. Drawing on the discussion of correlates of heterosexism, explain how knowing about these correlates helps you understand why you hold your own views.

2. Why do you think public opinion about LGBT behavior and issues has become more positive during the past few decades?

References

CBS News. (2010, June 9). CBS News poll: Views of gays and lesbians. Retrieved from

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/poll_gays_lesbians_060910.pdf.

Gallup. (2011). Gay and lesbian rights. Gallup. Retrieved September 4, 2011, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/

1651/gay-lesbian-rights.aspx.

Gelman, A., Lax, J., & Phillips, J. (2010, August 22). Over time, a gay marriage groundswell. New York Times, p.

WK3.

Helminiak, D. A. (2000). What the Bible really says about homosexuality. Tajique, NM: Alamo Square Press.

206 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.gallup.com/poll/1651/gay-lesbian-rights.aspx

Jones, Jeffrey M. (2011). Support for legal gay relations hits new high. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/

poll/147785/Support-Legal-Gay-Relations-Hits-New-High.aspx.

Langer, Gary. (2011). Support for gay marriage reaches a milestone. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/

Politics/support-gay-marriage-reaches-milestone-half-americans-support/story?id=13159608#.T66_kp9YtQp.

Mokrzycki, Mike. (2010). Support for gays in the military crosses ideological, party lines. Retrieved from

http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/poll-support-gays-military-crosses-ideological-party-lines/

story?id=9811516#.T67A659YtQo.

Pew Research Center. (2011). 35%—Disapprove of gay and lesbian couples raising children. Retrieved from

http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=1253.

Saad, Lydia. (2008). Americans evenly divided on morality of homosexuality. Retrieved from

http://www.gallup.com/poll/108115/americans-evenly-divided-morality-homosexuality.aspx.

SDA. (2010). GSS 1972–2010 cumulative datafile. Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/

hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Via, D. O., & Gagnon, R. A. J. (2003). Homosexuality and the Bible: Two views. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation 207

http://www.gallup.com/poll/147785/Support-Legal-Gay-Relations-Hits-New-High.aspx

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/support-gay-marriage-reaches-milestone-half-americans-support/story?id=13159608#.T66_kp9YtQp

http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/poll-support-gays-military-crosses-ideological-party-lines/story?id=9811516#.T67A659YtQo

http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=1253

http://www.gallup.com/poll/108115/americans-evenly-divided-morality-homosexuality.aspx

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.3.0.jpg

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the behavioral, psychological, and health effects of bullying and other mistreatment of the LGBT community.

2. Evaluate the arguments for and against same-sex marriage.

3. Provide three examples of heterosexual privilege.

Until just a decade ago, individuals who engaged in consensual same-sex relations could be arrested in many

states for violating so-called sodomy laws. The US Supreme Court, which had upheld such laws in 1986, finally

outlawed them in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 US 558, by a 6–3 vote. The majority opinion of the court

declared that individuals have a constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment to engage in consensual,

private sexual activity.

Until the Supreme Court’s Lawrence v. Texas ruling just a decade ago, individuals who engaged in consensual same-sex relations

could be arrested in many states.

philippe leroyer – Kiss In (08) – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Despite this landmark ruling, the LGBT community continues to experience many types of problems. In this

regard, sexual orientation is a significant source of social inequality, just as race/ethnicity, gender, and social

https://www.flickr.com/photos/philippeleroyer/3957589428/

class are sources of social inequality. We examine manifestations of inequality based on sexual orientation in this

section.

Bullying and Violence

The news story that began this chapter concerned the reported beatings of two gay men. Bullying and violence

against adolescents and adults thought or known to be gay or lesbian constitute perhaps the most serious

manifestation of inequality based on sexual orientation. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2011),

1,277 hate crimes (violence and/or property destruction) against gays and lesbians occurred in 2010, although this

number is very likely an underestimate because many hate crime victims do not report their victimization to the

police. An estimated 25 percent of gay men have been physically or sexually assaulted because of their sexual

orientation (Egan, 2010), and some have been murdered. Matthew Shepard was one of these victims. He was a

student at the University of Wyoming in October 1998 when he was kidnapped by two young men who tortured

him, tied him to a fence, and left him to die. When found almost a day later, he was in a coma, and he died a few

days later. Shepard’s murder prompted headlines around the country and is credited with winning public sympathy

for the problems experienced by the LGBT community (Loffreda, 2001).

Gay teenagers and straight teenagers thought to be gay are very often the targets of taunting, bullying, physical

assault, and other abuse in schools and elsewhere (Denizet-Lewis, 2009). Survey evidence indicates that 85

percent of LGBT students report being verbally harassed at school, and 40 percent report being verbally harassed;

72 percent report hearing antigay slurs frequently or often at school; 61 percent feel unsafe at school, with 30

percent missing at least one day of school in the past month for fear of their safety; and 17 percent are physically

assaulted to the point they need medical attention (Kosciw, Greytak, Diaz, & Bartkiewicz, 2010).

The bullying, violence, and other mistreatment experienced by gay teens have significant educational and mental

health effects. The most serious consequence is suicide, as a series of suicides by gay teens in fall 2010 reminded

the nation. During that period, three male teenagers in California, Indiana, and Texas killed themselves after

reportedly being victims of antigay bullying, and a male college student also killed himself after his roommate

broadcast a live video of the student making out with another male (Talbot, 2010).

In other effects, LGBT teens are much more likely than their straight peers to skip school; to do poorly in their

studies; to drop out of school; and to experience depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem (Mental Health America,

2011). These mental health problems tend to last at least into their twenties (Russell, Ryan, Toomey, Diaz, &

Sanchez, 2011). According to a 2011 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), LGBT

teens are also much more likely to engage in risky and/or unhealthy behaviors such as using tobacco, alcohol, and

other drugs, having unprotected sex, and even not using a seatbelt (Kann et al., 2011). Commenting on the report,

a CDC official said, “This report should be a wake-up call. We are very concerned that these students face such

dramatic disparities for so many different health risks” (Melnick, 2011).

Ironically, despite the bullying and other mistreatment that LBGT teens receive at school, they are much more

likely to be disciplined for misconduct than straight students accused of similar misconduct. This disparity is

greater for girls than for boys. The reasons for the disparity remain unknown but may stem from unconscious

bias against gays and lesbians by school officials. As a scholar in educational psychology observed, “To me, it

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation 209

is saying there is some kind of internal bias that adults are not aware of that is impacting the punishment of this

group” (St. George, 2010).

This candlelight vigil honored the memory of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, who was tortured, tied, to a fence, and left to

die in Wyoming in 1998. He was in a coma when he was found and died a few days later.

Elvert Barnes – 21.MatthewShepard.CandleVigil.WDC.14October1998 – CC BY 2.0.

Children and Our Future

The Homeless Status of LGBT Teens

Many LGBT teens are taunted, bullied, and otherwise mistreated at school. As the text discusses, this mistreatment affects their school performance and psychological well-being, and some even drop out of school as a result. We often think of the home as a haven from the realities of life, but the lives of many gay teens are often no better at home. If they come out (disclose their sexual orientation) to their parents, one or both parents often reject them. Sometimes they kick their teen out of the home, and sometimes the teen leaves because the home environment has become intolerable. Regardless of the reason, a large number of LGBT teens become homeless. They may be living in the streets, but they may also be living with a friend, at a homeless shelter, or at some other venue. But the bottom line is that they are not living at home with a parent.

The actual number of homeless LGBT teens will probably never be known, but a study in Massachusetts of more than 6,300 high school students was the first to estimate the prevalence of their homelessness using a representative sample. The study found that 25 percent of gay or lesbian teens and 15 percent of bisexual teens are homeless in the state, compared to only 3 percent of heterosexual teens. Fewer than 5 percent of the students in the study identified themselves as LGB, but they accounted for 19 percent of all the homeless students who were surveyed. Regardless of their sexual orientation, some homeless teens live with a parent or guardian, but the study found that homeless LGBT teens were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to be living without a parent.

Being homeless adds to the problems that many LGBT teens already experience. Regardless of sexual orientation, homeless people of all ages are at greater risk for victimization by robbers and other offenders, hunger, substance abuse, and mental health problems.

210 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/88f8b835be4f10219ca5f4fe0142f6bd.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/perspective/15010502/

The study noted that LGBT teen homelessness may be higher in other states because attitudes about LGBT status are more favorable in Massachusetts than in many other states. Because the study was administered to high school students, it may have undercounted LGBT teens, who are more likely to be absent from school.

These methodological limitations should not obscure the central message of the study as summarized by one of its authors: “The high risk of homelessness among sexual minority teens is a serious problem requiring immediate attention. These teens face enormous risks and all types of obstacles to succeeding in school and are in need of a great deal of assistance.”

Sources: Connolly, 2011; Corliss, Goodenow, Nichols, & Austin, 2011

Employment Discrimination

Federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, nationality, sex, or religion. Notice that this

list does not include sexual orientation. It is entirely legal under federal law for employers to refuse to hire

LGBT individuals or those perceived as LGBT, to fire an employee who is openly LGBT or perceived as LGBT,

or to refuse to promote such an employee. Twenty-one states do prohibit employment discrimination based on

sexual orientation, but that leaves twenty-nine states that do not prohibit such discrimination. Employers in these

states are entirely free to refuse to hire, fire, or refuse to promote LGBT people (openly LGBT or perceived as

LGBT) as they see fit. In addition, only fifteen states prohibit employment discrimination based on gender identity

(transgender), which leaves thirty-five states in which employers may practice such discrimination (Human Rights

Campaign, 2011).

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit job discrimination based on sexual

orientation or gender identity, has been proposed in Congress but has not come close to passing. In response to

the absence of legal protection for LGBT employees, many companies have instituted their own policies. As of

March 2011, 87 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, the largest 500 corporations in the United States, had

policies prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination, and 46 percent had policies prohibiting gender identity

discrimination (Human Rights Campaign, 2011).

National survey evidence shows that many LGBT people have, in fact, experienced workplace discrimination

(Sears & Mallory, 2011). In the 2008 GSS, 27.1 percent of LGB respondents said they had been verbally

harassed at work during the past five years, and 7.1 percent said they had been either fired or not hired during

the same period (SDA, 2008). In other surveys that are not based on nationally representative samples, the

percentage of LGB respondents who report workplace harassment or discrimination exceeds the GSS’s figures.

Not surprisingly, more than one-third of LGB employees say they conceal their sexual orientation in their

workplace. Transgender people appear to experience more employment problems than LGB people, as 78 percent

of transgender respondents in one study reported some form of workplace harassment or discrimination. Scholars

have also conducted field experiments in which they send out resumes or job applicants to prospective employers.

The resumes are identical except that some mention the applicant is LGB, while the others do not indicate

sexual orientation. The job applicants similarly either say they are LGB or do not say this. The LGB resumes

and applicants are less likely than their non-LGB counterparts to receive a positive response from prospective

employers.

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation 211

LGBT people who experience workplace harassment and discrimination suffer in other ways as well (Sears &

Mallory, 2011). Compared to LGBT employees who do not experience these problems, they are more likely to

have various mental health issues, to be less satisfied with their jobs, and to have more absences from work.

Applying Social Research

How Well Do the Children of Same-Sex Couples Fare?

Many opponents of same-sex marriage claim that children are better off if they are raised by both a mother and a father and that children of same-sex couples fare worse as a result. As the National Organization for Marriage (National Organization for Marriage, 2011) states, “Two men might each be a good father, but neither can be a mom. The ideal for children is the love of their own mom and dad. No same-sex couple can provide that.”

Addressing this contention, social scientists have studied the children of same-sex couples and compared them to the children of heterosexual parents. Although it is difficult to have random, representative samples of same-sex couples’ children, a growing number of studies find that these children fare at least as well psychologically and in other respects as heterosexual couples’ children.

Perhaps the most notable published paper in this area appeared in the American Sociological Review, the preeminent sociology journal, in 2001. The authors, Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz, reviewed almost two dozen studies that had been done of same-sex couples’ children. All these studies yielded the central conclusion that the psychological well- being of these children is no worse than that of heterosexual couples’ children. As the authors summarized this conclusion and its policy implications, “Because every relevant study to date shows that parental sexual orientation per se has no measurable effect on the quality of parent-child relationships or on children’s mental health or social adjustment, there is no evidentiary basis for considering parental sexual orientation in decisions about children’s ‘best interest.’”

Biblarz and Stacey returned to this issue in a 2010 article in the Journal of Marriage and the Family, the preeminent journal in its field. This time they reviewed almost three dozen studies published since 1990 that compared the children of same-sex couples (most of them lesbian parents) to those of heterosexual couples. They again found that the psychological well-being and social adjustment of same-sex couples’ children was at least as high as those of heterosexual couples’ children, and they even found some evidence that children of lesbian couples fare better in some respects than those of heterosexual couples. Although the authors acknowledged that two parents are generally better for children than one parent, they concluded that the sexual orientation of the parents makes no difference overall. As they summarized the body of research on this issue: “Research consistently has demonstrated that despite prejudice and discrimination children raised by lesbians develop as well as their peers. Across the standard panoply of measures, studies find far more similarities than differences among children with lesbian and heterosexual parents, and the rare differences mainly favor the former.”

This body of research, then, contributes in important ways to the national debate on same-sex marriage. If children of same-sex couples indeed fare well, as the available evidence indicates, concern about these children’s welfare should play no part in this debate.

Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex marriage has been one of the most controversial social issues in recent years. Nearly 650,000 same-

sex couples live together in the United States (Gates, 2012). Many of them would like to marry, but most are not

permitted by law to marry. In May 2012, President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage.

212 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

The issue of same-sex marriage has aroused much controversy in recent years. As of June 2012, same-sex couples could marry in

only seven states and the District of Columbia.

Elvert Barnes – 70a Marriage Equality US Capitol – CC BY-SA 2.0.

We saw earlier that a narrow margin of Americans now favors the right of same-sex couples to marry, and that

public opinion in favor of same-sex marriage has increased greatly in recent times. As of June 2012, same-sex

marriage was legal in seven states (Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York,

Vermont, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. Nine other states permitted same-sex couples to form

civil unions or domestic partnerships, which provide some or many of the various legal benefits that married

spouses enjoy. In the remaining thirty-five states, same-sex couples may not legally marry or form civil unions or

domestic partnerships. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), passed in 1996 (and under legal dispute at

the time of this writing), prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage. This means that even when same-sex

couples legally marry because their state allows them to, they do not enjoy the various federal tax, inheritance,

and other benefits that married couples enjoy. Most of the states that do not allow same-sex marriage also have

laws that prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages performed in the states that allow them.

Arguments against same-sex marriage. Opponents of same-sex marriage make at least three central points

(Emrich, 2009; National Organization for Marriage, 2011). First, and in no particular order, marriage is intended

to procreate the species, and same-sex couples cannot reproduce. Second, the children that same-sex couples do

have through adoption or artificial means experience various psychological problems because their parents are

gay or lesbian and/or because they do not have both a father and a mother. Third, allowing gays and lesbians to

marry would undermine the institution of marriage.

Arguments for same-sex marriage. In reply, proponents of same-sex marriage make their own points (Barkan,

Marks, & Milardo, 2009; Human Rights Campaign, 2009). First, many heterosexual couples are allowed to marry

even though they will not have children, either because they are not able to have them, because they do not wish to

have them, or because they are beyond childbearing age. Second, studies show that children of same-sex couples

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation 213

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.3.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/perspective/15892210583/

are at least as psychologically healthy as the children of opposite-sex couples (see Note 5.12 “Children and Our

Future”). Third, there is no evidence that legalizing same-sex marriage has weakened the institution of marriage

in the few states and other nations that have legalized it (see Note 5.14 “Lessons from Other Societies”).

Lessons from Other Societies

Same-Sex Marriage in the Netherlands

At the time of this writing, same-sex marriage was legal in ten nations: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, and Sweden. All these nations have legalized it since 2001, when the Netherlands became the first country to do so. Because more than a decade has passed since this notable event, it is informative to examine how, if at all, legalization has affected the lives of gays and lesbians and the institution of marriage itself in the Netherlands.

One thing is clear: There is no evidence that the institution of marriage in the Netherlands has in any respect become weaker because same-sex couples have been allowed to marry since 2001. Heterosexual couples continue to marry, and the institution appears at least as strong as it was before 2001. It also seems clear that same-sex marriages are working and that same-sex married couples’ unions are accepted as normal features of contemporary Dutch life. As Vera Bergkamp, a gay rights leader in the Netherlands said, “Gay marriage is Holland’s best export because we have shown that it is possible.”

In an interesting development, same-sex couples have not exactly rushed to marry. There was an initial spurt in 2001, and many such couples have married since. However, the Dutch government estimates that only 20 percent of same-sex couples have married compared to 80 percent of heterosexual couples.

Three reasons may account for this disparity. First, there is less pressure from family and friends for same-sex couples to marry than for heterosexual couples to marry. As Bergkamp put it, “For heterosexuals, it’s normal when you’re in a steady relationship for more than a year, that a lot of people start asking, ‘well when are you getting married?’ With two women or two men you don’t get that yet.” Second, fewer same-sex couples than heterosexual couples decide to marry in order to have children. Third, gays and lesbians in the Netherlands are thought to be somewhat more individualistic than their heterosexual counterparts.

The same-sex couples who have married in the Netherlands seem happy to have done so, at least according to anecdotal evidence. As one same-sex spouse reflected on her marriage, “It was a huge step. For me it was incredible…I’d been to my brother’s wedding and my sister’s wedding and their spouses were welcomed into the family. Now finally I was able to have my family take my partner in. The moment we got married there was a switch, she was now one of us.”

The experience of the Netherlands is mirrored in the other nine nations that have legalized same-sex marriage. Legalization seems to be working from all accounts, and the institution of marriage seems to be thriving at least as well as in other nations. As the first openly gay member of the Dutch parliament who played a key role in legalization wryly described its outcome, “Heterosexual couples did not turn away from the institution of marriage, and nor did the world isolate my country. After the Netherlands acted, civilization as we know it didn’t end.” As the United States continues to debate same-sex marriage, it has much to learn from the Netherlands and the other nations that have legalized this form of marriage.

Sources: Ames, 2011; Badgett, 2009; Dittrich, 2011

Although the children of same-sex couples fare at least as well as those of heterosexual couples, it is still difficult

in many states for same-sex couples to adopt a child. Two states at the time of this writing, Mississippi and Utah,

prohibit adoptions by same-sex couples, but half of the other states make it very difficult for these adoptions to

occur (Tavernise, 2011). For example, in some states social workers are required to prefer married heterosexual

couples over same-sex couples in adoption decisions. Moreover, several states require that a couple must be

married to be adopted; in these states, a single gay or lesbian may adopt, but not a same-sex couple. Still, adoptions

214 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

by same-sex couples have become more numerous in recent years because of the number of children waiting for

adoption and because public opinion about gays and lesbians has become more favorable.

Costs of the Illegality of Same-Sex Marriage

Marriage provides many legal rights, benefits, and responsibilities for the two spouses. Because same-sex couples

are not allowed to marry in most states and, even if they do marry, are currently denied federal recognition of

their marriage, they suffer materially in numerous ways. In fact, there are more than 1,000 federal rights that

heterosexual married couples receive that no married same-sex couple is allowed to receive (Shell, 2011).

We have space here to list only a few of the many costs that the illegality of same-sex marriage imposes on same-

sex couples who cannot marry and on the same-sex couples whose marriages are not federally recognized (Human

Rights Campaign, 2009):

• Spouses have visitation rights if one of them is hospitalized as well as the right to make medical

decisions if one spouse is unable to do so; same-sex couples do not have these visitation rights.

• Same-sex couples cannot file joint federal tax returns or joint state tax returns (in the states that do not

recognize same-sex marriage), potentially costing each couple thousands of dollars every year in taxes

they would not have to pay if they were able to file jointly.

• Spouses receive Social Security survivor benefits averaging more than $5,500 annually when a spouse

dies; same-sex couples do not receive these benefits.

• Many employers who provide health insurance coverage for the spouse of an employee do not provide

this coverage for a same-sex partner; when they do provide this coverage, the employee must pay taxes

on the value of the coverage.

• When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse inherits the deceased spouse’s property without paying estate

taxes; the surviving partner of a same-sex couple must pay estate taxes.

Notice that many of these costs are economic. It is difficult to estimate the exact economic costs of the illegality

of same-sex marriage, but one analysis estimated that these costs can range from $41,000 to as much as $467,000

over the lifetime of a same-sex couple, depending on their income, state of residence, and many other factors

(Bernard & Leber, 2009).

Military Service

LGBT individuals traditionally were not permitted to serve in the US military. If they remained in the closet

(hid evidence of their sexual orientation), of course, they could serve with impunity, but many gays and lesbians

in the military were given dishonorable discharges when their sexual orientation was discovered. Those who

successfully remained in the closet lived under continual fear that their sexual orientation would become known

and they would be ousted from the military.

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation 215

As a presidential candidate in 1992, Bill Clinton said he would end the ban on LGBT people in the military. After

his election, his intention to do so was met with fierce opposition by military leaders, much of the Congress, and

considerable public opinion. As a compromise, in 1993 the government established the so-called don’t-ask, don’t-

tell (DADT) policy. DADT protected members of the military from being asked about their sexual orientation, but

it also stipulated that they would be discharged from the military if they made statements or engaged in behavior

that indicated an LGBT orientation. Because DADT continued the military ban on LGBT people, proponents

of allowing them to serve in the military opposed the policy and continued to call for the elimination of any

restrictions regarding sexual orientation for military service.

In response to a lawsuit, a federal judge in 2010 ruled that DADT was unconstitutional. Meanwhile, Barack

Obama had also called for the repeal of DADT, both as a presidential candidate and then as president. In late 2010,

Congress passed legislation repealing DADT, and President Obama signed the legislation, which took effect in

September 2011. Official discrimination against gays and lesbians in the military has thus ended, and they may

now serve openly in the nation’s armed forces. It remains to be seen, however, whether they will be able to serve

without facing negative experiences such as verbal and physical abuse.

Physical and Mental Health

It is well known that HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)

racked the LGBT community beginning in the 1980s. Many gays and lesbians eventually died from AIDS-related

complications, and HIV and AIDS remain serious illnesses for gays and straights alike. An estimated 1.2 million

Americans now have HIV, and about 35,000 have AIDS. Almost 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with HIV

annually, and more than half of these new cases are men who have had sex with other men. Fortunately, HIV

can now be controlled fairly well by appropriate medical treatment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

2011).

It is less well known that LGBT adults have higher rates than straight adults of other physical health problems

and also of mental health problems (Frost, Lehavot, & Meyer, 2011; Institute of Medicine, 2011). These problems

are thought to stem from the stress that the LGBT community experiences from living in a society in which

they frequently encounter verbal and physical harassment, job discrimination, a need for some to conceal their

sexual identity, and lack of equal treatment arising from the illegality of same-sex marriage. We saw earlier that

LGBT secondary school students experience various kinds of educational and mental health issues because of

the mistreatment they encounter. By the time LGBT individuals reach their adult years, the various stressors they

have experienced at least since adolescence have begun to take a toll on their physical and mental health.

216 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

The stress of being LGBT in a society that disapproves of this sexual orientation is thought to account for the greater likelihood of

LGBT people to have physical and mental health problems.

Patrik Nygren – LGBT rights – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Because stress is thought to compromise immune systems, LGBT individuals on the average have lower immune

functioning and lower perceived physical health than straight individuals. Because stress impairs mental health,

they are also more likely to have higher rates of depression, loneliness, low self-esteem, and other psychiatric

and psychological problems, including a tendency to attempt suicide (Sears & Mallory, 2011). Among all LGBT

individuals, those who have experienced greater levels of stress related to their sexual orientation have higher

levels of physical and mental health problems than those who have experienced lower levels of stress. It is

important to keep in mind that these various physical and mental health problems do not stem from an LGBT

sexual orientation in and of itself, but rather from the experience of living as an LGBT individual in a homophobic

(disliking LGBT behavior and individuals) society.

Despite the health problems that LGBT people experience, medical students do not learn very much about these

problems. A recent survey of medical school deans found that one-third of medical schools provide no clinical

training about these health issues, and that students in the medical schools that do provide training still receive

only an average of five hours of training (Obedin-Maliver et al., 2011). The senior author of the study commented

on its findings, “It’s great that a lot of schools are starting to teach these topics. But the conversation needs to go

deeper. We heard from the deans that a lot of these important LGBT health topics are completely off the radar

screens of many medical schools” (White, 2011).

Heterosexual Privilege

In earlier chapters, we discussed the related concepts of white privilege and male privilege. To recall, simply

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation 217

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/5.3.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lattefarsan/20018914980/

because they are white, whites can go through their daily lives without worrying about or experiencing the many

kinds of subtle and not-so-subtle negative events that people of color experience. Moreover, simply because they

are male, men can go through their daily lives without worrying about or experiencing the many kinds of subtle

and not-so-subtle negative events that women experience. Whether or not they are conscious of it, therefore,

whites and men are automatically privileged compared to people of color and women, respectively.

An analogous concept exists in the study of sexual orientation and inequality. This concept is heterosexual

privilege, which refers to the many advantages that heterosexuals (or people perceived as heterosexuals) enjoy

simply because their sexual orientation is not LGBT. There are many such advantages, and we have space to list

only a few:

• Heterosexuals can be out day or night or at school or workplaces without fearing that they will be

verbally harassed or physically attacked because of their sexuality or that they will hear jokes about

their sexuality.

• Heterosexuals do not have to worry about not being hired for a job, about being fired, or not being

promoted because of their sexuality.

• Heterosexuals can legally marry everywhere in the United States and receive all the federal, state, and

other benefits that married couples receive.

• Heterosexuals can express a reasonable amount of affection (holding hands, kissing, etc.) in public

without fearing negative reactions from onlookers.

• Heterosexuals do not have to worry about being asked why they prefer opposite-sex relations, being

criticized for choosing their sexual orientation, or being urged to change their sexual orientation.

• Heterosexual parents do not have to worry about anyone questioning their fitness as parents because of

their sexuality.

• Heterosexuals do not have to feel the need to conceal their sexual orientation.

• Heterosexuals do not have to worry about being accused of trying to “push” their sexuality onto other

people.

People Making a Difference

Improving the Family Lives of LGBT Youth

Many organizations and agencies around the country aim to improve the lives of LGBT teens. One of them is the Family Acceptance Project (FAP) at San Francisco State University, which focuses on the family problems that LGBT teens often experience. According to its website, FAP is “the only community research, intervention, education and policy initiative that works to decrease major health and related risks for [LGBT] youth, such as suicide, substance abuse, HIV and homelessness—in the context of their families. We use a research-based, culturally grounded approach to help ethnically, socially and religiously diverse families decrease rejection and increase support for their LGBT children.”

To accomplish its mission, FAP engages in two types of activities: research and family support services. In the research area, FAP has published some pioneering studies of the effects of school victimization and of family rejection and acceptance on the physical and mental health of LGBT teens during their adolescence and into their early adulthood. In the family support services area, FAP provides confidential advice, information, and counseling to families with one or more LGBT children or adolescents, and it also has produced various educational materials for these families and for

218 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

professionals who deal with LGBT issues. At the time of this writing, FAP was producing several documentary videos featuring LGBT youth talking about their family situations and other aspects of their lives. Its support services and written materials are available in English, Spanish, and Cantonese.

Through its pioneering efforts, the Family Acceptance Project is one of many organizations making a difference in the lives of LGBT youth. For further information about FAP, visit http://familyproject.sfsu.edu.

Key Takeaways

• Bullying, taunting, and violence are significant problems for the LGBT community.

• LGBT people are at greater risk for behavioral and physical and mental health problems because of the many negative experiences they encounter.

• Federal law does not protect LGBT individuals from employment discrimination.

• The children of same-sex couples fare at least as well as children of heterosexual couples.

For Your Review

1. Do you know anyone who has ever been bullied and taunted for being LGBT or for being perceived as LGBT? If so, describe what happened.

2. Write a brief essay in which you summarize the debate over same-sex marriage, provide your own view, and justify your view.

References

Ames, P. (2011, April 20). Dutch gays don’t take advantage of opportunity to marry. GlobalPost. Retrieved from

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/benelux/110419/netherlands-gay-rights-same-sex-

marriage.

Badgett, M. V. L. (2009). When gay people get married: What happens when societies legalize same-sex

marriage. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Barkan, S., Marks, S., & Milardo, R. (2009, September 22). Same-sex couples are families, too. Bangor Daily

News. Retrieved from http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/121751.html.

Bernard, T. S., & Leber, R. (2009, October 3). The high price of being a gay couple. New York Times, p. A1.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Basic information about HIV and AIDS. Retrieved Septembr

6, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm.

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation 219

http://familyproject.sfsu.edu/

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/benelux/110419/netherlands-gay-rights-same-sex-marriage

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/121751.html

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm

Connolly, C. (2011, July 21). 1 in 4 gay/lesbian high school students are homeless. EurekaAlert. Retrieved

September 8, 2011, from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-07/chb-1i4072111.php.

Corliss, H. L., Goodenow, C. S., Nichols, L., & Austin, S. B. (2011). High burden of homelessness among sexual-

minority adolescents: Findings from a representative Massachusetts high school sample. American Journal of

Public Health, 101, 1683–1689.

Denizet-Lewis, B. (2009, September 27). Coming out in middle school. New York Times Magazine, p. MM36ff.

Dittrich, B. O. (2011, April 17). Gay marriage’s diamond anniversary: After the Netherlands acted, civilization as

we know it didn’t end. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/17/opinion/la-oe-

dittrich-gay-marriage-20110417.

Egan, P. J. (2010, spring). Within reach: Reducing LGBT inequality in the age of Obama. Pathways: A Magazine

on Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy, 22–25.

Emrich, B. (2009, September 2). Same-sex marriage would be harmful to society. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved

from http://bangordailynews.com/2009/2009/2001/opinion/samesex-marriage-would-be-harmful-to-society/.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

Frost, D. M., Lehavot, K., & Meyer, I. H. (2011). Minority stress and physical health among sexual minorities.

Los Angeles, CA: Williams Institute.

Gates, G. J. (2012). Same-Sex Couples in Census 2010: Race and Ethnicity. Williams Institute. Retrieved

May 29, 2012, from http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-CouplesRaceEthnicity-

April-2012.pdf.

Human Rights Campaign. (2009). Answers to questions about marriage equality. Washington, DC: Human Rights

Campaign.

Human Rights Campaign. (2011). Laws: Employment non-discrimination act. Retrieved September 5, 2011, from

http://www.hrc.org/.

Institute of Medicine. (2011). The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: Building a foundation

for better understanding. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Kann, L., Olsen, E. O. M., McManus, T., Kinchen, S., Chyen, D., Harris, W. A., et al. (2011). Sexual Identity,

Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9–12—Youth Risk Behavior

Surveillance, Selected Sites, United States, 2001–2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 60(June 10),

1–133.

Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Diaz, E. M., & Bartkiewicz, M. J. (2010). The 2009 national school climate survey:

The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in our nation’s schools. New York, NY: Gay,

Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Loffreda, B. (2001). Losing Matt Shepard: Life and politics in the aftermath of anti-gay murder. New York, NY:

Columbia University Press.

220 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-07/chb-1i4072111.php

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/17/opinion/la-oe-dittrich-gay-marriage-20110417

http://bangordailynews.com/2009/2009/2001/opinion/samesex-marriage-would-be-harmful-to-society/

http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-CouplesRaceEthnicity-April-2012.pdf

http://www.hrc.org/

Melnick, M. (2011, June 6). CDC: Why gay and bisexual teens are more likely to risk their health. Time. Retrieved

from http://healthland.time.com/2011/2006/2006/cdc-gay-and-bisexual-teens-are-more-likely-to-risk-their-

health/.

Mental Health America. (2011). Bullying and gay youth. Retrieved from http://www.nmha.org/

index.cfm?objectid=CA866DCF-1372-4D20-C8EB26EEB30B9982.

National Organization for Marriage. (2011). Marriage talking points. Retrieved September 5, 2011, from

http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/c.omL2KeN0LzH/b.4475595/k.566A/Marriage_Talking_Points.htm.

National Organization for Marriage. (2011). Same-sex marriage: Answering the toughest questions. Retrieved

September 8, 2011, from http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/c.omL2KeN0LzH/b.4475595/k.566A/

Marriage_Talking_Points.htm.

Obedin-Maliver, J., Goldsmith, E. S., Stewart, L., White, W., Tran, E., Brenman, S., et al. (2011). Lesbian, gay,

bisexual, and transgender–related content in undergraduate medical education. JAMA, 306(9), 971–977.

Russell, S. T., Ryan, C., Toomey, R. B., Diaz, R. M., & Sanchez, J. (2011). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

adolescent school victimization: implications for young adult health and adjustment. Journal of School Health,

81(5), 223–230.

SDA. (2008). GSS 1972–2010 cumulative datafile. Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/

hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Sears, B., & Mallory, C. (2011). Documented evidence of employment discrimination & its effects on LGBT

people. Los Angeles, LA: Williams Institute.

Shell, A. (2011, July 22). Legal gay marriage doesn’t end money headaches. USA Today. Retrieved from

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/index.

St. George, D. (2010, December 6). Gay and lesbian teens are punished more at school, by police, study

says. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/

AR2010120600035.html.

Talbot, M. (2010, October 25). Pride and prejudice. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com.

Tavernise, S. (2011, July 14). Adoptions rise by same-sex couples, despite legal barriers. New York Times , p. A11.

White, T. (2011). LGBT health issues not being taught at medical schools, Stanford study finds. EurekaAlert.

Retrieved September 7, 2011, from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/sumc-lhi083111.php.

5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation 221

http://healthland.time.com/2011/2006/2006/cdc-gay-and-bisexual-teens-are-more-likely-to-risk-their-health/

http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=CA866DCF-1372-4D20-C8EB26EEB30B9982

http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/c.omL2KeN0LzH/b.4475595/k.566A/Marriage_Talking_Points.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/index

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120600035.html

http://www.newyorker.com/

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/sumc-lhi083111.php

5.4 Improving the Lives of the LGBT Community

Learning Objective

1. Understand which measures show promise of reducing inequality based on sexual orientation.

The inequality arising from sexual orientation stems from long-standing and deep-rooted prejudice against

nonheterosexual attraction and behavior and against the many people whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual.

We have seen in this chapter that attitudes about and related to same-sex sexuality have become markedly more

positive since a generation ago. Reflecting this trend, the number of openly gay elected officials and candidates

for office has increased greatly since a generation ago, and the sexual orientation of candidates appears to be

a nonissue in many areas of the nation (Page, 2011). In a 2011 Gallup poll, two-thirds of Americans said they

would vote for a gay candidate for president, up from only one-fourth of Americans in 1978 (Page, 2011). Also

in 2011, the US Senate confirmed the nomination of the first openly gay man for a federal judgeship (Milbank,

2011). To paraphrase the slogan of a nationwide campaign aimed at helping gay teens deal with bullying and other

mistreatment, it is getting better.

Much of this improvement must be credited to the gay rights movement that is popularly thought to have begun

in June 1969 in New York City after police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn and arrested several people

inside. A crowd of several hundred people gathered and rioted in protest that night and the next night. The gay

rights movement had begun.

Despite the advances this movement has made and despite the improvement in public attitudes about LGBT

issues, we have seen in this chapter that LGBT people continue to experience many types of inequality and other

problems. As with inequality based on race and/or ethnicity, social class, and gender, there is much work still to

be done to reduce inequality based on sexual orientation.

For such inequality to be reduced, it is certainly essential that heterosexuals do everything possible in their

daily lives to avoid any form of mistreatment of LGBT individuals and to treat them as they would treat any

heterosexual. Beyond this, certain other measures should help address LGBT inequality. These measures might

include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Parents should make clear to their children that all sexual orientations are equally valid. Parents whose

child happens to be LGBT should love that child at least as much as they would love a heterosexual

child.

2. School programs should continue and strengthen their efforts to provide students a positive

environment in regard to sexual orientation and to educate them about LGBT issues. Bullying and

other harassment of LGBT students must not be tolerated. In 2011, California became the first state to

require the teaching of gay and lesbian history; other states should follow this example.

3. Federal law should prohibit employment discrimination against LGBT people, and same-sex marriages

should become legal throughout the United States. In the meantime, new legislation should provide

same-sex couples the same rights, responsibilities, and benefits that heterosexual married couples

have.

4. Police should continue to educate themselves about LGBT issues and should strengthen their efforts to

ensure that physical attacks on LGBT people are treated at least as seriously as attacks on heterosexual

people are treated.

Key Takeaways

• Although the gay rights movement has made significant advances, many types of inequality based on sexual orientation continue to exist.

• Several measures should be begun or continued to reduce inequality based on sexual orientation.

For Your Review

1. Is there a gay rights advocacy group on your campus? If so, what is your opinion of it?

2. How do you think parents should react if their teenaged daughter or son comes out to them? Explain your answer.

References

Milbank, D. (2011, July 18). In a “quiet moment,” gay judge makes history. The Washington Post. Retrieved from

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.

Page, S. (2011, July 20). Gay candidates gain acceptance. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/

news/politics/index.

5.4 Improving the Lives of the LGBT Community 223

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/index

5.5 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Sexual orientation refers to a person’s preference for sexual relationships with individuals of the other sex, one’s own sex, or both sexes. The term also increasingly refers to transgender individuals, whose behavior, appearance, and/or gender identity departs from conventional norms.

2. According to national survey evidence, almost 4 percent of American adults identify as LGBT (lesbian/gay/ bisexual/transgender), a figure equivalent to 9 million adults. Almost 20 million have engaged in same-sex relations.

3. Male homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome seems to have been accepted and rather common, but Europe, the Americas, and other areas influenced by the Judeo-Christian tradition have long viewed homosexuality very negatively. In many societies studied by anthropologists, homosexuality is rather common and considered a normal form of sexuality.

4. Scholars continue to debate whether sexual orientation is more the result of biological factors or social and cultural factors. Related to this debate, the public is fairly split over the issue of whether sexual orientation is a choice or something over which people have no control.

5. Heterosexism in the United States is higher among men than among women, among older people than younger people, among the less educated than among the more highly educated, among Southerners than among non-Southerners, and among more religious people than among less religious people. Levels of heterosexism have declined markedly since a generation ago.

6. Sexual orientation is a significant source of inequality. LGBT individuals experience bullying, taunting, and violence; they may experience employment discrimination; and they are not allowed to marry in most states. Because of the stress of living as LGBT, they are at greater risk than heterosexuals for several types of physical and mental health problems.

Using What You Know

You’re working in a medium-sized office and generally like your coworkers. However, occasionally you hear them make jokes about gays and lesbians. You never laugh at these jokes, but neither have you ever said anything critical about them. Your conscience is bothering you, but you also know that if you tell your supervisor or coworkers that their joking makes you feel uncomfortable, they may get angry with you and even stop talking to you. What do you decide to do?

What You Can Do

To help reduce inequality based on sexual orientation, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Start or join an LGBT advocacy group on your campus.

2. Write a letter to the editor in favor of same-sex marriage.

3. Urge your US Senators and Representative to pass legislation prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

4. Work for a social service agency in your local community that focuses on the needs of LGBT teens.

5.5 End-of-Chapter Material 225

Chapter 6: Aging and Ageism

Social Problems in the News

“Still Working: Economy Forcing Retirees to Re-enter Workforce,” the headline said. The story featured four seniors, ranging in age from 66 to their eighties, in southern California who had retired several years ago but were now trying to get back into the labor force. Because of the faltering economy and rising costs, they were having trouble affording their retirement. They were also having trouble finding a job, in part because they lacked the computer skills that are virtually a necessity in today’s world to find and perform a job. One of the unemployed seniors was a retired warehouse worker who did not know how to fill out a job application online. He said, “To say I have computer skills—no, I don’t. But I can learn. I will do anything to get work.” An official in California’s Office on Aging indicated that employers who hire older people would be happy they did so: “You know the person’s going to come in and you know they’re going to accomplish something while they’re there. And, they are a wellspring of knowledge.”

Source: Barkas, 2011

The number of older Americans is growing rapidly. As this news story suggests, they have much to contribute to

our society. Yet they also encounter various problems because of their advanced age. We appreciate our elderly

but also consider them something of a burden. We also hold unfortunate stereotypes of them and seemingly view

old age as something to be shunned. Television commercials and other advertisements extol the virtues of staying

young by “washing away the gray” and by removing all facial wrinkles. In our youth-obsessed culture, older

people seem to be second-class citizens. This chapter discusses views about aging and the ways in which old age

is a source of inequality.

References

Barkas, S. (2011, September 5). Still working: Economy forcing retirees to re-enter workforce. The Desert Sun.

Retrieved from http://www.mydesert.com.

http://www.mydesert.com/

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans

Learning Objectives

1. Present a brief sociodemographic profile of the US elderly.

2. Discuss the several problems experienced by the US elderly.

3. Describe how the social attitudes of older Americans generally differ from those of younger Americans.

We now turn our attention to older people in the United States. We first sketch a demographic profile of our elderly

and then examine some of the problems they face because of their age and because of ageism.

Who Are the Elderly?

Table 6.2 “Demographic Composition of the Elderly, 2010” presents the demographic composition of Americans

aged 65 or older. Slightly more than half the elderly are 65–74 years of age, and about 57 percent are female,

reflecting males’ shorter life spans as discussed earlier. About 80 percent of the elderly are non-Latino whites,

compared to about 66 percent in the population as a whole; 8.6 percent are African American, compared to about

13 percent of the population; and 7.0 percent are Latino, compared to 15 percent of the population. The greater

proportion of whites among the elderly and lower proportions of African Americans and Latinos reflects these

groups’ life expectancy differences discussed earlier and also their differences in birth rates.

Table 6.2 Demographic Composition of the Elderly, 2010

Age

65–74 years 52.3%

75–84 years 33.4%

85 years and over 14.3%

Gender

Female 56.9%

Male 43.1%

Race and/or ethnicity*

White, non-Latino 80.1%

African American 8.6%

Latino 7.0%

Asian/Pacific Islander 3.5%

Amer. Ind., Esk., Aleut. 0.6%

Two or more races 0.7%

Living in poverty 9.0%

Marital status

Married 57.6%

Widowed 28.1%

Divorced 10.0%

Never married 4.3%

Years of school completed

0–8 years 10.2%

1–3 years of high school 10.3%

High school graduate 36.4%

1–3 years of college 20.6%

College graduate 22.5%

Labor force participation

Employed 16.2%

Unemployed 1.2%

Not in labor force 82.6%

Household income*

* 2009 data

228 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Under $15,000 18.8%

$15,000–$24,999 20.7%

$25,000–$34,999 15.4%

$35,000–49,999 15.1%

$50,000–$74,999 14.2%

$75,000–$99,999 6.5%

$100,000 and over 9.4%

* 2009 data

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing

Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

The lower proportions of African Americans and Latinos among the elderly partly reflect these groups’ lower life expectancies.

Evgeni Zotov – Grandparents – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The percentage of elders living in poverty is 9.0, compared to 15.1 percent of the entire population. Although most

elders have fixed incomes, the fact that their family size is usually one or two means that they are less likely than

younger people to live in poverty. In fact, today’s elderly are financially much better off than their grandparents

were, thanks to Social Security, Medicare (the federal health insurance program for older Americans), pensions,

and their own assets. We will revisit the health and financial security of elders a little later.

Turning to education, about 22 percent of the elderly are college graduates, compared to about 29 percent of the

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans 229

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.5.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zz77/4948748212/

population as a whole. This difference reflects the fact that few people went to college when today’s elderly were

in their late teens and early twenties. However, it is still true that today’s elders are better educated than any

previous generation of elders. Future generations of the elderly will be even better educated than those now.

While most elders are retired and no longer in the labor force, about 16 percent do continue to work (see Table

6.2 “Demographic Composition of the Elderly, 2010”). These seniors tend to be in good health and to find their

jobs psychologically satisfying. Compared to younger workers, they miss fewer days of work for health or other

reasons and are less likely to quit their jobs for other opportunities (Sears, 2009).

Although we emphasized earlier that many older Americans do not fit the negative image with which they are

portrayed, it is still true that they face special problems because of their age and life circumstances and because of

ageism. We discuss some of these here.

Physical and Mental Health

Perhaps the problem that comes most readily to mind is health, or, to be more precise, poor health. It is true

that many older people remain in good health and are fully able to function mentally and physically (Rowe et

al., 2010). Still, the biological and psychological effects of aging do lead to greater physical and mental health

problems among the elderly than in younger age groups, as we briefly discussed earlier. These problems are

reflected in responses to the General Social Survey (GSS) question, “Would you say your own health, in general,

is excellent, good, fair, or poor?” Figure 6.6 “Age and Self-Reported Health” shows that the elderly are more

likely than the nonelderly to report that their health is only fair or poor.

Figure 6.6 Age and Self-Reported Health

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

The elderly’s perception of their own health is supported by government estimates of chronic health conditions

for older Americans. Of all people aged 65 or older not living in a nursing home or other institution, almost 50

percent have arthritis, 56 percent have high blood pressure, 32 percent have heart disease, 35 percent have hearing

loss, 18 percent have vision problems, and 19 percent have diabetes (these numbers add up to more than 100

percent as people may have several health conditions) (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics,

2010). These rates are much higher than those for younger age groups.

230 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/dea9fd58f0274349e2a1725b8a78e1f01.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.5.1.jpg

The elderly also suffer from dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, which affects almost 13 percent of people

65 or older (Alzheimer’s Association, 2009). Another mental health problem is depression, which affects almost

15 percent of people 65 or older. Because of mental or physical disability, about two-thirds of all people 65 or

older need help with at least one “daily living” activity, such as preparing a meal (Federal Interagency Forum on

Aging-Related Statistics, 2010).

Older people visit the doctor and hospital more often than younger people. Partly for this reason, adequate health care for the elderly

is of major importance.

Ted Van Pelt – The Coopers – CC BY 2.0.

If the elderly have more health problems, then adequate care for them is of major importance. They visit the doctor

and hospital more often than their middle-aged counterparts. Medicare covers about one-half of their health-care

costs; this is a substantial amount of coverage but still forces many seniors to pay thousands of dollars annually

themselves. Some physicians and other health-care providers do not accept Medicare “assignment,” meaning that

the patient must pay an even higher amount. Moreover, Medicare pays little or nothing for long-term care in

nursing homes and other institutions and for mental health services. All these factors mean that older Americans

can still face high medical expenses or at least pay high premiums for private health insurance.

In addition, Medicare costs have risen rapidly along with other health-care costs. Medicare expenditures soared

from about $37 billion in 1980 to more than $500 billion today (see Figure 6.7 “Medicare Expenditures,

1980–2010”). As the population continues to age and as health-care costs continue to rise, Medicare expenses will

continue to rise as well, making it increasingly difficult to find the money to finance Medicare.

Figure 6.7 Medicare Expenditures, 1980–2010

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans 231

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bantam10/7811851336/

Source: Data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). National health expenditure data. Retrieved from

http://www.hhs.gov.

Nursing Home Care

While most older Americans live by themselves or with their families, a small minority live in group settings. A

growing type of group setting is the continuous care retirement community, a setting of private rooms, apartments,

and/or condominiums that offers medical and practical care to those who need it. In some such communities,

residents eat their meals together, while in others they cook for themselves. Usually these communities offer

above-average recreational facilities and can be very expensive, as some require a lifetime contract or at least

monthly fees that can run into the thousands of dollars.

Nursing homes are often understaffed to save costs and are also generally not subject to outside inspection. These conditions help

contribute to the neglect of nursing home residents.

232 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/6dbf72b315f93cf20afd1a5033ba99601.jpg

http://www.hhs.gov/

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.5.2.jpg

Sheila – Christian Nursing Home – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

For elders who need high-level medical care or practical support, nursing homes are the primary option. About

16,100 nursing homes exist, and 3.9 percent of Americans 65 or older live in them (Federal Interagency Forum

on Aging-Related Statistics, 2010). About three-fourths of all nursing home residents are women. Almost all

residents receive assistance in bathing and showering, 80 percent receive help in using the bathroom, and one-

third receive help in eating.

As noted earlier, Medicare does not pay for long-term institutional care for most older Americans. Because

nursing home care costs at least $70,000 yearly, residents can quickly use up all their assets and then, ironically,

become eligible for payments from Medicaid, the federal insurance program for people with low incomes.

If one problem of nursing homes is their expense, another problem is the quality of care they provide. Because

their residents are typically in poor physical and/or mental health, their care must be the best possible, as they can

do little to help themselves if their care is substandard. As more people enter nursing homes in the years ahead,

the quality of nursing home care will become even more important. Yet there is much evidence that nursing home

care is often substandard and is replete with neglect and abuse (DeHart, Webb, & Cornman, 2009).

Financial Security and Employment

Earlier we noted that the elderly are less likely than younger age groups to live in poverty and that their financial

status is much better than that of previous generations of older people. One reason for this is Social Security: If

Social Security did not exist, the poverty rate of the elderly would be 45 percent, or five times higher than the

actual rate (Kerby, 2012). Without Social Security, then, nearly half of all people 65 or older would be living in

official poverty, and this rate would be even much higher for older women and older persons of color. However,

this brief summary of their economic well-being obscures some underlying problems (Carr, 2010; Crawthorne,

2008).

First, recall Chapter 2 “Poverty”’s discussion of episodic poverty, which refers to the drifting of many people into

and out of poverty as their jobs and other circumstances change. Once they become poor, older people are more

likely than younger ones to stay poor, as younger people have more job and other opportunities to move out of

poverty. Recall also that the official poverty rate obscures the fact that many people live just above it and are “near

poor.” This is especially true of the elderly, who, if hit by large medical bills or other expenses, can hardly afford

to pay them.

Second, the extent of older Americans’ poverty varies by sociodemographic factors and is much worse for some

groups than for others (Carr, 2010). Older women, for example, are more likely than older men to live in poverty

for at least two reasons. Because women earn less than men and are more likely to take time off from work

during their careers, they have lower monthly Social Security benefits than men and smaller pensions from their

employers. As well, women outlive men and thus use up their savings. Racial and ethnic disparities also exist

among the elderly, reflecting poverty disparities in the entire population, as older people of color are much more

likely than older whites to live in poverty (Carr, 2010). Among women 65 and older, 9 percent of whites live in

poverty, compared to 27 percent of African Americans, 12 percent of Asians, and 21 percent of Hispanics.

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans 233

https://www.flickr.com/photos/96434059@N00/320458333/

Older women are more likely than older men to live in poverty.

Christian Haugen – Old woman feeding the pigeon – CC BY 2.0.

Third, monthly Social Security benefits are tied to people’s earnings before retirement; the higher the earnings,

the higher the monthly benefit. Thus a paradox occurs: People who earn low wages will get lower Social Security

benefits after they retire, even though they need higher benefits to make up for their lower earnings. In this

manner, the income inequality that exists before retirement continues to exist after it.

This paradox reflects a wider problem involving Social Security. However helpful it might be in aiding older

Americans, the aid it provides lags far behind comparable programs in other wealthy Western nations (see Note

6.27 “Lessons from Other Societies”). Social Security payments are low enough that almost one-third of the

elderly who receive no other income assistance live in official poverty. For all these reasons, Social Security is

certainly beneficial for many older Americans, but it remains inadequate compared to what other nations provide.

Lessons from Other Societies

Aging Policy and Programs in the Netherlands and Sweden

A few years ago, AARP assessed quality-of-life issues for older people and the larger society in sixteen wealthy democracies (the nations of North America and Western Europe, along with Australia and Japan). Each nation was rated (on a scale of 1–5, with 5 being the highest score) on seventeen criteria, including life expectancy, health care for the elderly, pension coverage, and age-discrimination laws. Of the sixteen nations, the Netherlands ranked first, with a total score of 64, while Italy ranked last, with a score of 48; the United States was thirteenth, with a score of 50. Despite its immense wealth, then, the United States lagged behind most other democracies. Because a “perfect” score would have been 85 (17 × 5), even the Netherlands fell short of an ideal quality of life as measured by the AARP indicators.

Why did the United States not rank higher? The experience of the Netherlands and Sweden, both of which have longer life expectancies than the United States, points to some possible answers. In the Netherlands, everyone at age 65 receives

234 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.5.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/christianhaugen/3683119086/

a full pension that does not depend on how much money they earned while they were working, and everyone thus gets the same amount. This amount is larger than the average American gets, because Social Security does depend on earnings and many people earned fairly low amounts during their working years. As a result, Dutch elderly are much less likely than their American counterparts to be poor. The Dutch elderly (and also the nonelderly) have generous government insurance for medical problems and for nursing home care; this financial help is much higher than older Americans obtain through Medicare.

As one example, the AARP article mentioned an elderly Dutch woman who had cancer surgery and thirty-two chemotherapy treatments, for which she paid nothing. In the United States, the chemotherapy treatments would have cost at least $30,000. Medicare would have covered only 80 percent of this amount, leaving a patient to pay $6,000.

The Netherlands also helps its elderly in other ways. One example is that about one-fourth of that nation’s elderly receive regular government-subsidized home visits by health-care professionals and/or housekeepers; this practice enables the elderly to remain independent and avoid having to enter a nursing home. In another example, the elderly also receive seven days of free riding on the nation’s rail system.

Sweden has a home-care visitation program that is similar to the Netherlands’ program. Many elderly are visited twice a day by a care assistant who helps them bathe and dress in the morning and go to bed at night. The care assistant also regularly cleans their residence and takes them out for exercise. The Swedish government pays about 80 percent of the costs of this assistance and subsidizes the remaining cost for elderly who cannot afford it. Like the Netherlands’ program, Sweden’s program helps the elderly to remain independent and live at home rather than enter a nursing institution.

Compared to the United States, then, other democracies generally provide their elderly less expensive or free health care, greater financial support during their retirement, and home visits by health-care professionals and other assistants. In these and other ways, these other governments encourage “active aging.” Adoption of similar policies in the United States would improve the lives of older Americans and perhaps prolong their life spans.

Sources: Edwards, 2004; Hartlapp & Schmid, 2008; Ney, 2005

Older people who want to work may have trouble finding employment because of age discrimination and other factors.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 2.0.

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans 235

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.5.4.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper_riddle#/media/File:2012_newspaper_reader_Santa_Cruz_Argentina_7133646327.jpg

Workplace Ageism

Older Americans also face problems in employment. Recall that about 16 percent of seniors remain employed.

Other elders may wish to work but are retired or unemployed because several obstacles make it difficult for them

to find jobs. First, many workplaces do not permit the part-time working arrangements that many seniors favor.

Second, and as the opening news story indicated, the rise in high-tech jobs means that older workers would need to

be retrained for many of today’s jobs, and few retraining programs exist. Third, although federal law prohibits age

discrimination in employment, it exists anyway, as employers do not think older people are “up to” the job, even

though the evidence indicates they are good, productive workers (Berger, 2009; Roscigno, 2010). Finally, earnings

above a certain level reduce Social Security benefits before full retirement age, leading some older people to avoid

working at all or to at least limit their hours. All these obstacles lead seniors to drop out of the labor force or to

remain unemployed (Gallo, Brand, Teng, Leo-Summers, & Byers, 2009).

Age discrimination in the workplace merits some further discussion. According to sociologist Vincent J. Roscigno

(2010), survey evidence suggests that more than half of older workers have experienced or observed age

discrimination in the workplace, and more than 80 percent of older workers have experienced or observed jokes,

disrespect, or other prejudicial comments about old age. Roscigno notes that workplace ageism receives little

news media attention and has also been neglected by social scientists. This is so despite the related facts that

ageism in the workplace is common and that the older people who experience this discrimination suffer financial

loss and emotional problems. Roscigno (2010, p. 17) interviewed several victims of age discrimination and later

wrote, “Many conveyed fear of defaulting on mortgages or being unable to pay for their children’s college

after being pushed out of their jobs. Others expressed anger and insecurity over the loss of affordable health

insurance or pension benefits…Just as prevalent and somewhat surprising to me in these discussions were the

less-tangible, yet deeper social-psychological and emotional costs that social science research has established for

racial discrimination or sexual harassment, for instance, but are only now being considered in relation to older

workers.”

One of the people Roscigno interviewed was a maintenance worker who was laid off after more than two decades

of working for his employer. This worker was both hurt and angry. “They now don’t want to pay me my pension,”

he said. “I was a good worker for them and always did everything they asked. I went out of my way to help train

people and make everything run smoothly, so everybody was happy and it was a good place to work. And now

this is what I get, like I never really mattered to them. It’s just not right” (Roscigno, 2010, p. 17).

Bereavement and Social Isolation

“We all need someone we can lean on,” as a famous Rolling Stones song goes. Most older Americans do have

adequate social support networks, which, as we saw earlier, are important for their well-being. However, a

significant minority of elders live alone and do not see friends and relatives as often as they wish. Bereavement

takes a toll, as elders who might have been married for many years suddenly find themselves living alone. Here a

gender difference again exists. Because women outlive men and are generally younger than their husbands, they

are three times more likely than men (42 percent compared to 13 percent) to be widowed and thus much more

likely to live alone (see Table 6.3 “Living Arrangements of Noninstitutionalized Older Americans, 2010”).

236 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Table 6.3 Living Arrangements of Noninstitutionalized Older Americans, 2010

Men (%) Women (%)

Living alone 19 41

Living with spouse 70 37

Other arrangement 11 21

Source: Data from Administration on Aging. (2011). A profile of older Americans: 2011. Retrieved from http://www.aoa.gov/aoaroot/

aging_statistics/Profile/2011/docs/2011profile.pdf.

Many elders have at least one adult child living within driving distance, and such children are an invaluable

resource. At the same time, however, some elders have no children, because either they have outlived their

children or they never had any. As baby boomers begin reaching their older years, more of them will have no

children because they were more likely than previous generations to not marry and/or to not have children if they

did marry. Baby boomers thus face a relative lack of children to help them when they enter their “old-old” years

(Leland, 2010).

Bereavement is always a difficult experience, but because so many elders lose a spouse, it is a particular problem

in their lives. The grief that usually follows bereavement can last several years and, if it becomes extreme, can

involve anxiety, depression, guilt, loneliness, and other problems. Of all these problems, loneliness is perhaps the

most common and the most difficult to overcome.

Elder Abuse

Some seniors fall prey to their own relatives who commit elder abuse against them. Such abuse involves one or

more of the following: physical or sexual violence, psychological or emotional abuse, neglect of care, or financial

exploitation (Novak, 2012). Accurate data are hard to come by since few elders report their abuse, but estimates

say that at least 10 percent of older Americans have suffered at least one form of abuse, amounting to hundreds of

thousands of cases annually. However, few of these cases come to the attention of the police or other authorities

(National Center on Elder Abuse, 2010).

Although we may never know the actual extent of elder abuse, it poses a serious health problem for the elders

who are physically, sexually, and/or psychologically abused or neglected, and it may even raise their chances of

dying. One study of more than 2,800 elders found that those who were abused or neglected were three times more

likely than those who were not mistreated to die during the next thirteen years. This difference was found even

after injury and chronic illness were taken into account (Horn, 1998).

A major reason for elder abuse seems to be stress. The adult children and other relatives who care for elders often

find it an exhausting, emotionally trying experience, especially if the person they are helping needs extensive help

with daily activities. Faced with this stress, elders’ caregivers can easily snap and take out their frustrations with

physical violence, emotional abuse, or neglect of care.

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans 237

http://www.aoa.gov/aoaroot/aging_statistics/Profile/2011/docs/2011profile.pdf

Senior Power: Older Americans as a Political Force

Older Americans often hold strong views on issues that affect them directly, such as Medicare and Social Security.

In turn, politicians often work to win the older vote and shape their political stances accordingly.

During the past few decades, older people have become more active politically on their own behalf.

Marc Nozell – Bernie Sanders – CC BY-NC 2.0.

To help address all the problems discussed in the preceding pages, several organizations have been established

since the 1980s to act as interest groups in the political arena on behalf of older Americans (Walker, 2006).

One of the most influential groups is the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which is open to

people 50 or older. AARP provides travel and other discounts to its members and lobbies Congress and other

groups extensively on elderly issues. Its membership numbers about 40 million, or 40 percent of the over-50

population. Some critics say AARP focuses too much on its largely middle-class membership’s self-interests

instead of working for more far-reaching economic changes that might benefit the older poor; others say its efforts

on Medicare, Social Security, and other issues do benefit the elderly from all walks of life. This controversy aside,

AARP is an influential force in the political arena because of its numbers and resources.

A very different type of political organization of the elderly was the Gray Panthers, founded by the late Maggie

Kuhn in 1970 (Kuhn, Long, & Quinn, 1991). Although this group has been less newsworthy since Kuhn’s death

in 1995, at its height it had some eighty-five local chapters across the nation and 70,000 members and supporters.

A more activist organization than AARP and other lobbying groups for the elderly, the Gray Panthers took more

liberal stances. For example, it urged the establishment of a national health-care service and programs to increase

affordable housing for the elderly.

As older Americans have engaged the political process on their own behalf, critics have charged that programs

for the elderly are too costly to the nation, that the elderly are better off than groups like AARP claim, and that

new programs for the elderly will take even more money from younger generations and leave them insufficient

238 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.5.5.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcn/19219654125/

funds for their own retirement many years from now. Their criticism, which began during the 1980s, is termed the

generational equity argument (Williamson, McNamara, & Howling, 2003).

Advocates for the elderly say the generational equity critics exaggerate the financial well-being of older

Americans and neglect the fact that many older Americans, especially women and those of color, are poor or near

poor and thus need additional government aid. Anything we can do now to help the aged, they continue, will

also help future generations of the elderly. As Lenard W. Kaye (1994, p. 346) observed in an early critique of

the generational equity movement, “In the long run, all of us can expect to live into extended old age, barring

an unexpected fatal illness or accident. To do injustice to our current generation of elders, by means of policy

change, can only come back to haunt us as each and every one of us—children, young families, and working

people—move toward the latter stages of the life course.”

People Making a Difference

College Students Helping Senior Citizens

After Hurricane Irene swept up the East Coast in August 2011, many towns and cities faced severe flooding. One of these towns was Cranford, New Jersey, just southwest of Newark. Streets and hundreds of homes flooded, and many residents’ belongings were ruined.

Union County College, which has campuses in Cranford and a few other towns, came to Cranford residents’ aid. As the college president explained in late August, “Many of the town’s residents are senior citizens. Even though the fall term won’t begin until Sept. 1, we’ve still got a number of strong men and women on campus to help residents clear out their basements and help move whatever people needed moved.”

Led by the dean of college life, a dozen or so students went house-to-house on a Cranford street that experienced the worst flooding to aid the town’s senior citizens and younger ones as well. The dean later recalled, “Everyone we met was just so happy to see us there helping out. Sometimes they had plenty of work for us. Other times, they just smiled and said they were glad to know we cared.”

A news report summarized the impact of the students’ assistance: “In the coming weeks and months, Cranford residents will be able to recover what their town lost to Irene. But they may never forget the damage Irene caused, nor are they likely to forget how Union County College’s students came to help them in their time of need.” At a time of crisis, the staff and students of Union County College in the small town of Cranford, New Jersey, made a big difference in the lives of Cranford’s senior citizens and younger residents alike.

Source: Cranford Chronicle, 2011

Key Takeaways

• The US elderly experience several health problems, including arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, hearing loss, vision problems, diabetes, and dementia.

• Nursing home care in the United States is very expensive and often substandard; neglect and abuse of nursing home residents is fairly common.

• Despite help from Social Security, many older Americans face problems of financial security.

• It is difficult to determine the actual extent of elder abuse, but elder abuse often has serious consequences for the health and lives of older Americans.

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans 239

• During the last few decades, older Americans have been active in the political process on their own behalf and today are an important political force in the United States.

For Your Review

1. What do you think is the worst or most serious problem facing the US elderly? Explain your answer.

2. The text suggests that the lives of the US elderly would be improved if the United States were to adopt some of the policies and practices that other nations have for their elderly. Explain why you agree or disagree with this suggestion.

References

Alzheimer’s Association. (2009). 2009 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Chicago, IL: Author.

Berger, E. D. (2009). Managing age discrimination: An examination of the techniques used when seeking

employment. The Gerontologist, 49(3), 317–332.

Carr, D. (2010). Golden years? Poverty among older Americans. Contexts, 9(1), 62–63.

Cranford Chronicle. (2011, August 31). County College students help Cranford residents cleanup. Cranford

Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.nj.com/cranford/index.ssf/2011/2008/

county_college_students_help_c.html.

Crawthorne, A. (2008). Elderly poverty: The challenge before us. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.

DeHart, D., Webb, J., & Cornman, C. (2009). Prevention of elder mistreatment in nursing homes: Competencies

for direct-care staff. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 21(4), 360–378.

Edwards, M. (2007). As Good As It Gets: What Country Takes the Best Care of Its Older Citizens? In D. S. Eitzen

(Ed.), Solutions to Social Problems: Lessons from Other Societies (4th ed., pp. 76–85). Boston, MA: Allyn &

Bacon.

Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. (2010). Older Americans 2010: Key indicators of well-

being. Washington, DC: US Goverment Printing Office.

Gallo, W. T., Brand, J. E., Teng, H.-M., Leo-Summers, L., & Byers, A. L. (2009). Differential impact of

involuntary job loss on physical disability among older workers: Does predisposition matter? Research on Aging,

31(3), 345–360.

Hartlapp, M., & Schmid, G. (2008). Labour market policy for “active ageing” in Europe: Expanding the options

for retirement transitions. Journal of Social Policy, 37(3), 409–431.

240 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.nj.com/cranford/index.ssf/2011/2008/county_college_students_help_c.html

Horn, D. (1998, August 17). Bad news on elder abuse. Time, p. 82.

Kaye, L. W. (1994). Generational equity: Pitting young against old. In J. Robert B. Enright (Ed.), Perspectives in

social gerontology (pp. 343–347). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Kerby, S. (2012). Debunking poverty myths and racial stereotypes. Washington, DC: Center for American

Progress.

Kuhn, M., Long, C., & Quinn, L. (1991). No stone unturned: The life and times of Maggie Kuhn. New York, NY:

Ballantine Books.

Leland, J. (2010, April 25). A graying population, a graying work force. New York Times, p. A14.

National Center on Elder Abuse. (2010). Why should I care about elder abuse? Washington, DC: Author.

Ney, S. (2005). Active aging policy in Europe: Between path dependency and path departure. Ageing

International, 30, 325–342.

Novak, M. (2012). Issues in aging (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Roscigno, V. J. (2010). Ageism in the American workplace. Contexts, 9(1), 16–21.

Rowe, J. W., Berkman, L. F., Binstock, R., Boersch-Supan, A., Cacioppo, J., Carsternsen, L., et al. (2010). Policies

and politics for an aging America. Contexts, 9(1), 22–27.

Sears, D. (2009, September 6). Myths busted on older workers’ job performance. TheLadders. Retrieved from

http://www.career-line.com/job-search-news/myths-busted-on-older-workers-job-performance/.

Walker, A. (2006). Aging and politics: An international perspective. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds.),

Handbook of aging and the social sciences (6th ed., pp. 338–358). New York, NY: Academic Press.

Williamson, J. B., McNamara, T. K., & Howling, S. A. (2003). Generational equity, generational interdependence,

and the framing of the debate over social security reform. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 30(3), 3–14.

6.5 Problems Facing Older Americans 241

http://www.career-line.com/job-search-news/myths-busted-on-older-workers-job-performance/

6.6 Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Americans

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the contradictory impulses that make it difficult to predict the future for older Americans.

2. Discuss any two programs or policies that should help address some of the problems facing older Americans.

We have seen some contradictory impulses that make it difficult to predict the status of older Americans in the

decades ahead. On the one hand, the large number of baby boomers will combine with increasing longevity to

swell the ranks of the elderly; this process has already begun and will accelerate during the coming years. The

inevitable jump in the size of the aged population may strain Social Security, Medicare, and other programs for

the aged. On the other hand, the baby boomer generation will reach its old age as a much better educated and more

healthy and wealthy group than any previous generation. It will likely participate in the labor force, politics, and

other arenas more than previous generations of elders and, as has been true for some time, exert a good deal of

influence on national political and cultural affairs.

Although this sounds like a rosier picture, several concerns remain. Despite the relative affluence of the baby

boomers, segments of the group, especially among women and people of color, remain mired in poverty, and these

segments will continue to be once they reach their older years. Moreover, the relative health of the baby boomers

means that they will outlive previous generations of the aged. Yet as more of them reach the ranks of the “old-

old,” they will become frailer and require care from health-care professionals and organizations and from social

support networks. As noted earlier, some may not have children and will be in even more need of help.

Although older Americans fare much better than their counterparts in poor nations, they fare not nearly as well as

their counterparts in other wealthy democracies, which generally provide many more extensive and better-funded

programs and services for their elderly. Older Americans also continue to confront stereotypes and prejudicial

attitudes that add to the burden many of them already face from the biological process of aging.

A sociological understanding of aging and ageism reminds us that many of the problems that older Americans

face are ultimately rooted not in their chronological age but rather in the stereotypes about them and in the lack

of adequate social programs like those found throughout other Western nations. This understanding also reminds

us that the older Americans who face the most severe problems of health, health care, and financial security

are women and people of color and that their more severe problems reflect the many inequalities they have

experienced throughout the life course, long before they reached their older years. These inequalities accumulate

over the years to leave them especially vulnerable when they finally arrive into their sixties.

With this understanding, it becomes clear that efforts to improve the lives of older Americans must focus on

providing them with more numerous and more extensive social services and programming of many kinds and

on reducing the stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes that many Americans hold of older people. Possibilities

involving improved social services and programming might be drawn from the example provided by other

Western nations and include the following (Rowe et al., 2010; Uhlenberg, 2009):

1. An expansion of Social Security to provide a much more comfortable life for all older Americans,

regardless of their earnings history, and thus regardless of their gender and race/ethnicity.

2. An expansion of Medicare and other health aid for older Americans to match the level of health-care

assistance provided by many other Western nations. In one particular area that needs attention,

Medicare pays for nursing home care only after nursing home patients use up most of their own assets,

leaving a patient’s spouse with severe financial problems. Other Western nations pay for nursing home

care from the outset, and the United States should adopt this practice.

3. The establishment of more flexible work hours, job-sharing arrangements, and other policies that

would enhance the ability of older people to work part-time or full-time.

4. Increase paid and volunteer opportunities for older adults to help take care of young children and

adolescents, especially those who are poor or otherwise disadvantaged, in schools and other settings,

creating a win-win situation for both the older adults and the children.

5. As with stereotypical and prejudicial views based on gender and on race/ethnicity, greater educational

efforts should be launched to reduce stereotyping and prejudicial attitudes based on aging. Like sexism

and racism, ageism has no place in a nation like the United States, which has historically promised

equality and equal opportunity for all.

Beyond all these measures, aging scholars emphasize the need to help future older populations by investing in

younger people. As a group of several scholars has noted, “Many of the key determinants of successful aging are

cumulative, occurring throughout the lifetime and, importantly, starting in early childhood. The people who will

turn 65 between 2050 and 2070 have already been born. If we want to promote their health and well-being into

old age, we need to begin now, when they are infants and children. Childhood and early adolescent experiences

leave a footprint for many functions in older age. Failing to invest in education and health throughout childhood

and young adulthood is short-sighted” (Rowe et al., 2010, p. 24).

Key Takeaways

• Although the number of older Americans will be increasing in the years ahead, the baby boomers who are now reaching old age will be better educated and wealthier than older Americans of past generations.

• Efforts to help older Americans would benefit from relying on the models practiced by other Western democracies.

For Your Review

1. What do you think is the most important action the United States should take to help older Americans?

2. Does it make sense for the United States to follow the example of other democracies as it tries to help older

6.6 Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Americans 243

Americans, or is the United States different enough from these nations that it does not make sense to do so? Explain your answer.

References

Rowe, J. W., Berkman, L. F., Binstock, R., Boersch-Supan, A., Cacioppo, J., Carsternsen, L., et al. (2010). Policies

and politics for an aging America. Contexts, 9(1), 22–27.

Uhlenberg, P. (2009). Children in an aging society. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and

Social Sciences, 64B(4), 489–496.

244 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

6.7 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Gerontology is the study of aging. Gerontologists study the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of aging. Social gerontologists focus on social aging and distinguish several dimensions of aging, which refers to changes in people’s roles and relationships as they age.

2. The perception and experience of aging vary from one society to another and within a given society over time.

3. Sociological explanations of aging include disengagement theory, activity theory, and conflict theory. Disengagement theory emphasizes the need of society to disengage its elders from their previous roles to pave the way for a younger and presumably more able generation to take over those roles. In contrast, activity theory assumes that elders need to remain active to enhance their physical and mental health. Conflict theory emphasizes ageism, or discrimination and prejudice against the elderly, and the structural barriers society poses to elders’ economic and other aspects of overall well-being.

4. Life expectancy differs dramatically around the world and within the United States, where it’s lower for men and lower for people of color. Because life expectancy has increased, people are living longer, resulting in a “graying of society.” In the United States, the imminent entrance of the baby boom generation into its older years will further fuel a large rise in the number of older Americans. This graying of society may strain traditional economic and medical programs for their care and affect views of aging and the elderly.

5. Although aging involves several physiological and psychological changes, negative stereotypes of aging and the elderly exaggerate the extent and impact of these changes. Proper exercise, nutrition, and stress reduction can minimize the effects of aging, as can religious involvement and informal social support networks.

6. As a diverse group, older Americans differ greatly in terms of wealth and poverty, education, health, and other dimensions. They face several problems because of their age, including illness and disability, financial security, employment obstacles, and elder abuse. For several reasons, older Americans generally hold more conservative views on social and moral issues. At the same time, groups working on behalf of older Americans in the political arena have succeeded in bringing elder issues to the attention of public officials and political parties.

7. As the ranks of older Americans swell in the years ahead, elders will be better educated and wealthier than their predecessors, but their sheer numbers may impose considerable strain on social institutions. Already there are signs of perceived conflict between the needs of the elderly and those of younger generations. However, advocates for older Americans believe that efforts to help elders now will in the long run help younger Americans when they finally reach their old age.

Using What You Know

It is about twenty years from now, and a close friend of yours is facing a difficult decision. Her mother is in failing health and might have the onset of dementia. It has become increasingly apparent that she can no longer live alone, and your friend is trying to decide whether to have her mother come live with her, to arrange for in-home care for her, or to place her into residential care. What advice do you give to your friend?

What You Can Do

To help reduce inequality based on aging and ageism and the problems facing older people, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer at a senior citizens’ center, residential care facility, or nursing home.

2. Write a letter to the editor about media stereotypes about older people.

3. Start a group on your campus to educate students about the problems facing senior citizens.

246 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

6.1 The Concept and Experience of Aging

Learning Objectives

1. Define social gerontology.

2. Distinguish biological aging, psychological aging, and social aging.

Because we all want to live into old age, the study of age and aging helps us understand something about ourselves and a stage in the

life course we all hope to reach.

Carl Nenzén Lovén – Grandpa – CC BY 2.0.

Here is why you should want to know about aging and the problems older people face: You will be old someday.

At least you will be old if you do not die prematurely from an accident, cancer, a heart attack, some other medical

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.1.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nenzen/8206939291/

problem, murder, or suicide. Although we do not often think about aging when we are in our late teens and early

twenties, one of our major goals in life is to become old. By studying age and aging and becoming familiar with

some of the problems facing the elderly now and in the future, we are really studying something about ourselves

and a stage in the life course we all hope to reach.

The study of aging is so important and popular that it has its own name, gerontology. Social gerontology is the

study of the social aspects of aging (Novak, 2012). The scholars who study aging are called gerontologists. The

people they study go by several names, most commonly “older people,” “elders,” and “the elderly.” The latter

term is usually reserved for those 65 or older, while “older people” and “elders” often include people in their

fifties as well as those 60 or older.

Dimensions of Aging

Age and aging have four dimensions. The dimension most of us think of is chronological age, defined as the

number of years since someone was born. A second dimension is biological aging, which refers to the physical

changes that “slow us down” as we get into our middle and older years. For example, our arteries might clog up,

or problems with our lungs might make it more difficult for us to breathe. A third dimension, psychological aging,

refers to the psychological changes, including those involving mental functioning and personality, that occur as we

age. Gerontologists emphasize that chronological age is not always the same thing as biological or psychological

age. Some people who are 65, for example, can look and act much younger than some who are 50.

The fourth dimension of aging is social. Social aging refers to changes in a person’s roles and relationships, both

within their networks of relatives and friends and in formal organizations such as the workplace and houses of

worship. Although social aging can differ from one individual to another, it is also profoundly influenced by

the perception of aging that is part of a society’s culture. If a society views aging positively, the social aging

experienced by individuals in that society will be more positive and enjoyable than in a society that views

aging negatively. As we shall see, though, the perception of aging in the United States is not very positive, with

important consequences for our older citizens.

Key Takeaways

• The study of the elderly and aging helps us understand problems in a state of the life course we all hope to reach.

• Biological aging refers to the physical changes that accompany the aging process, while psychological aging refers to the psychological changes that occur.

• Social aging refers to the changes in a person’s roles and relationships as the person ages.

248 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

For Your Review

1. Think about an older person whom you know. To what extent has this person experienced psychological aging? To what extent has this person experienced social aging?

2. The text states that the perception of aging in the United States is not very positive. What do you think accounts for this?

References

Novak, M. (2012). Issues in aging (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

6.1 The Concept and Experience of Aging 249

6.2 Perspectives on Aging

Learning Objectives

1. State the assumptions of disengagement, activity, and conflict theories of aging.

2. Critically assess these three theories.

Recall that social aging refers to changes in people’s roles and relationships in a society as they age. Social

gerontologists have tried to explain how and why the aging process in the United States and other societies occurs.

Their various explanations, summarized in Table 6.1 “Theory Snapshot”, help us understand patterns of social

aging. They fall roughly into either the functionalist, social interactionist, or conflict approaches discussed in

Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”.

Table 6.1 Theory Snapshot

Theoretical perspective

Major assumptions

Disengagement theory

To enable younger people to assume important roles, a society must encourage its older people to disengage from their previous roles and to take on roles more appropriate to their physical and mental decline. This theory is considered a functionalist explanation of the aging process.

Activity theory Older people benefit themselves and their society if they continue to be active. Their positive perceptions of the aging process are crucial to their ability to remain active. This theory is considered an interactionist explanation of the aging process.

Conflict theory Older people experience age-based prejudice and discrimination. Inequalities among the aged exist along the lines of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class. This theory falls into the more general conflict theory of society.

One of the first explanations was called disengagement theory (Cumming & Henry, 1961). This approach assumed

that all societies must find ways for older people’s authority to give way to younger people. A society thus

encourages its elderly to disengage from their previous roles and to take on roles more appropriate to their physical

and mental decline. In this way, a society effects a smooth transition of its elderly into a new, more sedentary

lifestyle and ensures that their previous roles will be undertaken by a younger generation that is presumably

more able to carry out these roles. Because disengagement theory assumes that social aging preserves a society’s

stability and that a society needs to ensure that disengagement occurs, it is often considered a functionalist

explanation of the aging process.

A critical problem with this theory was that it assumes that older people are no longer capable of adequately

performing their previous roles. However, older people in many societies continue to perform their previous roles

quite well. In fact, society may suffer if its elderly do disengage, as it loses their insight and wisdom. It is also true

that many elders cannot afford to disengage from their previous roles; if they leave their jobs, they are also leaving

needed sources of income, as the opening news story discussed, and if they leave their jobs and other roles, they

also reduce their social interaction and the benefits it brings.

Today most social gerontologists prefer activity theory, which assumes that older people benefit both themselves

and their society if they remain active and try to continue to perform the roles they had before they aged (Choi &

Kim, 2011). As they perform their roles, their perception of the situations they are in is crucial to their perception

of their aging and thus to their self-esteem and other aspects of their psychological well-being. Because activity

theory focuses on the individual and her or his perception of the aging process, it is often considered a social

interactionist explanation of social aging.

One criticism of activity theory is that it overestimates the ability of the elderly to maintain their level of activity:

Although some elders can remain active, others cannot. Another criticism is that activity theory is too much of an

individualistic approach, as it overlooks the barriers many societies place to successful aging. Some elders are less

able to remain active because of their poverty, gender, and social class, as these and other structural conditions

may adversely affect their physical and mental health. Activity theory overlooks these conditions.

Explanations of aging grounded in conflict theory put these conditions at the forefront of their analyses. A conflict

theory of aging, then, emphasizes the impact of ageism, or negative views about old age and prejudice and

discrimination against the elderly (Novak, 2012). According to this view, older workers are devalued because they

are no longer economically productive and because their higher salaries (because of their job seniority), health

benefits, and other costs drive down capitalist profits. Conflict theory also emphasizes inequality among the aged

along gender, race/ethnicity, and social class lines. Reflecting these inequalities in the larger society, some elders

are quite wealthy, but others are very poor.

One criticism of conflict theory is that it blames ageism on modern, capitalist economies. However, negative

views of the elderly also exist to some extent in modern, socialist societies and in preindustrial societies.

Capitalism may make these views more negative, but such views can exist even in societies that are not

capitalistic.

Key Takeaways

• Disengagement theory assumes that all societies must find ways for older people’s authority to give way to younger people. A society thus encourages its elderly to disengage from their previous roles and to take on roles more appropriate to their physical and mental decline.

• Activity theory assumes that older people will benefit both themselves and their society if they remain active and try to continue to perform the roles they had before they aged.

For Your Review

1. Which theory of aging—disengagement theory, activity theory, or conflict theory—makes the most sense to you? Why?

6.2 Perspectives on Aging 251

References

Choi, N. G., & Kim, J. (2011). The effect of time volunteering and charitable donations in later life on

psychological wellbeing. Ageing & Society, 31(4), 590–610.

Cumming, E., & Henry, W. E. (1961). Growing old: The process of disengagement. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Novak, M. (2012). Issues in aging (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

252 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

6.3 Life Expectancy and the Graying of Society

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the differences in life expectancy around the world.

2. List the potential problems associated with the growing proportion of older individuals in poor nations.

3. Explain the evidence for inequality in US life expectancy.

When we look historically and cross-culturally, we see that old age is a relative term, since few people in

preindustrial times or in poor countries today reach the age range that most Americans would consider to be

old, say 65 or older. When we compare contemporary societies, we find that life expectancy, or the average

age to which people can be expected to live, varies dramatically across the world. As Figure 6.1 “Average Life

Expectancy across the Globe (Years)” illustrates, life expectancy in North America, most of Europe, and Australia

averages 75 years or more, while life expectancy in most of Africa averages less than 60 years (Population

Reference Bureau, 2011).

Figure 6.1 Average Life Expectancy across the Globe (Years)

Source: Adapted from Population Reference Bureau. (2011). The world at 7 billion: World population data sheet: Life expectancy.

Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/publications/datasheets/2011/world-population-data-sheet/world-map.aspx#/map/lifeexp.

What accounts for these large disparities? The major factor is the wealth or poverty of a nation, as the wealthiest

nations have much longer life expectancies than the poorest ones. This is true because, as Chapter 2 “Poverty”

noted, the poorest nations by definition have little money and few other resources. They suffer from hunger, AIDS,

and other diseases, and they lack indoor plumbing and other modern conveniences found in almost every home in

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/dba4bf939cede9c2692aea31413ebd2d.jpg

http://www.prb.org/publications/datasheets/2011/world-population-data-sheet/world-map.aspx#/map/lifeexp

the wealthiest nations. As a result, they have high rates of infant and childhood mortality, and many people who

make it past childhood die prematurely from disease, starvation, and other problems.

These differences mean that few people in these societies reach the age of 65 that Western nations commonly mark

as the beginning of old age. Figure 6.2 “Percentage of Population Aged 65 or Older, 2011” depicts the percentage

of each nation’s population that is 65 or older. Not surprisingly, the nations of Africa have very low numbers of

people 65 or older. In Uganda, for example, only 3 percent of the population is at least 65, compared to 13 percent

of Americans and 20–21 percent of Germans and Italians.

Figure 6.2 Percentage of Population Aged 65 or Older, 2011

Source: Adapted from Population Reference Bureau. (2011). 2011 world population data sheet. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/pdf11/

2011population-data-sheet_eng.pdf.

Despite these international disparities, life expectancy overall has been increasing around the world. It was

only 46 years worldwide in the early 1950s but was 69 in 2009 and is expected to reach about 75 by 2050

(Population Reference Bureau, 2011). This means that the number of people 65 or older is growing rapidly; they

are expected to reach almost 1.5 billion worldwide by 2050, three times their number today and five times their

number just twenty years ago (United Nations Population Division, 2011). Despite international differences in

life expectancy and the elderly percentage of the population, the world as a whole is decidedly “graying,” with

important implications for the cost and quality of elder care and other issues.

254 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/0e46166689e328413a57f06180faaf75.jpg

http://www.prb.org/pdf11/2011population-data-sheet_eng.pdf

Older people now constitute 15 percent of the combined population of wealthy nations, but they will account for 26 percent by 2050.

Pedro Ribeiro Simões – Warming the bones – CC BY 2.0.

As life expectancy rises in poor nations, these nations will experience special problems (Hayutin, 2007). One

problem will involve paying for the increased health care that older people in these nations will require. Because

these nations are so poor, they will face even greater problems than the industrial world in paying for such care

and for other programs and services their older citizens will need. Another problem stems from the fact that many

poor nations are beginning or continuing to industrialize and urbanize. As they do so, traditional family patterns,

including respect for the elderly and the continuation of their roles and influence, may weaken. One reason for

this is that urban families have smaller dwelling units in which to accommodate their elderly relatives and lack

any land onto which they can build new housing. Families in poor nations will thus find it increasingly difficult to

accommodate their elders.

Life Expectancy in the United States

Life expectancy has been increasing in the United States along with the rest of the world (see Figure 6.3 “Changes

in US Life Expectancy at Birth, 1900–2010”). It rose rapidly in the first half of the twentieth century and has

increased steadily since then. From a low of 47.3 years in 1900, it rose to about 71 years in 1970 and 77 years

in 2000 and to more than 78 years in 2010. Americans born in 2010 will thus be expected to live about 31 years

longer than those born a century earlier.

Figure 6.3 Changes in US Life Expectancy at Birth, 1900–2010

6.3 Life Expectancy and the Graying of Society 255

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosimoes7/393217457/

Sources: Data from Arias, E. (2010). United States life tables, 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 58(21), 1–40.

During the next few decades, the numbers of the elderly will increase rapidly thanks to the large baby boom

generation born after World War II (from 1946 to 1964) that is now entering its mid-sixties. Figure 6.4 “Past and

Projected Percentage of US Population Aged 65 or Older, 1900–2050” shows the rapid rise of older Americans

(65 or older) as a percentage of the population that is expected to occur. Elders numbered about 3.1 million in

1900 (4.1 percent of the population), number about 40 million today, and are expected to reach 89 million by 2050

(20.2 percent of the population). The large increase in older Americans overall has been called the graying of

America and will have important repercussions for elderly care and other aspects of old age in the United States,

as we discuss later.

Figure 6.4 Past and Projected Percentage of US Population Aged 65 or Older, 1900–2050

Source: Data from Administration on Aging. (n.d.). Projected future growth of the older population by age: 1900–2050. Retrieved

from http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Aging_Statistics/future_growth/future_growth.aspx.

Inequality in Life Expectancy

We have seen that inequality in life expectancy exists around the world, with life expectancy lower in poor

256 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/0b9edc57d3b512a81a6c2c9079d7c15f.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/6aa177f134aa042d0c30680ac05ef251.jpg

http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Aging_Statistics/future_growth/future_growth.aspx

nations than in wealthy nations. Inequality in life expectancy also exists within a given society along gender, race/

ethnicity, and social class lines.

For gender, the inequality is in favor of women, who for both biological and social reasons outlive men across

the globe. In the United States, for example, girls born in 2007 could expect to live 80.4 years on the average, but

boys only 75.4 years.

In most countries, race and ethnicity combine with social class to produce longer life expectancies for the

(wealthier) dominant race, which in the Western world is almost always white. The United States again reflects

this international phenomenon: Whites born in 2007 could expect to live 78.4 years on the average, but African

Americans only 73.6 years. In fact, gender and race combine in the United States to put African American males

at a particular disadvantage, as they can expect to live only 70.0 years (see Figure 6.5 “Sex, Race, and Life

Expectancy for US Residents Born in 2007”). The average African American male will die almost 11 years earlier

than the average white woman.

Figure 6.5 Sex, Race, and Life Expectancy for US Residents Born in 2007

Source: Data from National Center for Health Statistics, US Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Health, United

States, 2010, with special feature on death and dying. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus10.pdf.

Key Takeaways

• Life expectancy differs widely around the world and is much higher in wealthy nations than in poor nations.

• Life expectancy has also been increasing around the world, including in the United States, and the increasing number of older people in the decades ahead will pose several serious challenges.

• Inequality in life expectancy exists within a given society along gender, race/ethnicity, and social class lines.

For Your Review

1. As our nation and the world both “gray,” what do you think is the most important problem that will stem

6.3 Life Expectancy and the Graying of Society 257

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/67b68468cf53c3c6c29de44a963cb324.jpg

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus10.pdf

from the increasing number of older people?

2. Write a short essay in which you discuss the problems that an elderly person you know, perhaps a grandparent, has experienced related to being older.

References

Hayutin, A. M. (2007). Graying of the global population. Public Policy & Aging Report, 17(4), 12–17.

Population Reference Bureau. (2011). 2011 world population data sheet. Washington, DC: Author.

United Nations Population Division. (2011). World population prospects: The 2010 revision. New York, NY:

Author.

258 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

6.4 Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging

Learning Objectives

1. Describe any four biological changes associated with aging.

2. List any three steps that individuals can try to undertake to achieve successful aging.

Like many other societies, the United States has a mixed view of aging and older people. While we generally

appreciate our elderly, we have a culture oriented toward youth, as evidenced by the abundance of television

characters in their twenties and lack of those in their older years. As individuals, we do our best not to look

old, as the many ads for wrinkle creams and products to darken gray hair attest. Moreover, when we think of

the elderly, negative images often come to mind. We often think of someone who has been slowed by age both

physically and mentally. She or he may have trouble walking up steps, picking up heavy grocery bags, standing

up straight, or remembering recent events. The term senile often comes to mind, and phrases like “doddering

old fool,” “geezer,” and other disparaging remarks sprinkle our language when we talk about them. Meanwhile,

despite some improvement, the elderly are often portrayed in stereotypical ways on television and in movies (Lee,

Carpenter, & Meyers, 2007).

How true is this negative image? What do we know of physical and psychological changes among the elderly?

How much of what we think we know about aging and the elderly is a myth, and how much is reality?

Gerontologists have paid special attention to answering these questions (Novak, 2012).

Biological changes certainly occur as we age. The first signs are probably in our appearance. Our hair begins

to turn gray, our (male) hairlines recede, and a few wrinkles set in. The internal changes that often accompany

aging are more consequential, among them being that (a) fat replaces lean body mass, and many people gain

weight; (b) bone and muscle loss occur; (c) lungs lose their ability to take in air, and our respiratory efficiency

declines; (d) the functions of the cardiovascular and renal (kidney) systems decline; (e) the number of brain cells

declines, as does brain mass overall; and (f) vision and hearing decline. Cognitive and psychological changes also

occur. Learning and memory begin declining after people reach their seventies; depression and other mental and/

or emotional disorders can set in; and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, can occur.

Because our society values youthfulness, many people try to do their best not to look old.

FoundryParkInn – Men’s Facial – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

All these conditions yield statistics such as follows: about half of people 65 or older have arthritis or high blood

pressure; almost one-fifth have coronary heart disease; more than one-fifth have diabetes; and about 60 percent of

women in their seventies have osteoporosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & The Merck Company

Foundation, 2007; Crawthorne, 2008).

Still, the nature and extent of all these changes vary widely among older people. Some individuals are frail at 65,

while others remain vigorous well into their seventies and beyond. People can be “old” at 60 or even 50, while

others can be “young” at 80. Many elders are no longer able to work, but others remain in the labor force. All in

all, then, most older people do not fit the doddering image myth and can still live a satisfying and productive life

(Rowe et al., 2010).

Enhancing Vitality for Successful Aging

To what extent are the effects of biological and psychological aging the inevitable results of chronological aging?

260 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/6.4.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/foundryparkinn/3762847483/

Gerontologists are still trying to understand what causes these effects, and their explanations center on such things

as a declining immune system, the slowing of cellular replication, and other processes that need not concern us

here.

One thing is clear: We can all take several steps to help us age better, because what we do as we enter our older

years matters much more than genetics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & The Merck Company

Foundation, 2007; Crawthorne, 2008). To the extent this is true, the effects of biological and psychological aging

are not necessarily inevitable, and “successful aging” is possible. The steps highlighted in the gerontological

literature are by now almost a cliché, but regular exercise, good nutrition, and stress reduction stand at the top of

most gerontologists’ recommendations for continued vitality in later life. In fact, Americans live about ten years

less than an average set of genes should let them live because they do not exercise enough and because they eat

inadequate diets.

Research by social gerontologists suggests at least two additional steps older people can take if they want

“successful aging.” The first is involvement in informal, personal networks of friends, neighbors, and relatives.

The importance of such networks is one of the most thoroughly documented in the social gerontological literature

(Binstock & George, 2006) (see Note 6.23 “Applying Social Research”). Networks enhance successful aging

for at least two reasons. First, they provide practical support, such as help buying groceries and visiting the

doctor, to the elderly who need it. Second, they help older people maintain their self-esteem, meet their desire for

friendships, and satisfy other emotional needs.

Children and Our Future

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

An increasing number of grandparents are raising their grandchildren. Almost 6 million children, or about 8 percent of all children, live in a household headed by a grandparent, up from 4.5 million in 2000. Grandparents are the sole caregiver for almost 3 million of these children because the child’s parents are absent for several reasons: The parents may have died, they may be in jail or prison or have been unable to deal with substance abuse, a child may have been removed from a parent because of parental abuse, or a child may have been abandoned.

In the remaining households where a parent is present, grandparents (usually the grandmother) are still the primary caregivers or at least play a major role in raising the child; the same is true of many grandparents who live near their grown child’s home. In today’s faltering economy, many grandparents are also helping their children out with the expenses of raising their grandchild and running a home. As a family expert with AARP explained, “Grandparents have become the family safety net, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. While they will continue to enjoy their traditional roles, including spending on gifts for grandchildren, I see them increasingly paying for the extras that parents are struggling to keep up with—sports, camps, tutoring or other educational needs, such as music lessons.”

Estella Hyde, 65, and her husband live near Erie, Pennsylvania. They began raising their granddaughter, who started college in fall 2011, when she was one-year-old after her mother said she did not want to raise her. Ms. Hyde called for more government assistance for people in her situation: “It never happens in a happy situation where a son or daughter comes and says, ‘I need you to raise a child for me.’ We were very lucky, we were able to financially take care of her and support her. But many grandparent caregivers need other sources of assistance.”

Many grandparents consider the caregiving and financial support they provide for a grandchild to be both a joy and a privilege. But as their numbers grow, many such grandparents are also finding their involvement to also be somewhat of a physical and/or financial burden. As their numbers continue to grow, it will be important for the federal and state governments to provide them the assistance that Estella Hyde advocated.

Sources: Whitley & Kelley, 2007; Yen, 2011

6.4 Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging 261

A second step for successful aging suggested by scholarly research is religious involvement (Moberg, 2008),

which enhances psychological well-being for at least two reasons. As people worship in a congregation, they

interact with other congregants and, as just noted, enhance their social support networks. Moreover, as they

practice their religious faith, they reduce their stress and can cope better with personal troubles. For both these

reasons, attendance at religious services and the practice of prayer are thought to enhance psychological well-

being among older people. Some elders cannot attend religious services regularly because they have health

problems or are no longer able to drive a car. But prayer and other private devotional activities remain significant

for many of them. To the extent that religion makes a difference for elders’ well-being, health-care facilities and

congregations should do what they can to enable older adults to attend religious services and to otherwise practice

their religious faith.

Applying Social Research

Friendships and Successful Aging

As the text discusses, social networks improve the lives of older Americans by providing both practical and emotional support. Early research on social networks and aging focused more on relatives than on friends. Rebecca G. Adams, former president of the Southern Sociological Society, was one of the first sociologists to emphasize the role that friends can also play in the lives of the elderly. She interviewed seventy older women who lived in a Chicago suburb and asked them many questions about the extent and quality of their friendships.

In one of her most important findings, Adams discovered that the women reported receiving more help from friends than other researchers had assumed was the case. The women were somewhat reluctant to ask friends for help but did so when family members were not available and when they would not overly inconvenience the friends whom they asked for help. Adams also found that “secondary” friendships—those involving friends that a woman spent time with but with whom she was not especially close—were more likely than “primary” friendships (very close friendships) to contribute to her interviewees’ psychological well-being, as these friendships enabled the women to meet new people, to become involved in new activities, and thus to be engaged with the larger society. This finding led Adams to conclude that one should not underestimate how important friends are to older people, particularly to the elderly without family. Friends are an important source of companionship and possibly a more important source of service support than most of the current literature suggests.

Adams also asked the women about their friendships with men. The seventy women she interviewed reported 670 friendships, of which only 3.6 percent were with men. (About 91 percent were with other women, and 6 percent were with couples.) Although prior research had assumed that the number of these friendships is small because there are so few unmarried elderly men compared to the number of unmarried elderly women, Adams discovered from her interviews some additional reasons. Her respondents interpreted any friendship with a man as a courting or romantic friendship, which they thought would be viewed negatively by their children and by their peers. Adopting a traditional gender-role orientation, they also expected any man they might marry to be able to protect them physically and financially. Yet they also realized that any elderly man they might know would be very likely unable to do so. For all these reasons, they shied away from friendships with men.

Work by Adams and other social scientists on the friendships and other aspects of the social support systems for older Americans has contributed greatly to our understanding of the components of successful aging. Practically speaking, it points to the need for programs and other activities to make it easier for the elderly to develop and maintain friendships with both sexes to improve their ability to meet both their practical and emotional needs.

Sources: Adams, 1985, 1986; Roscow, 1967

262 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Key Takeaways

• Certain biological, cognitive, and psychological changes occur as people age. These changes reinforce the negative view of the elderly, but this view nonetheless reflects stereotypes and myths about aging and the elderly.

• Regular exercise, good nutrition, stress reduction, involvement in personal networks, and religious involvement all enhance successful aging.

For Your Review

1. Do you think the negative view of older people that is often found in our society is an unfair stereotype, or do you think there is actually some truth to this stereotype? Explain your answer.

2. Referring back to Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”’s discussion of Émile Durkheim, how does research that documents the importance of personal networks for successful aging reflect Durkheim’s insights?

References

Adams, R. G. (1985). People would talk: Normative barriers to cross-sex friendships for elderly women. The

Gerontologist, 25, 605–611.

Adams, R. G. (1986). Secondary friendship networks and psychological well-being among elderly women.

Activities, Adaptation, and Aging, 8, 59–72.

Binstock, R. H., & George, L. K. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of aging and the social sciences (6th ed.). Boston:

Academic Press.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & The Merck Company Foundation. (2007). The state of aging and

health in America 2007. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Company Foundation.

Crawthorne, A. (2008). Elderly poverty: The challenge before us. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.

Lee, M. M., Carpenter, B., & Meyers, L. S. (2007). Representations of older adults in television advertisements.

Journal of Aging Studies, 21(1), 23–30.

Moberg, D. O. (2008). Spirituality and aging: Research and implications. Journal of Religion, Spirituality &

Aging, 20, 95–134.

Novak, M. (2012). Issues in aging (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Roscow, I. (1967). Social integration of the aged. New York, NY: Free Press.

6.4 Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging 263

Rowe, J. W., Berkman, L. F., Binstock, R., Boersch-Supan, A., Cacioppo, J., Carsternsen, L., et al. (2010). Policies

and politics for an aging America. Contexts, 9(1), 22–27.

Whitley, D. M., & Kelley, S. J. (2007). Grandparents raising grandchildren: A call to action. Washington, DC:

Administration for Children and Families.

Yen, H. (2011, August 25). Grandparents play a bigger role in child-rearing. Associated Press. Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/grandparents-play-a-bigge_n_937945.html.

264 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/grandparents-play-a-bigge_n_937945.html

Chapter 7: Alcohol and Other Drugs

Social Problems in the News

“Why Do College Students Love Getting Wasted?” the headline asked. Ohio University sociologist Thomas Vander Ven, author of a recent book on college drinking, was interviewed for this news story and had several answers to this question. First, drinking helps lessen college students’ anxieties about their courses, social relationships, and other matters. Second, it helps them have a good time and develop close friendships, including perhaps a romantic or sexual partner. Third, and perhaps most important, they drink because it’s fun. He also noted that when students get drunk, the other students who take care of them learn something about adult responsibility.

Vander Ven said that when students drink, “They’re more likely to say and do things that they normally wouldn’t do—show affection to their peers, get angry at them, get more emboldened to sing and dance and take risks and act crazy and there’s a ton of laughing that goes on. It creates this world of adventure. It creates war stories. It creates bonding rituals.” He added, “When things go wrong—the getting sick, the getting arrested, the getting upset—it gives them an opportunity to care for one another, to deliver social support. So you’ve got young adults who, for the first time, are taking care of a sick person, staying up all night with them, consoling them when they’re upset. It’s an opportunity for them to try on adult roles.”

Source: Rogers, 2011

This news story points to two central facts that are often forgotten in discussions about alcohol and other

drugs. First, because of a combination of physiological, psychological, and social factors, drugs make us feel

good. Second, because drugs make us feel good, many people want to use them, come hell or high water. To

acknowledge these two basic facts is not meant to excuse the use of alcohol and other drugs, which cause serious

individual and societal problems. But it is meant to indicate why the United States and other nations have found

it so difficult to deal with drug use.

This difficulty in turn points to the need to understand why people use alcohol and other drugs, including the

influence of our sociodemographic backgrounds on the likelihood of using them. This chapter examines these and

other aspects of drug use before turning to the important issue of social and political policy regarding drug use.

References

Rogers, T. (2011, August 28). Why do college students love getting wasted? Salon.com. Retrieved from

http://www.salon.com/life/education/?story=/mwt/feature/2011/2008/2028/college_drinking_interview.

http://www.salon.com/life/education/?story=/mwt/feature/2011/2008/2028/college_drinking_interview

7.1 Drug Use in History

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the presence of drugs in ancient times.

2. Summarize the use of drugs in the United States during the nineteenth century.

3. Explain the racial basis for decisions to ban opium, cocaine, and marijuana in the United States.

Shakespeare once wrote that “what’s past is prologue.” This familiar phrase means that what happened in the past

provides a context for, and can help to understand and predict, the future. To the extent that the past is prologue,

the history of drug use provides a sobering lesson: Drug use has been common since ancient times and has been

common in almost every society. As a recent book on drug policy states, “People have used chemicals to alter

their state of mind since before there were written records” (Kleiman, Caulkins, & Hawken, 2011, p. xviii). If

past is indeed prologue, then it is no surprise that drug use remains common in contemporary nations despite

considerable efforts to reduce it.

One manifestation of the long history of drug use is that humans have used mind-altering plants since prehistoric

times. “Early humans discovered that eating some plants gave a feeling of relaxation, happiness, drowsiness, or

peace,” one scholar writes. “Some gave a feeling of increased energy, alertness, and stamina. And some caused

strange sensations, terrifying visions, or a profoundly different awareness” (Gahlinger, 2004, p. 5).

Ancient Greeks drank poppy juice, which contained opium, around 300 BCE. Use of other drugs was also common in ancient times.

Tilemahos Efthimiadis – National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece – CC BY 2.0.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.1.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/telemax/3471592736/

Examples of drug use thousands of years ago abound (Escohotado, 2010; Faupel, Horowitz, & Weaver, 2010;

Goodman, Sherratt, & Lovejoy, 2007). Mead, an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey, was first used about

8000 BCE, and beer and berry wines were first used about 6000 BCE. The ancient Sumerians used opium starting

about 5000 BCE. Ancient Egypt used alcohol in 3500 BCE, while ancient China used cannabis (the source of

marijuana) around 3000 BCE. Ancient people in what is now Switzerland ate poppy seeds (the source of opium)

in 2500 BCE. Coca leaves (the source of cocaine) have been chewed for thousands of years. Folk medicines made

from plants and herbs have also been used since ancient times. People in ancient Palestine drank wine in 350

BCE. Ancient Greeks drank poppy juice in 300 BCE. In about the same period, South American tribes used a

hallucinogen called cohoba, made from mimosa beans. The Chinese and other Asians were using opium regularly

by 1000 CE. Native Americans used tobacco before being discovered by Columbus in 1492. The use of various

drugs has also been common in the many societies that anthropologists have studied (Durant & Thakker, 2003;

Page & Singer, 2010).

Sociologist Erich Goode (2008, p. 176) summarizes the history of drug use as follows: “Humans have been

ingesting drugs for thousands of years. And throughout recorded time, significant numbers of nearly every society

on earth have used one or more drugs to achieve certain desired physical or mental states. Drug use comes close

to being a universal, both worldwide and throughout history.”

Drug Use in US History

This history of drug use includes the United States, where past is again prologue. During the colonial era, tobacco

was a major crop in Virginia and other colonies thanks to slave labor. After being processed, it was commonly

used by colonists and also exported to Europe in great quantities (Gately, 2001). From the earliest colonial days,

alcohol was another drug used in great quantities, as “Americans were drinkers right from the start” (Genzlinger,

2011, p. C1). The Mayflower, the celebrated ship that brought the first Puritans to what eventually became the

United States, was filled with barrels of beer. In colonial New England, rum manufacturing was a major industry,

and rum drinking was common. During the early 1770s, New England had more than 140 rum distilleries, and

rum consumption in the colonies averaged 7.5 million gallons annually. This massive drinking has led one author

to call rum “the real spirit of 1776” (Williams, 2006). Rum was also a major export to Europe and elsewhere. In

addition to rum, colonists routinely drank beer and hard cider.

During the nineteenth century, Americans began to use drugs other than alcohol in great quantities. One popular

drug was coffee. Before the Civil War, Americans who drank coffee had to buy green (unroasted) coffee beans

in bulk and roast their own coffee. Then in 1865, John Arbuckle, a Pittsburgh grocer, began selling roasted

coffee inside a new invention—the paper bag. His bagged coffee was an instant hit across the nation, other coffee

manufacturers followed suit, and coffee use by Americans greatly increased.

Alcohol also remained a very popular drug, and use of this drug during the 1800s was probably greater than during

colonial America. Two reasons help account for this trend (Faupel et al., 2010). One reason was the western

frontier. As the nation moved west, many of the explorers and settlers who led the way were men who were

unmarried or, if married, men who had left their families behind. To put it mildly, they drank a lot, fought a lot, and

gambled a lot. A second reason was that many Irish immigrants came to the United States during a great wave of

immigration that began in the mid-nineteenth century. Although it might sound like a stereotype, the Irish drank a

7.1 Drug Use in History 267

lot of alcohol back in their homeland, and they continued to do so once they reached the United States. Regardless

of who was drinking, heavy alcohol use contributed greatly to poverty, to physical assaults and homicides, and to

domestic violence and other family problems.

Three other popular drugs in this era were opium, cocaine, and marijuana. Use of these drugs was so common that

nineteenth-century America has been called a “dope fiend’s paradise” (Brecher, 1973). A brief discussion of these

drugs’ histories will underscore the widespread use of drugs in the American past and also racial issues that arose

when laws were passed to ban these drugs (Musto, 1999).

Opium

During the decades before and after the Civil War, the use of opium was extremely common (Goode, 2012).

Beyond making people feel good, opium is an effective painkiller and cough suppressant. Accordingly, it was

a staple in many patent medicines, elixirs and tonics, sold back then in apothecaries, general stores, and other

venues. Large numbers of people from all social backgrounds used these opium-laced medicines for problems

such as depression, headaches, menstrual cramps, and toothaches. It is not much of an exaggeration to say that

the United States was a nation of opium users during this period; an estimated 500,000 Americans were addicted

to opium by the end of the century. As anthropologist Robert B. Edgerton (1976, pp. 57–58) summarizes the

situation, “The use of opium was widespread in all segments of American society. Children were calmed with

opium derivatives, women used many popular patent medicines which were liberally larded with opiates, and

‘opium dens’ were probably present in all cities and most towns as well.”

Opium was a common ingredient in nineteenth-century tonics and elixirs that were sold widely to the public.

camarelius – _DSC_5554 rot cr alt – CC BY-NC 2.0.

268 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.1.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rcmarelius/14255574787/

Attendance at opium dens (the equivalent of today’s bar or tavern, with opium the drug of choice rather than

alcohol) was a popular activity for the Chinese immigrants who began coming to the United States during the

1850s to help build the nation’s railroads and perform other jobs. White workers feared their growing numbers

as a threat to their jobs, and racial prejudice against the Chinese increased. Politicians, labor unions, and other

parties began to focus on the Chinese habit of smoking opium at opium dens and warned that the Chinese were

kidnapping little white children, taking them to the opium dens, and turning them into “opium fiends.” This

campaign had two effects: it increased prejudice against the Chinese, and it increased public concern about opium.

This rising concern led San Francisco in 1875 to become the first locality to ban opium dens. Other California

cities did the same, and the state itself banned opium dens in 1881. Three decades later, the federal government

banned the manufacture, sale, and use of opium (except for use with a physician’s prescription) when it passed the

Harrison Narcotics Act in 1914.

Cocaine

Cocaine was another drug that was very popular in the nineteenth century, beginning in the 1880s, thanks in

part to enthusiastic claims by Sigmund Freud and American physicians that cocaine could help relieve asthma,

depression, hay fever, sexual impotence, toothache pain, and a host of other problems. Like opium, cocaine was a

popular ingredient in the many patent medicines that people bought at various stores, and the US Army Surgeon-

General advocated its medical use. It was a major ingredient in a new beverage introduced in 1886, Coca-Cola,

which became an instant hit because people naturally felt so good when they drank Coke! During the next two

decades, however, concern grew about cocaine’s effects. Some of this concern was fueled by the absurd belief that

African Americans who used cocaine became extra strong, dangerous, and even invulnerable to bullets. Cocaine

was heavily taxed by the 1914 Harrison Narcotics Act and later banned.

Marijuana

A third legal drug during the late nineteenth century was marijuana. It joined opium and cocaine in being

a common ingredient in patent medicines, and it was a popular drug for problems like migraine headaches,

menstrual cramps, and toothache pain. After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Mexicans moved to the United

States in increased numbers and brought with them their habit of marijuana use. Whites feared that Mexicans

would take their jobs, and, similar to what happened with opium and Chinese immigrants during the 1870s, began

to charge that Mexicans who used marijuana would become violent and more likely to rape and murder innocent

white victims. This racially prejudiced claim increased concern about marijuana and helped lead to the federal

Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 that banned its use.

This brief history shows that drug use has been part of the American culture ever since the nation began. If past

is prologue, it should come as no surprise that drugs remain part of the American culture today, and it should also

come as no surprise that efforts to reduce or eliminate drug use often meet with much resistance and little success.

As the United States continues to try to deal with drug use, these basic facts must not be forgotten.

7.1 Drug Use in History 269

Key Takeaways

• Drug use has been common since ancient times.

• Alcohol was widely drunk in colonial America. During the latter nineteenth century, opium, marijuana, and cocaine were legal drugs that were also widely used.

• Racial prejudice played an important role in decisions during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century to ban opium, marijuana, and cocaine.

For Your Review

1. Were you surprised to read that mind-altering drug use has been common since ancient times? Why or why not?

2. Were you surprised to read that racial prejudice helped lead to bans on opium, marijuana, and cocaine? Why or why not?

References

Brecher, E. M. (1973). Licit and illicit drugs. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.

Durant, R., & Thakker, J. (2003). Substance use and abuse: Cultural and historical perspectives. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage Publications.

Edgerton, R. (1976). Deviance: A cross-cultural perspective. Menlo Park, CA: Cummings.

Escohotado, A. (2010). The general history of drugs (G. W. Robinette, Trans.). Valparasio, Chile: Graffiti Milante

Press.

Faupel, C. E., Horowitz, A. M., & Weaver., G. S. (2010). The sociology of American drug use. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press.

Gahlinger, P. (2004). Illegal drugs: A complete guide to their history, chemistry, use, and abuse. New York, NY:

Penguin.

Gately, I. (2001). Tobacco: The story of how tobacco seduced the world. New York, NY: Grove Press.

Genzlinger, N. (2011, October 1). Bellying up to the time when America went dry. New York Times, p. C1.

Goode, E. (2008). Deviant behavior (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Goode, E. (2012). Drugs in American society (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

270 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Goodman, J., Sherratt, A., & Lovejoy, P. E. (Eds.). (2007). Consuming habits: Drugs in history and anthropology

(2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Kleiman, M. A. R., Caulkins, J. P., & Hawken, A. (2011). Drugs and drug policy: What everyone needs to know.

New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Musto, D. F. (1999). The American disease: Origins of narcotic control (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford

University Press.

Page, B., & Singer, M. (2010). Comprehending drug use: Ethnographic Research at the social margins. New

Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Williams, I. (2006). Rum: a social and sociable history of the real spirit of 1776. New York, NY: Nation Books.

7.1 Drug Use in History 271

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the different types of drugs.

2. Explain the various harms caused by alcohol and tobacco.

3. Understand the effects of marijuana, cocaine, and other illegal drugs.

A drug may be defined as any substance other than food that, when taken into the body, affects the structure and/or

functioning of the body. Defined this way, many common substances contain drugs or are drugs: coffee, No-Doz,

and other products to keep us alert; aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and other pain relievers; Tums, Rolaids,

and other products that reduce heartburn; Metamucil and other products that reduce constipation; Robitussin,

Sudafed, and other cold medicines; and so forth. If you have ever used one of these products, you are technically

a drug user, however silly that might sound.

Many prescription drugs also certainly exist: Prozac and other antidepressants; Valium and other tranquilizers;

Lipitor and other cholesterol drugs; Yasmin, Yaz and other birth control pills; Viagra and other products that

relieve erectile dysfunction; and so forth. Sales of these prescription drugs amount to tens of billions of dollars

annually.

The following substances are also drugs: alcohol, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, LSD, methamphetamine,

PCP, and tobacco. Much has been written about these drugs, and we will discuss them further later in this section.

But note that two of these drugs, alcohol and tobacco, are legal after a certain age, while the remaining drugs are

illegal.

One of the problems in deciding how to think about and deal with drugs is that this distinction between legal drugs

and illegal drugs has no logical basis. It makes sense to assume that the illegal drugs should be the ones that are

the most dangerous and cause the most physical and social harm, but that is not true. Rather, alcohol and tobacco

cause the most harm even though they are legal. As Kleiman et al. (2011, p. xviii) note about alcohol, “When we

read that one in twelve adults suffers from a substance abuse disorder or that 8 million children are living with an

addicted parent, it is important to remember that alcohol abuse drives those numbers to a much greater extent than

does dependence on illegal drugs.” Tobacco kills about 435,000 Americans annually by causing premature death,

and alcohol kills about 85,000 annually through its effects on the liver and other body organs (Mokdad, Marks,

Stroup, & Gerberding, 2004).

Putting these numbers together, some 520,000 Americans die annually from alcohol and tobacco use. Meanwhile,

the physiological effects of all illegal drugs combined kill an estimated 17,000 Americans annually (Mokdad et

al., 2004), a number that is only just above the number of annual deaths (16,500) from nonsteroidal inflammatory

drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen (Frech & Go, 2009). Figure 7.1 “Annual Deaths from Legal and

Illegal Drugs” depicts the huge difference between deaths from alcohol and tobacco as legal drugs and from illegal

drugs.

Figure 7.1 Annual Deaths from Legal and Illegal Drugs

Source: Mokdad, A. H., Marks, J. S., Stroup, D. F., & Gerberding, J. L. (2004). Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000.

Journal of the American Medical Association, 291(10), 1238–1245.

We return to the issue of the relative harm of legal and illegal drugs toward the end of the chapter when we discuss

drug policy. In the meantime, keep in mind two related facts: (1) all drugs can be dangerous, and (2) some drugs

are much more dangerous than others. Two aspirins are safe to take, but a bottle of aspirin can kill someone. Two

cups of coffee a day are fine, but drinking many cups a day can cause anxiety, insomnia, and headaches. One drink

of alcohol is safe to take, but several drinks in a short time amount to binge drinking, and long-term use of alcohol

can kill someone. One snort of cocaine is usually safe, but even one snort can result in a sudden fatal heart attack,

and long-term use often has serious health consequences.

Types of Drugs

Drugs are commonly classified into certain categories according to their physiological effects. All drugs may

make us feel good, but they do so in different ways. Because some drugs are much more potent than other

drugs, there is much variation within each category. Partly because many drugs have multiple effects, many

different classifications of drugs exist. A common classification includes the following categories: depressants,

hallucinogens, marijuana, narcotics, and stimulants.

Depressants

Depressants slow down the activity of the central nervous system. Depending on the specific drug, they help

induce drowsiness and relaxation, and they can reduce anxiety and pain. Several types of depressants exist.

Analgesics reduce pain and include over-the-counter products such as aspirin, acetaminophen (the major

ingredient in Tylenol), and ibuprofen (the major ingredient in Advil and Motrin), and many prescription medicines

that contain acetaminophen. Sedatives help people relax and include alcohol, barbiturates, and sleep medicines

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 273

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/4eae2d304ec5ca99b56869eabbd83020.jpg

such as Sominex and Tylenol PM (both over-the-counter) and Ambien and Valium (both prescription). Large

doses of depressants may lead to physical dependence and sometimes death.

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens are mind-altering drugs that cause delusions or hallucinations. Their ranks include ecstasy, LSD,

mescaline, and PCP. Many people who use a hallucinogen report that the mind-altering effects of the drug provide

them a truly wonderful experience, but many also find the effects to be troubling at best and horrible and terrifying

at worst. Long-term effects include hallucinations that occur without any drug use preceding them.

Marijuana

Marijuana is by far the most popular illegal drug in the United States.

Modern Scribe Photography – Maryjane 4-20-2010 (420) – CC BY-ND 2.0.

Because marijuana’s effects do not fit neatly into any other category of drug, marijuana (along with its close

cousin, hashish) is often considered to be its own category. As we will see later, it is by far the most popular illegal

drug in the United States. Its effects include distortion of time and space, euphoria, hunger, increased sensory

perception, and relaxation.

274 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.2.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/earthansoul/4536470279/

Narcotics

Narcotics are sometimes classified under depressants because they slow down the central nervous system, but

they are often still considered as their own category. They are highly effective at relieving pain and are a common

substance in prescription medicines for severe pain. By definition, all narcotics are derived from opium, either

in its natural form or in a synthesized form. Examples of narcotics include codeine, heroin, methadone, and

morphine. In addition to relieving pain, narcotics may induce drowsiness, euphoria, and relaxation. Although

narcotics do not damage bodily organs, they are very physically addictive, and high doses can be fatal.

Stimulants

Stimulants have the opposite effect of depressants by speeding up the central nervous system. They increase

alertness and energy and can produce euphoria or anxiety. Some are legal and some are illegal, and many

very different drugs are all considered stimulants: caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine and other amphetamines,

nicotine (tobacco), and Ritalin. Stimulants can be very physically addictive, and nicotine is thought to be more

addictive than heroin. While caffeine is very safe as long as someone does not have too many cups of coffee daily,

many other stimulants may have dangerous short-term or long-term side effects on the cardiovascular system.

Not all drugs can be discussed in one chapter. In choosing which drugs to discuss in a book on social problems,

it makes sense to discuss the drugs that probably concern Americans the most. We thus focus in the remainder of

this section mostly on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.

Legal Drugs

As noted earlier, alcohol and tobacco (nicotine) are two legal drugs that are very common and that together kill

hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. According to national survey evidence collected by the Substance

Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the federal government, most people 12 and

older (as well as many younger than 18) have tried alcohol, and over half the public drinks currently (defined as

having had at least one drink in the past month). While many people have tried tobacco, only slightly more than

one-fourth of the public uses it currently (at least once during the past month). Table 7.1 “Prevalence of Alcohol

and Tobacco Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*” summarizes the prevalence of alcohol and nicotine use. Translating

some of these percentages into actual numbers, almost 70 million Americans are current tobacco users (mostly by

smoking cigarettes), and 131 million are current alcohol users.

Table 7.1 Prevalence of Alcohol and Tobacco Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 275

Lifetime Past year Past month

Alcohol 82.5 66.4 51.8

Tobacco 68.7 32.8 27.4

* Percentage using in designated time period

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health:

Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

With this backdrop, we now discuss these two legal but very harmful drugs in greater detail.

Alcohol

Moderate alcohol use (more than one drink per day for an adult female and two drinks per day for an adult male)

is relatively safe for most people and may even have health benefits (Harvard School of Public Health, 2012).

The problem is that many people drink much more than moderately. As the Harvard School of Public Health

(2012) explains, “If all drinkers limited themselves to a single drink a day, we probably wouldn’t need as many

cardiologists, liver specialists, mental health professionals, and substance abuse counselors. But not everyone who

likes to drink alcohol stops at just one. While most people drink in moderation, some don’t.”

SAMHSA survey data show the extent of such problem drinking, as its survey measures both binge drinking (five

or more drinks on the same occasion—within two hours of each other—on at least one day in the past month)

and heavy drinking (binge drinking on at least five days in the past month). Table 7.2 “Prevalence of Binge and

Heavy Alcohol Use, 2010*” presents the relevant data for people 12 and older and also for those aged 18–20, the

customary age for people in their first two years of college.

Table 7.2 Prevalence of Binge and Heavy Alcohol Use, 2010*

Ages 12 and older Ages 18–20

Binge use 23.1 33.3

Heavy use 6.7 11.3

* Percentage engaging in alcohol use

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health:

Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

As Table 7.2 “Prevalence of Binge and Heavy Alcohol Use, 2010*” indicates, almost one-fourth of all people

12 and older and one-third of those aged 18–20 engage in binge drinking, while almost 7 percent and about 11

percent, respectively, engage in heavy drinking. The figures for those 12 and older translate to almost 59 million

binge drinkers and 17 million heavy drinkers. These numbers show that tens of millions of people abuse alcohol

annually and underscore the problem of dealing with problem drinking.

276 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

The amount of alcohol consumed annually by occasional, moderate, and heavy drinkers is staggering. The

relevant data appear in Table 7.3 “Alcohol Consumption in the United States, 2010”. Americans drink 7.6 billion

gallons of alcohol annually, equivalent to 126 billion standard drinks. This number of drinks works out to 496

drinks per person annually for the 12 and older population and 748 drinks per person for the 12 and older

population that drinks at all. Keep in mind that this is just an average. The heavy drinkers identified in Table 7.2

“Prevalence of Binge and Heavy Alcohol Use, 2010*” have many more than 748 drinks every year, while light

drinkers have only a relative handful of drinks.

Table 7.3 Alcohol Consumption in the United States, 2010

Number of gallons Equivalent number of standard drinks*

Beer 6.4 billion 68.2 billion

Wine 713.2 million 18.3 billion

Spirits 463.1 million 39.5 billion

Total 7.6 billion 126.0 billion

* one drink = 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits

Source: Beer Institute. (2011). Brewers almanac, 2011. Washington, DC: Author.

The Drinking Culture and the Alcohol Industry

As noted earlier, alcohol has a long history in the United States and an even longer history in much of the rest of

the world. When we think about the tens of millions of Americans who drink at least occasionally, the ads for beer

and wine and hard liquor that appear regularly in the popular media, and the thousands of bars and related venues

across the country, it is certainly no exaggeration to say that we have a drinking culture.

Once upon a time, the federal and state governments tried to eliminate this culture. We are speaking, of course,

about Prohibition. The passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in January 1919 banned the

manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol; the ban took effect a year later. For reasons we will discuss later,

the ban was eventually deemed a failure, and the passage of the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933 repealed the

Eighteenth Amendment. The manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol became legal once again.

Alcohol manufacturing and sales are a major industry worldwide today. Several alcohol companies rank among

the largest corporations in the world as well as in the United States (Jernigan, 2009). US alcohol sales amount to

about $160 billion annually, and they rose by 20 percent in the 2010–2011 period during the faltering economy

(Smith, 2011). The amount of money the public spends on alcohol equals 12.5 percent of what it spends on food

(US Department of Agriculture, 2011). The alcohol industry provides about 2 million jobs annually, more than

$40 billion in wages, and more than $50 billion in taxes, and it contributes more than $160 billion to the annual

national economy (Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, 2011). All these figures show that the alcohol

industry plays a significant role in the US economy.

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 277

Despite this role, if the United States does indeed have a drinking culture, the alcohol industry bears a major share

of the responsibility. As the American Medical Association (2004) has stated,

Like the tobacco industry, the alcohol industry produces a legal, widely consumed drug; is dominated by relatively few

producers; and utilizes a powerful combination of advertising dollars, savvy marketing, political campaign contributions,

and sophisticated lobbying tactics to create and maintain an environment favorable to its economic and political interests. It

requires the recruitment of new, youthful drinkers to maintain and build its customer base…As a chemical that affects our

bodies, alcohol is a powerful drug resulting in more premature deaths and illnesses than all illicit drugs combined. Yet the

industry has shaped public opinion and forced government to treat it not as a drug but as a cultural artifact, a valued legal

commodity, almost a food, even a necessity of life.

As just one example of how the alcohol industry promotes its “powerful drug,” the headline of a recent news

article declared that the “alcohol companies go online to lure young drinkers” (Gardner, 2010). According to the

report, alcohol companies are increasingly using Facebook and other social media to persuade young people to

buy and drink their products. Not surprisingly, many of these young targets turn out to be under the legal drinking

age of 21 because they are easily able to gain access to alcohol sites. This problem led a public health professor to

observe, “Close to 5,000 people under the age of 21 die of alcohol overuse each year. Virtual worlds show all of

the appeal and none of the consequences of alcohol use and undercut efforts to reduce the incidence of underage

drinking. At this point, alcohol companies appear limited only by their imaginations and pocketbooks” (Gardner,

2010).

The alcohol industry is a major part of the US and worldwide economies and provides about 2 million jobs annually in the United

States.

amateur photography by michel – Aardwolf Brewing Company – CC BY 2.0.

278 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.2.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/119886413@N05/15722680320/

Consequences of Alcohol Abuse

Despite alcohol’s immense popularity, the fact remains that more than 18 million Americans abuse it (Harvard

School of Public Health, 2012). This heavy rate of abuse means that alcohol has serious personal and social

consequences. One set of consequences involves personal health. We noted earlier that alcohol abuse is

responsible for about 85,000 deaths annually through the physiological damage it does. Heavy alcohol use can

destroy the liver, increase blood pressure, weaken the heart and immune system, and cause sexual dysfunction. It

can lead to neurological problems and also raises the risk of incurring several kinds of cancer. Binge drinking can

cause serious immediate health problems because it may lead to someone overdosing on alcohol. About 800,000

adults are hospitalized every year for alcohol overdoses, and tens of thousands more are hospitalized because

they have consumed alcohol along with prescription narcotic pain medications, a combination that can be deadly

(National Institutes of Health, 2011).

In addition to these health problems, alcohol use is responsible for more than 16,000 traffic fatalities annually,

and it plays an important role in violent crime (Felson, Teasdale, & Burchfield, 2008). As almost anyone with an

alcoholic family member can attest, alcohol abuse can also cause many problems for families, including domestic

violence and divorce and the stress that results from having to deal with someone’s alcoholism on a daily basis.

(The Note 7.13 “Children and Our Future” box discusses the impact of parental alcoholism on children.) Alcohol

abuse costs the United States more than $185 billion each year in medical expenses, lost earnings because of

alcohol-related illness or premature death, lost earnings by victims of violent crime, and alcohol-caused traffic

accidents (Harvard School of Public Health, 2012).

Children and Our Future

Children of Alcoholics

As with so many social problems, one of the saddest consequences of alcohol abuse involves children. About one-fifth of children have lived with an alcoholic parent or other adult. Whether because alcoholism is partly inherited or because children tend to use their parents as role models, children of alcoholics are four times more likely than children of nonalcoholics to become alcoholics themselves by the time they reach adulthood.

Because living with an alcoholic parent is often both chaotic and unpredictable, it is no surprise that children of alcoholics often experience a great deal of stress and other difficulties that may also account for their greater tendency to become alcoholics. Compared to other children, they are more likely to be neglected and/or abused by their parents, and they are also more likely to miss school, have lower grades, and engage in disruptive behavior. In addition, they are at great risk for eating disorders and substance abuse other than alcohol abuse. The stress they experience can also harm their neurological development and immune system and put them at greater risk for different kinds of illness and disease. Children of alcoholics are also at greater risk for several kinds of psychological and emotional problems. These include (1) guilt, because they may blame themselves for their parent’s drinking; (2) anxiety, because they worry about their parent’s health and may see their parents arguing and fighting; (3) embarrassment that leads them not to invite friends over to visit nor to ask another adult for help; (4) lack of trust in other people, because they have learned not to trust their alcoholic parent; and (5) anger, confusion, and depression.

One special problem that children of alcoholics face is that they are “forced into adulthood.” They often find themselves having to care for younger siblings and even for their alcoholic parent. By taking on such a heavy responsibility, they in effect become adults at too tender an age. This responsibility weighs on them and helps account for the psychological and emotional difficulties they often experience.

Mental health professionals strongly advise that children of alcoholics receive counseling and other kinds of support

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 279

to help them deal with their family experiences. Group support programs for teenaged children may be very helpful. Perhaps the best known such program is Alateen, which also services teenagers who want help dealing with an alcoholic friend. Teenagers at Alateen meetings share their experiences, learn how to deal with the special difficulties that stem from having a relative or friend with an alcohol problem, and provide emotional support for each other. One important message they learn from Alateen is that they are in no way responsible for the alcoholism of their parent, other relative, or friend.

Alateen has helped many young people, as this testimonial from “Lizzy” attests: “Alateen has helped me a lot over the years…From the day I went to my first meeting, the door to my happiness was flung open. With the help of the Alateen Group Sponsors and my fellow teens, my life has become what I always wanted it to be. My goal for success in the program was fulfilled. I have been given a second chance at life and I have Alateen to thank for that.”

Young children and teenagers are resilient, but children of alcoholics have to be especially resilient. Programs like Alateen help give them a second chance.

Sources: Alateen, 2011; American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2006; James, 2008

College Students

Alcohol abuse is also a problem on college and university campuses across the United States. Based on the

SAMHSA survey evidence discussed earlier, full-time college students ages 18–22 drink more often and more

heavily than their peers who are not in college (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,

2008). Among full-time college students ages 18–20, who are all too young to drink legally, about 40 percent have

engaged in binge drinking in the past month, and 17 percent have engaged in heavy drinking as defined earlier.

Binge drinking on and off campus is so common that binge drinkers consume 91 percent of all the alcohol that

college students drink.

Binge drinking by college students has many serious consequences (Center for Science in the Public Interest,

2008; National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2007). The following are consequences with

approximate figures:

• Binge drinkers are much more likely than other students to miss class, get poor grades, be injured,

have unprotected sex, and to drive after drinking.

• Six hundred thousand college students suffer alcohol-related injuries (from motor vehicle crashes and

other accidents) each year, and 1,700 die from these injuries.

• Thirty thousand college students need medical attention annually to treat alcohol overdosing.

• Seven hundred thousand students are assaulted annually by a student who has been drinking, and three

hundred students die from these assaults.

• Students who attend colleges with high rates of binge drinking are more likely to experience sleep

disruption, property damage, and physical and sexual assaults than those who attend colleges with low

rates of binge drinking.

280 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Tobacco and Nicotine

Nicotine, the major drug in tobacco, is another legal but very dangerous drug. As we saw earlier, its use kills four

times as many people every year as those killed by alcohol use. Tobacco is a slow poison. If it were not already a

legal drug used by millions, and a company had just manufactured cigarettes for the first time, the Food and Drug

Administration would never approve this product. Fortunately for tobacco companies, nicotine does not distort

perception the way that alcohol and many other psychoactive drugs do. Someone smoking or otherwise using

tobacco can safely drive a car, operate machinery, and so forth, and someone “under the influence” of tobacco

does not become violent.

Tobacco is a slow poison. If it were a new drug, it would not be approved for public consumption.

Raul Lieberwirth – cigarette – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

If you have ever watched any number of pre-1970s movies or television shows like “Mad Men” that portray life

back then, you know that the United States used to have a tobacco culture the way it now has an alcohol culture.

Many, many people smoked cigarettes, and a large number smoked cigars or pipes. This particular drug culture

began to abate in the 1970s after much evidence mounted about the deaths and other serious health effects of

tobacco use and especially about the dangers of second-hand smoke. Whereas college students a generation ago

often sat in smoke-filled classrooms and Americans generally sat in smoke-filled restaurants and other venues,

today most Americans can count on being in enclosed public spaces in which smoking is banned.

Even so, we have already seen that more than one-fourth of Americans 12 and older, or some 70 million people,

are still current users (past month) of tobacco. Almost one-fifth of American adults (18 and older), or 45.3 million

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 281

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.2.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lanier67/237055775/

adults, smoke cigarettes daily or occasionally (King, Dube, Kaufmann, Shaw, & Pechacek, 2011). Thanks to the

greater knowledge about tobacco’s health effects, public education campaigns about these effects, heavy taxes on

cigarettes, and changing attitudes about tobacco, these numbers represent a significant decline from a generation

ago.

Tobacco use causes more preventable death and illness in the United States than any other cause of death; if no

one used tobacco, the more than 400,000 tobacco-related deaths each year would not occur. As we think about

tobacco, this startling statistic needs to be kept in mind: About half of all cigarette smokers will one day die from

a premature death caused by a smoking-related illness (King et al., 2011). To repeat what was said just earlier,

nicotine is a slow poison.

Tobacco kills in several ways. Smoking causes 80–90 percent of all lung cancers, and it greatly increases the risk

of emphysema and other lung disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke. In addition to lung cancer, tobacco use

also causes several other cancers, including bladder cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer,

and throat cancer. Women who smoke are at greater risk for lower bone density and hip fracture when they get

older.

The economics of tobacco use are also worth knowing. Americans spend about $90 billion annually on tobacco

products, with most of this amount spent on cigarettes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). They

purchase more than 300 billion cigarettes annually, with most of the cigarettes sold by three companies. Cigarette

smoking is estimated to cost almost $200 billion annually in medical expenses and lost economic productivity.

This works out to a national economic loss of about $10.50 for every pack of cigarettes that is sold.

One interesting and very important fact about the economics of cigarette smoking is what happens when the

cost of cigarettes is increased. Most smokers begin their deadly habit during adolescence or young adulthood.

Because this is a period of their lives when they do not have much money, increases in the cost of cigarettes

are particularly useful in persuading some of these young people not to buy cigarettes. Government data indicate

that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces cigarette consumption among young people by

4 percent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A similar but smaller effect occurs among older

smokers.

Earlier we said that the alcohol industry plays a major role in the amount of drinking that occurs in the United

States. The same is true of the tobacco industry and smoking. This industry spends about $15 billion annually—or

an average of $41 million daily—in advertising, sponsorship of public events, and other activities to promote its

deadly product, and for many years hid or distorted data about the deadly effects of cigarette smoking (Brandt,

2009). Because of funding cutbacks during the recent faltering economy, the states have reduced their media

campaigns and other efforts aimed at reducing smoking. This reduction, combined with the tobacco industry’s

huge promotional spending, leads one public health professor to lament, “The tobacco companies are winning the

battle” (Martin, 2011).

Illegal Drugs

The SAMHSA survey also gathers data from its thousands of respondents about illegal drug use. Table 7.4

282 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

“Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*” presents these data for several illegal drugs and

shows that use of these drugs is far from rare.

Table 7.4 Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*

Lifetime Past year Past month

Any illegal drug 47.1 15.3 8.9

Illegal drug other than marijuana 30.0 8.1 3.6

Marijuana/hashish 41.9 11.5 6.9

Cocaine/crack 14.7 1.8 0.6

Hallucinogens 14.8 1.8 0.5

Heroin 1.6 0.2 0.1

Stimulants 8.5 1.1 0.4

Nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs† 20.4 6.3 2.7

* Percentage using in designated time period

† Includes stimulants

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health:

Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

The following figure from Table 7.5 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 18–20, 2010*” is striking: 47.1 percent

of all Americans ages 12 and older have used an illegal drug at least once in their lifetimes. This percentage

translates to almost 120 million people. In terms of lifetime use, the single most popular illegal drug is easily

marijuana, but 30 percent of Americans, or 76 million people, have used an illegal drug other than marijuana.

Almost 15 percent, or more than 37 million people, have used cocaine/crack or hallucinogens, and more than 20

percent, or almost 52 million people, have used prescription drugs illegally. These percentages and the numbers

of people associated with them all indicate that lifetime illegal drug use in the United States is widespread.

Despite this fact, most public health experts are primarily concerned with current (past month) illegal drug use.

The percentages for past-month (and also past-year) use in Table 7.5 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 18–20,

2010*” are noticeably smaller than those for lifetime use. They indicate that most people who have used illegal

drugs in their lifetimes are no longer using them, or at least have not used them in the past year or past month.

Most of these lifetime users tried their illegal drug once, twice, or a few times and then stopped using it, and some

may have used it more often but then stopped. In any event, it is the current, past-month users who raise the most

concern for our society in general and for the public health and legal communities and other sectors of our society

that deal with illegal drug use and its effects.

In looking at current illegal drug use, we see that 8.9 percent of the public falls into this category. This percentage

translates to almost 23 million Americans, no small number by any means. Their favorite illegal drug is marijuana

(and hashish), but 3.6 percent, or 9 million people, have used an illegal drug other than marijuana in the past

month. These users favor prescription drugs used for nonmedical reasons. Despite the publicity that cocaine/crack

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 283

still receives, less than 1 percent of the public has used it in the past month, and less than 2 percent has used

it in the past year. These small percentages, though, still translate to 1.5 million people and 5.5 million people,

respectively.

The percentages in Table 7.4 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*” underestimate the

problem of illegal drug use in at least two respects. First, the SAMHSA survey does not include people whose

illegal drug use is especially high: the homeless, runaway teenagers, jail and prison inmates, and youths in

detention centers. Second, and conversely, the SAMHSA survey includes people whose illegal drug use is

relatively low—namely, young adolescents and people in their middle age and older years. For this reason, it is

instructive to examine the prevalence of illegal drug use among the people who are in their “prime” ages for it:

those who are 18–20 years old. Accordingly, Table 7.5 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 18–20, 2010*”

presents the appropriate figures for Americans in this age group.

Table 7.5 Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 18–20, 2010*

Lifetime Past year Past month

Any illegal drug 52.8 37.7 23.1

Illegal drug other than marijuana 31.2 19.1 8.0

Marijuana/hashish 46.4 32.7 20.3

Cocaine/crack 8.5 4.1 1.2

Hallucinogens 14.1 7.9 2.3

Heroin 1.6 0.5 0.2

Stimulants 7.8 3.9 1.3

Nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs† 24.5 14.5 5.9

* Percentage using in designated time period

† Includes stimulants

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health:

Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

Take a moment to compare the percentages in Table 7.5 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 18–20, 2010*”

for ages 18–20 to the percentages in Table 7.4 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*” for

ages 12 and older. When you do this, you will see that past-year and past-month illegal drug use is generally much

higher for people ages 18–20 than for everyone 12 and older. More than one-third of the 18–20 age group have

used an illegal drug in the past year, and almost one-fourth are current users, having used an illegal drug in the

past month. As with the 12 and older population, their drug of choice is clearly marijuana, with nonmedical use

of prescription-type drugs a distant second.

This last statement is important to keep in mind. In terms of percentages, the major illegal drug is marijuana. Very

low percentages of Americans use other illegal drugs when we consider current use and past-year use, although a

greater number have experimented with other illegal drugs in their lifetimes. As we have seen, however, the low

284 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

percentages for the other illegal drugs still translate into millions of Americans who are current users of illegal

drugs other than marijuana. It is also true that drugs like heroin and cocaine/crack are used more heavily in large

cities than in smaller cities and towns and rural areas. Although these drugs are only rarely used nationwide, they

are a particular problem in large urban areas.

With this backdrop in mind, we now discuss a few illegal drugs in further detail.

Marijuana

As we have seen, marijuana is easily the most widely used illegal drug in the United States. The percentages

for marijuana use in Table 7.4 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*” translate to 106

million people who have ever used marijuana, 29 million people who used it in the past year, and 17 million

people who used it in the past month (current users). As Table 7.5 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 18–20,

2010*” showed, marijuana use is especially high among young people: One-third of people ages 18–20 have used

marijuana in the past year, and one-fifth are current users.

Marijuana use can cause several problems (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010). Marijuana distorts

perception, impairs coordination, and can cause short-term memory loss, and people who are high from marijuana

may be unable to safely drive a motor vehicle or operate machinery. In addition, regular pot smokers are at risk for

respiratory problems, though not lung cancer. Chronic marijuana use is also associated with absence from school

and the workplace and with social relationship problems, although it is difficult to determine whether marijuana

is causing these effects or whether the association exists because someone with personal problems begins using

marijuana regularly.

Despite these problems, marijuana is almost certainly the most benign illegal drug in terms of health and social

consequences, and it is also much more benign than either alcohol or tobacco (Drug Policy Alliance, 2011;

Faupel et al., 2010). As noted earlier, these latter two drugs kill about 520,000 Americans annually. In contrast,

marijuana has probably never killed anyone, and its use has not been associated with any cancers. Alcohol use

is a risk factor for violent behavior, but marijuana use is a risk factor for mellow behavior; if everyone who now

uses alcohol instead smoked marijuana, our violent crime rate would probably drop significantly! Despite some

popular beliefs, marijuana is generally not physiologically addictive, it does not reduce ambition and motivation,

and it does not act as a “gateway drug” that leads to the use of more dangerous drugs (Hanson, Venturelli, &

Fleckenstein, 2012). A review of the evidence on marijuana summarized research findings as follows: “Studies

of long-term marijuana smokers do not produce gross or major clinical, psychiatric, psychological, or social

difference between users and nonusers, or between heavier and lighter users” (Goode, 2008, p. 247).

While not entirely safe, then, marijuana is much safer, both on an individual basis and on a societal basis, than

either alcohol or tobacco. Even so, it remains an illegal drug. This fact underscores our earlier observation that

the legality or illegality of drugs has no logical basis. If the personal and social harm caused by a drug determined

whether it is legal or not, then it would be logical for marijuana to be legal and for alcohol or tobacco to be illegal.

For better or worse, though, the millions of marijuana users have broken the law. In most states, marijuana

possession is a crime punishable by a jail or prison term that depends on the amount of marijuana involved.

Fourteen states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi,

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 285

Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon) have decriminalized simple possession of small

amounts of marijuana: They treat possession as a minor offense similar to a traffic violation and punish it with

only a small fine. Most of these states decriminalized the drug in the 1970s after a national commission with

members appointed by the US Congress and by President Richard Nixon recommended taking this action. There is

no evidence that marijuana use in these states increased compared to use in the states that have not decriminalized

marijuana (Beckett & Herbert, 2008). In fact, marijuana use in the nation declined sharply in the 1980s, the first

decade after decriminalization began, both in the states that decriminalized pot possession and in the states that

did not decriminalize it.

Cocaine

Cocaine produces a high that is considered more pleasurable than that for any other drug. According to sociologist

Erich Goode (2008, p. 288), “Cocaine’s principal effects are exhilaration, elation, and euphoria—voluptuous,

joyous feelings accompanied by a sense of grandiosity.” As a stimulant, cocaine also increases energy, alertness,

and a sense of self-confidence. It is not physiologically addictive, but it is considered psychologically addictive:

The high it produces is so pleasurable that some users find they need to keep using it.

Cocaine is a particularly addictive drug because of the high degree of pleasurable feelings it causes.

Nightlife of Revelry – Cocaine – CC BY 2.0.

Cocaine is made from coca plants grown in South America. It most often appears in a powdered form that is

sniffed (or, to use the more common term for this method, snorted). The high it produces takes some time to occur

but may last up to thirty minutes once it does arrive. A more potent form, crack cocaine (or, more commonly,

286 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.2.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nightlifeofrevelry/2713792963/

crack), is made by heating a mixture of powdered cocaine, baking soda, and water. A user then heats the mixture

that remains and breathes in the vapors that result. Crack produces an immediate, intense high and is a relatively

inexpensive drug. These features made crack a very popular drug when it was first introduced into US cities in the

1980s (Faupel et al. 2010). Street gangs fought each other to control its distribution and sale, much as organized

crime gangs fought each other over alcohol distribution and sale during Prohibition.

Cocaine and crack use has declined since the 1970s and 1980s, but, as Table 7.5 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use,

Ages 18–20, 2010*” showed, almost 15 percent of the public has used cocaine at least once; this number translates

to some 37 million Americans. Still, past-year use is only 1.8 percent, and past-month (current) use is only 0.6

percent. Cocaine use thus must be considered rare in percentage terms. At the same time, these percentages

translate to 4.5 million and 1.5 million Americans, respectively. These are not small numbers. Moreover, past-year

and past-month cocaine use is higher among young people, as Table 7.5 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages

18–20, 2010*” showed. Further, crack use remains a problem in the nation’s urban areas.

In terms of health risks, cocaine is a much more dangerous drug than marijuana. As a stimulant, cocaine speeds

up the central nervous system. Because it does so much more intensely than most other stimulants, its use poses

special dangers for the cardiovascular system (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2011). In particular, it can

disrupt the heart’s normal rhythm and cause ventricular fibrillations, and it can speed up the heart and raise blood

pressure. An overdose of cocaine can thus be deadly, and long-term use produces an increased risk of stroke,

seizure, and heart disease. Because cocaine also constricts blood vessels in the brain, long-term use raises the risk

of attention deficit, memory loss, and other cognitive problems. Long-term abuse has also caused panic attacks,

paranoia, and even psychosis.

Heroin

Heroin is derived from opium (and more immediately from morphine, an opium derivative) and is almost

certainly the most notorious opiate. It was one of the popular opiate drugs that, as discussed earlier, were used

so widely during the late nineteenth century. Heroin was first marketed as a painkiller and cough suppressant by

the company that makes Bayer aspirin. As the United States became more concerned about opium use, Bayer

Laboratories discontinued heroin marketing in 1910, and heroin, like other opiates, was banned under the 1914

Harrison Narcotic Act.

Although Table 7.4 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*” shows that its use is minuscule

in percentage terms, these percentages translate to 600,000 people who have used heroin in the past year, and

240,000 who have used in the past month. Because these users are concentrated in the nation’s large cities, heroin,

like crack, is a special problem for these areas.

Like other narcotics, heroin use produces a feeling of euphoria. After it is injected, “the user feels a flash, a rush,

which has been described as an intense, voluptuous, orgasmlike sensation. Following this is the feeling of well-

being, tranquility, ease, and calm, the sensation that everything in the user’s life is just fine. Tensions, worries,

problems, the rough edges of life—all seem simply to melt away” (Goode, 2008, pp. 308–309).

Although heroin use is uncommon, it continues to capture the public’s concern more than perhaps any other illegal

drug. As sociologist Goode (2008, pp. 307–308) has observed,

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 287

For decades, it was the most feared, the most dreaded, the “hardest” drug; heroin has virtually defined the drug problem. In

spite of being somewhat overshadowed since the mid-1980s by cocaine, and specifically crack, heroin probably remains the

single substance the American public is most likely to point to as an example of a dangerous drug. Until recently, disapproval

of any level of heroin use was greater than for any other drug. And, until recently, heroin addicts were the most stigmatized of

all drug users. Heroin is the epitome of the illicit street drug. Its association in the public mind with street crime, even today,

is probably stronger than for any other drug. The stereotype of the junkie is that he or she is by nature a lowlife, an outcast, a

“deviant,” a dweller in the underworld, an unsavory, untrustworthy character to be avoided at any cost.

Users typically take heroin into their body by injecting it into a vein. This mode of administration is undoubtedly

a major reason for the public’s very negative image of heroin users. Indeed, the image of a heroin addict “shooting

up” is one that has appeared in many movies and television shows past and present. Many heroin addicts share

their needles, a practice that increases their risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis.

The public’s image and concern about heroin is partly deserved in some ways and partly undeserved in other

ways. Like other opiates, heroin is extremely physiologically addictive, although not as addictive as nicotine. But

also like other opiates, heroin does not damage body organs. The emaciated look we often associate with heroin

users stems not from the drug itself but from the low-caliber lifestyles that heroin addicts tend to live and their

decisions to spend the little money they have on heroin rather than on food and a healthier lifestyle. An overdose

of heroin can certainly kill, just as overdoses of other drugs can kill. One reason heroin overdoses occur is that

heroin users cannot know for sure the purity of the heroin they buy illegally and thus may inject an unsafe dose to

get high.

Prescription Drug Abuse

Table 7.4 “Prevalence of Illegal Drug Use, Ages 12 and Older, 2010*” showed that about one-fifth of Americans

have used prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes. This type of use is illegal. It constitutes the most

widespread illegal drug use other than marijuana use and has grown in recent years, especially among adolescents.

The prescription drugs that are most often abused are those containing narcotics, tranquilizers, and stimulants; two

of the most common brands that are abused are OxyContin and Vicodin. Because prescription drugs are beneficial

for so many people even if they are abused, our nation faces a special difficulty in dealing with the abuse of these

drugs. As the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse explains, “The challenges we face are much more

complex because we need to address the needs of patients in pain, while protecting those at risk for substance

use disorders” (Zuger, 2011, p. D1). Thus according to a news report, “These drugs must be somehow legal and

illegal, encouraged yet discouraged, tightly regulated yet easily available” (Zuger, 2011, p. D1).

288 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Many prescription drug abusers use drugs obtained from their own prescriptions or from prescriptions of friends or relatives.

sharyn morrow – the husband’s vicodin – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Most prescription drug abusers have their own prescriptions or obtain their drugs from friends, acquaintances,

or relatives who have their own prescriptions. Whatever the source, some of these prescriptions are obtained

legitimately—for actual medical conditions—and then abused, and some are obtained after feigning a medical

condition. Many experts fault physicians for overprescribing painkillers and other prescription drugs.

Prescription drug abuse is thought to be growing for two reasons (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2005). First,

physicians’ prescriptions for painkillers and other drugs continue to rise, creating a greater supply of prescription

drugs that can be abused. Second, online pharmacies and pain clinics have made it easier to obtain prescription

drugs, with or without an actual prescription.

The Note 7.14 “Applying Social Research” box discusses the roots of adolescent prescription drug abuse in family

and school factors. The importance of these factors reinforces the sociological view that the origins of drug use

often lie beyond the individual and in the social environment.

Applying Social Research

Prescription Drug Abuse by Adolescents

Despite the importance of prescription drug abuse, social science research on its causes is relatively sparse. In one of the first studies to examine the social origins of adolescent prescription drug abuse, sociologist Jason A. Ford analyzed data on adolescents in the national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that is discussed elsewhere in this chapter. Drawing on the large body of work that attributes drug use in part to weak social

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 289

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.2.4.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/74417883/

bonds, Ford reasoned that prescription drug abuse should be higher among adolescents who have weaker bonds to their parents and also weaker bonds to their schools.

For his measure of parental bonds, Ford used several questions that asked adolescents about their relationship with their parents, including whether parents feel proud of them and praise them for doing a good job, and whether their parents help them with their homework and limit their time out with friends on a school night. For his measure of school bonds, he used several questions that asked adolescents such things as whether they liked going to school and whether they found their schooling meaningful and important. His measure of prescription drug abuse relied on the adolescents’ self-reports of whether they had used any prescription drug for nonmedical purposes in the past year.

Controlling for gender, race, and other factors, Ford found support for his hypotheses: prescription drug abuse was higher among adolescents with weaker bonds to their parents and also weaker bonds to their schools.

These results have important implications for efforts to reduce prescription drug abuse by adolescents. They suggest that efforts by our society to strengthen families and to improve our schools may well have a significant, beneficial side- effect: lower prescription drug abuse by adolescents.

Source: Ford, 2009

Key Takeaways

• The distinction between legal drugs and illegal drugs has no logical basis; legal drugs cause much more harm than illegal drugs.

• Alcohol and tobacco kill more than 500,000 Americans annually. Binge drinking on campuses results in accidents and assaults involving several hundred thousand college students annually.

• Marijuana is by far the most commonly used illegal drug. The low prevalence of other illegal drugs still amounts to millions of people using these drugs annually.

For Your Review

1. Do you agree or disagree that the distinction between legal drugs and illegal drugs is not logical? Explain your answer.

2. Do you agree that binge drinking is a problem that campuses should address, or do you think that it’s a relatively harmless activity that lets students have some fun? Explain your answer.

References

Alateen. (2011). Am I a peacemaker or a creator of chaos. Alateen Talk. Retrieved from http[0]://www.al-

anon.org/alateen-talk.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2006). Children of alcoholics. Retrieved October 4,

2011, from http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/17_children_of_alchoholics.pdf.

290 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/17_children_of_alchoholics.pdf

American Medical Association. (2004). Alcohol industry 101: Its structure & organization. Chicago, IL: Author.

Beckett, K., & Herbert, S. (2008). The consequences and costs of marijuana prohibition. Seattle, WA: American

Civil Liberties Union of Washington State.

Brandt, A. (2009). The cigarette century: The rise, fall, and deadly persistence of the product that defined

America. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Center for Science in the Public Interest. (2008). Binge drinking on college campuses. Retrieved September 20,

2011, from http://www.cspinet.org/booze/collfact1.htm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Economic facts about US tobacco production and use.

Retrieved September 20, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/economics/

econ_facts/.

Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. (2011). Economic contribution of alcohol beverage industry.

Retrieved September 19, 2011, from http://www.discus.org/pdf/ATT2_Economic_Contribution.pdf.

Drug Policy Alliance. (2011). Marijuana facts. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from http://www.drugpolicy.org/

facts/drug-facts/marijuana-facts.

Faupel, C. E., Horowitz, A. M., & Weaver., G. S. (2010). The sociology of American drug use. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press.

Felson, R. B., Teasdale, B., & Burchfield, K. B. (2008). The influence of being under the influence. Journal of

Research in Crime & Delinquency, 45(2), 119–141.

Ford, J. A. (2009). Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Among Adolescents: The Influence of Bonds to Family

and School. Youth & Society, 40(3), 336–352.

Frech, E. J., & Go, M. F. (2009). Treatment and Chemoprevention of NSAID-associated Gastrointestinal

Complications. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management, 5, 65–73.

Gardner, A. (2010, May 3). Report: Alcohol Companies go online to lure young drinkers. USA Today. Retrieved

from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/index.

Goode, E. (2008). Drugs in American society (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Hanson, G. R., Venturelli, P. J., & Fleckenstein, A. E. (2012). Drugs and society (11th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones

& Bartlett.

Harvard School of Public Health. (2012). Alcohol: Balancing risks and benefits. Retrieved March 30, 2012, from

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/alcohol-full-story/index.html.

James, S. D. (2008, September 10). Children of alcoholics forced into adulthood. abcnews.com. Retrieved from

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5770753&page=5770751.

Jernigan, D. H. (2009). The global alcohol industry: An overview [Supplmental material]. Addiction, 104, 6–12.

7.2 Drugs and Drug Use Today 291

http://www.cspinet.org/booze/collfact1.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/economics/econ_facts/

http://www.discus.org/pdf/ATT2_Economic_Contribution.pdf

http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/drug-facts/marijuana-facts

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/index

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/alcohol-full-story/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5770753&page=5770751

King, B., Dube, S., Kaufmann, R., Shaw, L., & Pechacek, T. (2011). Vital signs: Current cigarette smoking among

adults aged ≥18 years—United States, 2005–2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 60(35), 1207–1212.

Kleiman, M. A. R., Caulkins, J. P., & Hawken, A. (2011). Drugs and drug policy: What everyone needs to know.

New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Martin, T. W. (2011, September 6). Fewer Americans are smoking, and those who do puff less. The Wall

Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/2009/2006/fewer-americans-are-smoking-and-

those-who-do-puff-less/.

Mokdad, A. H., Marks, J. S., Stroup, D. F., & Gerberding, J. L. (2004). Actual causes of death in the United States,

2000. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291(10), 1238–1245.

National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. (2007). Wasting the best and the brightest: Substance abuse

at America’s colleges and universities. New York, NY: Author.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2005). Prescription drugs: Abuse and addiction. Washington, DC: Author.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2010). InfoFacts: Marijuana. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from

http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2011). Cocaine: Abuse and addiction. Retrieved September 27, 2011, from

http://www.nida.nih.gov/researchreports/cocaine/effects.html.

National Institutes of Health. (2011). NIH study finds hospitalizations increase for alcohol and drug overdoses.

Retrieved September 21, 2011, from http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2011/niaaa-20.htm.

Smith, A. (2011, June 9). Alcohol Sales Thrive in Hard Times. CNN. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2008). Underage alcohol use among full-time

college students. Retrieved September 20, 2011, from http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k6/college/collegeUnderage.htm.

US Department of Agriculture. (2011). Food CPI and expenditures: Table 1. Retrieved September 19, 2011, from

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/CPIFoodAndExpenditures/Data/Expenditures_tables/table1.htm.

Zuger, A. (2011, June 14). A general in the drug war. New York Times. p. D1.

292 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/2009/2006/fewer-americans-are-smoking-and-those-who-do-puff-less/

http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html

http://www.nida.nih.gov/researchreports/cocaine/effects.html

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2011/niaaa-20.htm

http://money.cnn.com/

http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k6/college/collegeUnderage.htm

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/CPIFoodAndExpenditures/Data/Expenditures_tables/table1.htm

7.3 Social Patterning of Drug Use

Learning Objectives

1. Outline the nature of gender differences in drug use.

2. Understand whether racial and ethnic differences in drug use exist.

3. Explain whether education and religiosity are related to drug use.

It is a sociological truism that our sociodemographic backgrounds—gender, race and ethnicity, social class, and so

forth—influence many of our behaviors and attitudes. Drug use is no different. By examining the social patterning

of drug use, we can see which kinds of people, in terms of their sociodemographic backgrounds, are more or less

at risk for using drugs. And by understanding these sociodemographic differences, we begin to understand why

some people are more likely than others to use drugs. Our examination of these differences will rely heavily on

data from the SAMHSA survey discussed earlier and focus on past-month differences in alcohol, tobacco, and

illegal drug use (all illegal drugs combined).

Gender

In the study of crime and deviance, gender is an important predictor: Males are more likely than females to commit

the more serious forms of crime and deviance, such as homicide, robbery, and burglary. This pattern generally

holds true for drug use of various types. Figure 7.2 “Gender and Prevalence of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drug

Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using in Past Month)” shows that men are more likely than women

to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. In related data, men are also more than twice as likely as women to

engage in binge drinking (30.7 percent compared to 13.8 percent) and heavy drinking (9.7 percent compared to

2.8 percent) as defined earlier.

Figure 7.2 Gender and Prevalence of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drug Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using in Past

Month)

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and

health: Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

Why do these gender differences exist? A common thread underlines gender differences in criminal behavior and

in drug use of various kinds, and that is masculinity (Lindsey, 2011). Compared to girls, boys are raised to be more

active, assertive, and daring, and to be less concerned about the effects of their behavior on others. As they grow

older, these traits make them more likely to use drugs and also to commit various types of crimes. Ironically, the

way that most parents raise their sons helps make their sons more likely than their daughters to drink, smoke, and

use illegal drugs once they reach adolescence and in the many decades of their adulthood.

On the average, males drink alcohol more often and more heavily than females, and they are also more likely to use other types of

drugs.

David, Bergin, Emmett, and Elliott – IMG_3110 – CC BY 2.0.

294 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/54798e00283fa1e3be89c9b1ac01d935.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/beglen/2484747104/

In an important exception to the general gender difference just discussed, females are more likely than males

to use prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons (Ford, 2009). The reasons for this counterintuitive finding are

unclear, but scholars speculate that because girls and women obtain more prescription drugs than do boys and

men, their greater nonmedical use of prescription drugs reflects the fact that they have more access to these drugs

in the first place.

Race and Ethnicity

Racial and ethnic differences in drug use of various types exist to some extent but are less clear-cut than the

gender differences we just examined (see Figure 7.3 “Race/Ethnicity and Prevalence of Alcohol, Tobacco, and

Illegal Drug Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using in Past Month)”). For alcohol use, whites have the

highest rate of drinking, and Native Americans, despite the popular image that they have alcohol problems, have

the lowest rate. For tobacco use, Native Americans have the highest rate of use, and Asians have the lowest rate.

For illegal drugs, Native Americans again have the highest rate of use, and Hispanics have the lowest rate. Note

that African Americans have roughly the same illegal drug use rate as whites, and have lower rates of alcohol and

tobacco use than whites do. Although many people believe that African Americans are more likely than whites to

use drugs, research data show that this belief is a myth.

Figure 7.3 Race/Ethnicity and Prevalence of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drug Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using in

Past Month)

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and

health: Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

The illegal drugs category includes many types of drugs. We do not have space to illustrate racial/ethnic

differences in the use of each of these drugs, but we will examine differences in marijuana and cocaine (including

crack) use. Figure 7.4 “Race/Ethnicity and Prevalence of Marijuana and Cocaine Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010

(Percentage Using in Lifetime)” shows these differences for lifetime use. Despite some minor differences, African

Americans, Native Americans, and whites have the highest lifetime use of marijuana, while Asians and Hispanics

have the lowest use. Turning to cocaine, Native Americans have the highest lifetime use, and Asians have the

lowest use. Note again that African Americans have a lower rate of lifetime use than whites; this racial difference

7.3 Social Patterning of Drug Use 295

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/d8cdefe52d056a001ea037c5d24ca4d8.jpg

will be relevant for our discussion toward the end of the chapter of the racial impact of the legal war on drugs

since the 1970s.

Figure 7.4 Race/Ethnicity and Prevalence of Marijuana and Cocaine Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using in Lifetime)

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and

health: Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

Education

Education differences in drug use depend on the type of drug (see Figure 7.5 “Education and Prevalence of

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drug Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using in Past Month)”). For

alcohol, higher levels of education are associated with a higher likelihood of drinking. One possible reason for

this association is that people with lower levels of education are more likely to be religious, and people who

are religious are less likely to drink. For tobacco, higher levels of education are associated with lower levels of

tobacco use. In particular, college graduates are much less likely to use tobacco than people without a college

degree. For illegal drugs, there is no clear association between education and use of these drugs, although college

graduates report the lowest past-month use.

Figure 7.5 Education and Prevalence of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drug Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using in Past Month)

296 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/79ad7ef4a98e14c0fafc37099a76305b.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/ac6f6a6cf0943bfa3ac0db4b3af4171b.jpg

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health: Summary of national findings.

Rockville, MD: Author.

Region of Country

The regions of the United States differ in many attitudes and behaviors, and one of these behaviors is drug use (see

Figure 7.6 “Region of Country and Prevalence of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drug Use, Ages 26 and Older,

2010 (Percentage Using in Past Month)”). The regional differences are not large, but the South has lowest rate of

alcohol use, in part reflecting the fact that it is the most religious region in the nation. The South and Midwest

have the highest rates of tobacco use, while the West has the lowest rate, befitting its image as a “healthy” region.

However, the West also has the highest rate of illegal drug use, although its use is only slightly higher than the

other regions’ use.

Figure 7.6 Region of Country and Prevalence of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drug Use, Ages 26 and Older, 2010 (Percentage Using

in Past Month)

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and

health: Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Author.

Religiosity

A growing number of studies finds that religiosity—how religious someone is—affects how often people use

various drugs: The more religious people are, the lower their drug use; conversely, the less religious they are, the

higher their drug use (Desmond, Soper, & Purpura, 2009). We can see evidence of this relationship in Figure 7.7

“Religiosity and Drinking among Youths Ages 17–18 (Percentage Saying They Drank Alcohol on Only 0–2 Days

in the Past Year)”, which presents data for a nationwide sample of youths ages 17–18. Those who say religion is

important in their lives report less drinking (i.e., on only 0–2 days in the past year) than those who say religion is

unimportant in their lives.

Figure 7.7 Religiosity and Drinking among Youths Ages 17–18 (Percentage Saying They Drank Alcohol on Only 0–2 Days in the

Past Year)

7.3 Social Patterning of Drug Use 297

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/68d3cd87836a9d250bf674e565d53c59.jpg

Source: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Wave I. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cgi-bin/

SDA/DSDR/hsda?dsdr+21600-0001.

Key Takeaways

• Drug use is socially patterned: Aspects of our sociodemographic backgrounds affect our likelihood of using various drugs.

• Perhaps the clearest social pattern involves gender, with males more likely than females to use and abuse alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.

• Despite common beliefs, the rate of illegal drug use is lower for African Americans than for whites.

For Your Review

1. The text discusses five social patterns of drug use: gender, race/ethnicity, education, region of country, and religiosity. Taking into account these five sets of patterns, write a short essay in which you use this information to understand your own level of use (or nonuse) of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.

2. Did it surprise you to read that illegal drug use is lower among African Americans than among whites? Why or why not?

References

Desmond, S. A., Soper, S. E., & Purpura, D. J. (2009). Religiosity, moral beliefs, and delinquency: Does the effect

of religiosity on delinquency depend on moral beliefs? Sociological Spectrum, 29, 51–71.

Ford, J. A. (2009). Nonmedical prescription drug use among adolescents: The influence of bonds to family and

school. Youth & Society, 40(3), 336–352.

298 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/4209c4f423b5cdbc21bcfcfaaea97532.jpg

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cgi-bin/SDA/DSDR/hsda?dsdr+21600-0001

Lindsey, L. L. (2011). Gender roles: A sociological perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

7.3 Social Patterning of Drug Use 299

7.4 Explaining Drug Use

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the possible biological origins of drug addiction.

2. Explain why longitudinal research on personality traits and drug use is important.

3. Outline the aspects of the social environment that may influence drug use.

To know how to reduce drug use, we must first know what explains it. The major explanations for drug use come

from the fields of biology, psychology, and sociology.

Biological Explanations

In looking at drug use, the field of biology focuses on two related major questions. First, how and why do drugs

affect a person’s behavior, mood, perception, and other qualities? Second, what biological factors explain why

some people are more likely than others to use drugs?

Regarding the first question, the field of biology has an excellent understanding of how drugs work. The details

of this understanding are beyond the scope of this chapter, but they involve how drugs affect areas in the brain

and the neurotransmitters that cause a particular drug’s effects. For example, cocaine produces euphoria and other

positive emotions in part because it first produces an accumulation of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to

feelings of pleasure and enjoyment.

Research on identical twins suggests that alcoholism has a genetic basis.

Michael Dorausch – Identical Twins Jedward – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Regarding the second question, biological research is more speculative, but it assumes that some people are

particularly vulnerable to the effects of drugs. These people are more likely to experience very intense effects and

to become physiologically and/or psychologically addicted to a particular drug. To the extent this process occurs,

the people in question are assumed to have a biological predisposition for drug addiction that is thought to be a

genetic predisposition.

Most research on genetic predisposition has focused on alcohol and alcoholism (Hanson et al., 2012). Studies of

twins find that identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins (who are not genetically identical) to both have

alcohol problems or not to have them. In addition, studies of children of alcoholic parents who are adopted by

7.4 Explaining Drug Use 301

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.4.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chiropractic/6849052778/

nonalcoholic parents find that these children are more likely than those born to nonalcoholic parents to develop

alcohol problems themselves. Although a genetic predisposition for alcoholism might exist for reasons not yet

well understood, there is not enough similar research on other types of drug addiction to assume that a genetic

predisposition exists for these types. Many nonbiological factors also explain the use of, and addiction to, alcohol

and other drugs. We now turn to these factors.

Psychological Explanations

Psychological explanations join biological explanations in focusing on why certain individuals are more likely

than others to use drugs and to be addicted to drugs (Hanson et al., 2012). Some popular psychological

explanations center on personality differences between drug users and nonusers. These explanations assume that

users have personality traits that predispose them to drug use. These traits include low self-esteem and low self-

confidence, low trust in others, and a need for thrills and stimulation. In effect, drug users have inadequate

personalities, or personality defects, that make them prone to drug use, and once they start using drugs, their

personality problems multiply.

One problem with research on personality explanations is methodological: If we find personality differences

between drug users and nonusers, should we conclude that personality problems cause drug use, or is it possible

that drug use causes personality problems? Most of the research on personality and drug use cannot answer this

question adequately, since it studies drug users and nonusers at one point in time (cross-sectional research). To

answer this question adequately, longitudinal research, which examines the same people over time, is necessary.

Among initial drug abstainers at Time 1, if those with the personality traits mentioned earlier turn out to be more

likely than those without the traits to be using drugs at Time 2, then we can infer that personality problems affect

drug use rather than the reverse. Longitudinal research on personality and drug use that studies adolescents and

college students does indeed find this causal sequence (Sher, Bartholow, & Wood, 2000). However, some scholars

still question the importance of personality factors for drug use and addiction (Goode, 2012). They say these

factors have only a small effect, if that, and they cite research questioning whether personality differences between

users and nonusers in fact exist (Feldman, Boyer, Kumar, & Prout, 2011).

Other psychological explanations are based on the classic concept from behavioral psychology of operant

conditioning—the idea that people and animals are more likely to engage in a behavior when they are rewarded,

or reinforced, for it. These explanations assume that people use drugs because drugs are positive reinforcers in two

respects. First, drugs provide pleasurable effects themselves and thus provide direct reinforcement. Second, drug

use often is communal: People frequently use drugs (alcohol is certainly a prime example, but so are many other

drugs) with other people, and they enjoy this type of social activity. In this manner, drug use provides indirect

reinforcement.

Sociological Explanations

Sociological explanations emphasize the importance of certain aspects of the social environment—social

structure, social bonds to family and school, social interaction, and culture—or drug use, depending on the type

302 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

of drug. For drugs like heroin and crack that tend to be used mostly in large urban areas, the social structure,

or, to be more precise, social inequality, certainly seems to matter. As sociologist Elliott Currie (1994, p. 3) has

observed, the use of these drugs by urban residents, most of them poor and of color, reflects the impact of poverty

and racial inequality: “Serious drug use is not evenly distributed: it runs ‘along the fault lines of our society.’ It is

concentrated among some groups and not others, and has been for at least half a century.” This fact helps explain

why heroin use grew in the inner cities during the 1960s, as these areas remained poor even as the US economy

was growing. Inner-city youths were attracted to heroin because its physiological effects helped them forget about

their situation and also because the heroin subculture—using an illegal drug with friends, buying the drug from

dealers, and so forth—was an exciting alternative to the bleakness of their daily lives. Crack became popular in

inner cities during the 1980s for the same reasons.

Social bonds to families and schools also make a difference. Adolescents with weak bonds to their families and

schools, as measured by such factors as the closeness they feel to their parents and teachers, are more likely to

use drugs of various types than adolescents with stronger bonds to their families and schools. Their weaker bonds

prompt them to be less likely to accept conventional norms and more likely to use drugs and engage in other

delinquent behavior.

Regarding social interaction, sociologists emphasize that peer influences greatly influence one’s likelihood of

using alcohol, tobacco, and a host of other drugs (Hanson et al., 2012). Much and probably most drug use begins

during adolescence, when peer influences are especially important. When our friends during this stage of life are

drinking, smoking, or using other drugs, many of us want to fit in with the crowd and thus use one of these drugs

ourselves. In a related explanation, sociologists also emphasize that society’s “drug culture” matters for drug use.

For example, because we have a culture that so favors alcohol, many people drink alcohol. And because we have

a drug culture in general, it is no surprise, sociologically speaking, that drug use of many types is so common.

To the extent that social inequality, social interaction, and a drug culture matter for drug use, sociologists say, it is

a mistake to view most drug use as stemming from an individual’s biological or psychological problems. Although

these problems do play a role for some individuals’ use of some drugs, drug use as a whole stems to a large degree

from the social environment and must be understood as a social problem, and not just as an individual problem.

Beyond these general explanations of why people use drugs, sociological discussions of drug use reflect the three

sociological perspectives introduced in Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”—functionalism, conflict

theory, and symbolic interactionism—as we shall now discuss. Table 7.6 “Theory Snapshot” summarizes this

discussion.

Table 7.6 Theory Snapshot

7.4 Explaining Drug Use 303

Theoretical perspective

Contributions to understanding of drug use

Functionalism

Drug use is functional for several parties in society. It provides drug users the various positive physiological effects that drugs have; it provides the sellers of legal or illegal drugs a source of income; and it provides jobs for the criminal justice system and the various other parties that deal with drug use. At the same time, both legal drugs and illegal drugs contribute to dysfunctions in society.

Conflict theory

Much drug use in poor urban areas results from the poverty, racial inequality, and other conditions affecting people in these locations. Racial and ethnic prejudice and inequality help determine why some drugs are illegal as well as the legal penalties for these drugs. The large multinational corporations that market and sell alcohol, tobacco, and other legal drugs play a powerful role in the popularity of these drugs and lobby Congress to minimize regulation of these drugs.

Symbolic interactionism

Drug use arises from an individual’s interaction with people who engage in drug use. From this type of social interaction, an individual learns how to use a drug and also learns various attitudes that justify drug use and define the effects of a drug as effects that are enjoyable.

Functionalism

Recall that functionalist theory emphasizes the need for social stability, the functions that different aspects of

society serve for society’s well-being, and the threats (or dysfunctions) to society’s well-being posed by certain

aspects of society. In line with this theory, sociologists emphasize that drug use may actually be functional for

several members of society. For the people who use legal or illegal drugs, drug use is functional because it

provides them the various positive physiological effects that drugs have. For the people who sell legal or illegal

drugs, drug use is functional because it provides them a major source of income. Illegal drug use is even functional

for the criminal justice system, as it helps provide jobs for the police, court officials, and prison workers who deal

with illegal drugs. Legal and illegal drugs also provide jobs for the social service agencies and other organizations

and individuals whose work focuses on helping people addicted to a drug. At the same time, drugs, whether legal

or illegal, have the many dysfunctions for society that this chapter discussed earlier, and this fact must not be

forgotten as we acknowledge the functions of drugs.

Conflict Theory

Conflict theory stresses the negative effects of social inequality and the efforts of the elites at the top of society’s

hierarchy to maintain their position. This theory helps us understand drugs and drug use in at least three respects.

First, and as noted just earlier, much drug use in poor urban areas results from the poverty, racial inequality, and

other conditions affecting people in these locations. They turn to illegal drugs partly to feel better about their

situation, and partly because the illegal drug market is a potentially great source of income that does not require

even a high school degree.

Second, conflict theory emphasizes that racial and ethnic prejudice and inequality help determine why some

drugs are illegal as well as the criminal penalties for these drugs. For example, the penalties for crack are much

harsher, gram for gram, than those for powder cocaine, even though the two drugs are pharmacologically identical.

Crack users are primarily poor African Americans in urban areas, while powder cocaine users are primarily

whites, many of them at least fairly wealthy. These facts prompt many observers to say that the harsher penalties

304 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

for crack are racially biased (Tonry, 2011). Other evidence for this argument of conflict theory is seen in the

history of the illegality of opium, cocaine, and marijuana. As we discussed earlier, racial and ethnic prejudice

played an important role in why these common drugs in the nineteenth century became illegal: prejudice against

Chinese immigrants for opium, prejudice against African Americans for cocaine, and prejudice against Mexican

Americans for marijuana.

Third, conflict theory emphasizes the huge influence that multinational corporations have in the marketing and

sale of the legal drugs—alcohol, tobacco, and many prescription drugs—that often have harmful individual and

societal consequences. To maximize their profits, these companies do their best, as noted earlier, to convince

Americans and people in other nations to use their products. They also spend billions of dollars to lobby Congress.

As also mentioned earlier, the tobacco industry hid for years evidence of the deadly effects of its products. All

these efforts illustrate conflict theory’s critical view of the role that corporations play in today’s society.

Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism focuses on the interaction of individuals and on how they interpret their interaction.

Given this focus, symbolic interactionism views social problems as arising from the interaction of individuals.

As such, it understands drug use as a behavior arising from an individual’s interaction with people who engage

in drug use. From this type of social interaction, an individual learns how to use a drug and also learns various

attitudes that justify drug use and define the effects of a drug as effects that are enjoyable.

A study of drug use that reflects this approach is Howard S. Becker’s (1953) classic article, “Becoming a

Marihuana User.” Becker wrote that someone usually begins smoking marijuana in the presence of friends who

are experienced marijuana users. This social interaction, he argued, is critical for new users to wish to continue

using marijuana. To want to do so, they must learn three behaviors or perceptions from the experienced users who

are “turning them on” to marijuana use. First, new users must learn how to smoke a joint (marijuana cigarette)

by deeply inhaling marijuana smoke and holding in the smoke before exhaling. Second, they must perceive that

the effects they feel after smoking enough marijuana (spatial distortion, hunger pangs, short-term memory loss)

signify that they are stoned (under the influence of marijuana); their friends typically tell them that if they are

feeling these effects, they are indeed stoned. Third, they must learn to define these effects as pleasurable; if people

suddenly experience spatial distortion, intense hunger, and memory loss, they might very well worry they are

having huge problems! To prevent this from happening, their friends say things to them such as, “Doesn’t that

feel great!” This and similar comments help reassure the new users that the potentially worrisome effects they are

experiencing are not only bad ones but in fact very enjoyable ones.

Key Takeaways

• Biological theories assume that some people are especially vulnerable to drug addiction for genetic reasons.

• A popular set of psychological theories assumes that drug addiction results from certain personality traits and problems.

• Sociological theories attribute drug use to various aspects of the social environment, including peer

7.4 Explaining Drug Use 305

influences, weak social bonds, and the larger drug culture.

For Your Review

1. When you think about the reasons for drug use and addiction, do you think biological factors, psychological factors, or the social environment play the most important role? Explain you answer.

2. Write a brief essay in which you discuss a time when your friends influenced you, or someone else you know, to use a legal or illegal drug.

References

Becker, H. S. (1953). Becoming a Marihuana User. American Journal of Sociology, 59, 235–242.

Currie, E. (1994). Reckoning: Drugs, the cities, and the American future. New York, NY: Hill and Wang.

Feldman, M., Boyer, B., Kumar, V. K., & Prout, M. (2011). Personality, drug preference, drug use, and drug

availability. Journal of Drug Education, 41(1), 45–63.

Goode, E. (2012). Drugs in American society (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Hanson, G. R., Venturelli, P. J., & Fleckenstein, A. E. (2012). Drugs and society (11th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones

& Bartlett.

Sher, K. J., Bartholow, B. D., & Wood, M. D. (2000). Personality and substance use disorders: A prospective

study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 818–829.

Tonry, M. (2011). Punishing race: A continuing American dilemma. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

306 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

7.5 Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs

Learning Objectives

1. Explain whether the DARE program is effective.

2. Outline the goals and examples of a harm reduction approach to drug use.

3. List the problems arising from the current legal war on illegal drugs.

For many decades, the United States has used several strategies to try to deal with drugs. These strategies

generally fall into four categories: treatment, prevention, harm reduction, and, for certain drugs, criminalization

and the use of the criminal justice system, or, as we will call it, the war on illegal drugs. We now turn to these

strategies.

Treatment

Treatment programs are intended for people who already are using drugs, perceive they have a drug problem, and

want to reduce or eliminate their drug use. This strategy is probably familiar to most readers, even if they have

not used drugs themselves or at least have not had the benefit of a treatment program. Treatment programs often

involve a group setting, but many drug users also receive individual treatment from a psychiatrist, psychologist, or

drug counselor. Perhaps the most famous treatment program is Alcoholics Anonymous, a program that involves

alcoholics meeting in a group setting, acknowledging their drinking problem and its effects on family members

and other loved ones, and listening to each other talk about their situations. Other group settings are residential

settings, sometimes called detox units. In these settings, people check themselves into an institution and stay there

for several weeks until they and the professionals who treat them are satisfied. Perhaps the most famous residential

treatment program is the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California; this center was established by and

named after an acknowledged alcoholic who was the wife of President Gerald Ford.

The Betty Ford Center is a residential detox unit for people with alcohol and other drug problems.

Image courtesy of Betty Ford Center, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BETTYFORD.jpg.

In addition to or in conjunction with group treatment programs, individual treatment for drug addiction may

involve the use of “good” drugs designed to help wean addicts off the drug to which they are addicted. For

example, nicotine gum, patches, and other products are designed to help cigarette smokers stop smoking.

The various forms of treatment can be very effective for some addicts and less effective or not effective at all

for other addicts; most treatment programs have a high failure rate (Goode, 2012). A sociological perspective

suggests that however effective treatment might be for some people, the origins of drug use ultimately lie in the

larger society—its social structure, social interaction, and the drug culture—and that these roots must be addressed

for serious reductions in drug use to occur.

Prevention

Because it is always best to try to prevent a problem before it begins, an important strategy to deal with drug use

involves prevention. The major prevention strategies involve drug education or drug testing (Faupel et al., 2010).

Many education-based prevention programs focus on children and adolescents. This focus reflects the fact that

use of most drugs begins during adolescence, and that if adolescents do not begin using drugs during this period

of their lives, they are much less likely to do so when they become adults. Some education strategies follow what

is called an informational model: they involve public-service advertising, the distribution of drug pamphlets in

308 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/22d39fa1372b17bb3b4ca04677d86e55.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BETTYFORD.jpg

medical offices, and other such efforts. Several studies question the effectiveness of strategies based on this model

(Faupel et al., 2010).

Other education programs take place in the secondary school system and on college campuses. The most famous

such program is almost certainly DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), which involves police officers

speaking to middle-school children. DARE programs have been carried out in more than 7,000 schools across the

nation. However, several studies find that DARE programs do not generally reduce subsequent drug use among

the children who attend them compared to children who do not attend them (Faupel et al., 2010).

Drug testing is very common in today’s society, and you may well have been required to have a drug test as part

of an application for a job, involvement in a school sport, or other activity. At least half of US workplaces now

perform required drug tests. Drug testing is expensive, and many critics say it is not cost-effective in view of the

low prevalence of illegal drug use in the United States (Faupel et al., 2010).

Harm Reduction

A third strategy involves harm reduction. As this term implies, this strategy attempts to minimize the harm caused

by drugs. It recognizes that many people will use drugs despite efforts to prevent or persuade them from doing

so and despite any punishment they might receive for using illegal drugs. Our nation is currently using a harm

reduction approach with regard to alcohol and tobacco. It recognizes that tens of millions of people use these

products, and designated-driving programs and other efforts try to minimize the considerable harm these two

drugs cause.

A specific harm reduction strategy with regard to illegal drugs is the provision of clean, sterile needles for people

who inject themselves with heroin, cocaine/crack, or other drugs. Many of these users share needles, and this

sharing spreads HIV, hepatitis, and other diseases. If they have a supply to sterile needles, the reasoning goes, the

transmission of these diseases will be reduced even if use of the drugs with the aid of the needles does not reduce.

Critics say the provision of sterile needles in effect says that drug use is OK and may even encourage drug use.

Proponents reply that needle-based drug use will occur whether or not sterile needles are provided, and that the

provision of sterile needles does more good than harm. Other nations have adopted this type of harm reduction

much more extensively than the United States.

Another harm reduction strategy involves the use of drug courts, which began in the 1990s and now number more

than 2,500 across the United States. In these courts, drug offenders who have been arrested and found guilty are

sentenced to drug treatment and counseling rather than to jail or prison. Evaluation studies show that the courts

save much money compared to imprisoning drug offenders and that they are more effective than imprisonment in

reducing the offenders’ drug habit (Stinchcomb, 2010).

People Making a Difference

Law Enforcement against Prohibition

7.5 Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs 309

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is an organization of current and former police and other criminal justice professionals, including prosecutors, judges, and FBI agents, who advocate for the legalization of illegal drugs. Because many of these professionals were on the front lines in the war against drugs and often put their lives in danger, their views about drug policy cannot be dismissed lightly.

One of their members is MacKenzie Allen, a 65-year-old deputy sheriff who worked in Los Angeles and Seattle, including time as an undercover agent who bought illegal drugs and made countless arrests for drug offenses. Although Allen strongly disapproves of drug use, his many years in law enforcement led him to realize that the drug problem is best understood as a public health problem, not a legal problem. He notes that the United States has lowered cigarette use through public education and without outlawing cigarettes. “Can you imagine the mayhem had we outlawed cigarettes?” he writes. “Can you envision the ‘cigarette cartels’ and the bloodbath that would follow? Yet, thanks to a public awareness campaign we’ve made a huge dent in tobacco use without arresting a single cigarette smoker.”

Allen adds that most of the problems associated with illegal drug use are actually the result of the laws against drugs. These laws create a huge illegal market, much of it involving violent cartels, he says, that promises strong profits for the manufacturers and sellers of illegal drugs. He is also critical of other aspects of the war on drugs:

If the colloquial definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, what does that say about our “War on Drugs”? We’ve been pursuing this strategy for forty years. It has cost a trillion taxpayer dollars, thousands of lives (both law enforcement and civilians) and destroyed hundreds of thousands more by incarceration. Moreover, it undermines the safety of our communities by overcrowding our jails and prisons, forcing them to give early release to truly violent offenders. Another LEAP member is Joseph D. McNamara, the former police chief of San Jose, California. McNamara also criticizes the violence resulting from the laws against drugs. “Like an increasing number of law enforcers,” he writes specifically about marijuana, “I have learned that most bad things about marijuana—especially the violence made inevitable by an obscenely profitable black market—are caused by the prohibition, not by the plant.” He continues, “Al Capone and his rivals made machine-gun battles a staple of 1920s city street life when they fought to control the illegal alcohol market. No one today shoots up the local neighborhood to compete in the beer market…How much did the [Mexican] cartels make last year dealing in Budweiser, Corona or Dos Equis? Legalization would seriously cripple their operations.”

As these statements indicate, the legal war on drugs has had many costs. It is difficult to know what to do about illegal drugs, but in bringing these costs to the attention of elected officials and the American public, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is making a difference. For further information about LEAP, visit copssaylegalizedrugs.com.

Sources: Allen, 2001; Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, 2011; McNamara, 2010

The War on Illegal Drugs

The most controversial drug strategy involves the criminalization of many drugs and the use of the police and the

rest of the criminal justice system to apprehend and punish the users, manufacturers, and sellers of illegal drugs.

As the brief history of drug use at the beginning of this chapter indicated, the United States has banned certain

drugs since the late nineteenth century, and it accelerated this effort during the 1970s and 1980s as concern grew

about heroin, crack, and other drugs.

In judging the war on illegal drugs, two considerations should be kept in mind (Meier & Geis, 2007). One

consideration is the philosophical question of the extent to which the government in a free society should outlaw

behaviors that may be harmful even if people (let’s assume we are talking about legal adults) want to engage in

them. Americans do all kinds of things that may harm themselves and that may directly or indirectly harm other

people. For example, many Americans eat high amounts of candy, ice cream, potato chips, hamburgers, and other

“fat food” that causes obesity, great harm to individual health, premature death and bereavement, and tens of

310 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

billions of dollars in health costs and lost productivity annually. Although obesity almost certainly causes more

harm overall than illegal drugs, no one is about to say that the use of “fat food” should be banned or restricted,

although some schools and workplaces have removed candy and soda machines. Americans also engage in many

other activities that can be very harmful, including downhill skiing, contact sports, skydiving, and any number

of other activities, but no one is about to say that we should be prohibited from engaging in these efforts. Where

is the logic, then, in allowing all these behaviors and in not allowing the use of certain drugs? A philosophical

argument can be made that all drug use should, in fact, be allowed in a free society (Husak, 2002), and perhaps

this is an issue that you and your classmates will want to discuss.

The second consideration is the social science question of whether laws against drugs do more good than harm,

or more harm than good. In a rational society, if a law or policy does more good than harm, then we should have

the law or policy. However, if it does more harm than good, however much good it might do, then we should not

have it, because the harm outweighs the good.

In considering this issue, critics of drug laws say they do much more harm than good, and they often cite

Prohibition as an example of this dynamic. Prohibition was repealed because our society decided it was doing

much more harm than good and was thus a “triumphant failure,” as one author has called this period of our history

(Okrent, 2011, p. 67). Prohibition caused several harms: (1) the rise of organized crime to earn illegal profits from

the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcohol; (2) the violence and murder among organized crime gangs that

fought each other over drug “turf”; (3) the wounding and death of innocent bystanders from gunfights between

organized crime gangs; (4) the wounding and murder of police officers who enforced Prohibition; (5) rampant

corruption among police officers and political officials who took money from organized crime to ignore violations

of Prohibition; and (6) the expenditure of much time, money, and energy by the criminal justice system to enforce

Prohibition.

Prohibition did reduce drinking and the violence associated with drinking. But some scholars say that the

organized crime violence caused by Prohibition was so common and deadly that the homicide rate grew during

Prohibition rather than lessening (Jensen, 2000), though other scholars dispute this finding (Owens, 2011). In yet

another problem, many people during Prohibition became sick and/or died from drinking tainted liquor. Because

alcohol was no longer regulated, illegal alcohol often contained, by accident or design, dangerous substances.

As an example, 15,000 people in the Midwest became sick with a severe neurological problem after drinking an

illegal alcohol laced with a paint thinner chemical (Genzlinger, 2011).

Critics of today’s war on illegal drugs say that it has reproduced the same problems that Prohibition produced.

Among these problems are the following:

• Drug gangs and individual drug sellers engage in deadly fights with each other and also kill or wound

police officers and other law enforcement personnel who fight the war on drugs.

• Many innocent bystanders, including children, are wounded or killed by stray bullets.

• Many police officers take bribes to ignore drug law violations and/or sell drugs confiscated from

dealers.

• The criminal justice system and other agencies spend much time, money, and energy in the war against

illegal drugs, just as they did during Prohibition. Enforcing drug laws costs about $50 billion annually

(McVay, n.d.). Police and other law enforcement personnel make more than 1.6 million arrests for drug

7.5 Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs 311

offenses annually, including about 850,000 arrests for marijuana possession (Federal Bureau of

Investigation, 2011). Some 500,000 people are in prison or jail for drug offenses.

• The drug war has focused disproportionately on African Americans and Latinos and greatly increased

their numbers who have gone to jail or prison. Even though illegal drug use is more common among

whites than among blacks, the arrest rate for drug offenses is ten times higher for African Americans

than the rate for whites (Blow, 2011). Partly because of the drug war, about one-third of young African

American men have prison records.

• Most of the 17,000 annual deaths from illegal drug use stem from the fact that the drugs are illegal.

Because they are illegal, they may contain dangerous substances that can be fatal, just as in

Prohibition. In addition, some illegal drug users overdose because they underestimate the purity of a

drug.

One of the harms associated with the war on drugs is that police officers die in the line of duty when they are killed by drug sellers or

users.

Greg Matthews – Riverside Police Officer Memorial Service – CC BY-ND 2.0.

Because of all these problems, drug law critics say, the United States should legalize marijuana, the most benign

illegal drug, and seriously consider legalizing some or all other illegal drugs.

Proponents of the drug war reply that if drugs were legalized or decriminalized (still against the law, but violations

would be treated like traffic offenses), many more people would use the newly legal drugs, and the problems these

drugs cause would increase. Responding to this argument, drug law critics say it is not at all certain that drug use

would increase if drugs were legalized. To support their view, they cite two pieces of evidence.

First, illegal drugs are relatively easy to obtain and use without fear of arrest. If people have decided not to use

illegal drugs now, it is unlikely they will use them if the drugs were legalized. Support for this argument comes

312 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/7.5.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregpm/8493437629/

from national data on high school seniors (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2011). In 2010, 82

percent of seniors said they could easily obtain marijuana, and 35.5 percent said they could easily obtain cocaine.

Despite these numbers, only 35 percent had used marijuana in the past year, and only 3 percent had used cocaine

in the past year.

Second, marijuana use in the United States decreased in the 1970s and 1980s after several states decriminalized

it. As we noted earlier, marijuana use also declined in the Netherlands after they decriminalized the drug in

the 1970s. Moreover, even though use of marijuana is legal in the Netherlands, its rate of marijuana use is no

higher than the rate of marijuana use in the United States (Drug Policy Alliance, 2012). In another international

comparison, Portugal decriminalized possession of all drugs in 2001; after it did so, teenage drug use declined

(see Note 7.28 “Lessons from Other Societies”).

At this point, it is impossible to know how much, if at all, the use of illegal drugs would rise if they were legalized.

Critics of the drug war say that even if the use of drugs did rise, the benefits of legalizing or decriminalizing them

would still outweigh the disadvantages (Feiling, 2010).

Lessons from Other Societies

What Happened after the Netherlands and Portugal Decriminalized Drugs?

As the United States ponders its drug policy, the experience of the Netherlands and Portugal provides some provocative lessons.

The Netherlands decriminalized drugs in 1976. Under the Netherlands’ policy, although criminal penalties remain for possessing hard drugs (cocaine, heroin, etc.) and large quantities of marijuana, drug users are not normally arrested for possessing drugs, but they must receive drug treatment if they are arrested for another reason. Drug sellers are not normally arrested for selling small amounts of drugs, but they may be arrested for selling them in large. Marijuana use in the Netherlands dropped in the immediate years after it was decriminalized. Although it increased somewhat since then, as in some other nations, it remains much lower than the US rate. According to the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 percent of Dutch residents ages 15–64 have used cannabis at least once in their lives, compared to 40 percent of Americans ages 12 and older (2005 figures). Dutch use of cocaine and heroin also remains much lower than American use. Reflecting the Netherlands’ experience, most of the nations in Western Europe have also decriminalized marijuana possession and use, and their rates of marijuana use also remain lower than the US rate.

In 2001, Portugal became the first European nation to remove all criminal penalties for drug possession. Portugal took this step because it reasoned that fear of arrest keeps drug addicts from seeking help and because it recognized that drug treatment costs far less than imprisonment. Anyone convicted of drug possession is sent for drug treatment, but the person may refuse treatment without any penalty.

In the first five years after Portugal decriminalized all drug possession, teenaged illegal drug use declined, new HIV infections from sharing needles declined, and the prison population also declined. Meanwhile, the number of drug addicts receiving treatment increased by 41 percent. A researcher who reported these trends commented, “Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success. It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does.” A Portuguese drug official agreed, “The impact [of drugs] in the life of families and our society is much lower than it was before decriminalization,” and noted that police are now freer to spend more time and energy on high-level dealers. Adult drug use in Portugal has risen slightly since 2001, but so has adult drug use in other European nations that did not decriminalize drugs. Portugal’s increase has not been higher than these other nations’ increase.

Although the Netherlands, Portugal, and other Western European nations certainly differ from the United States in many ways, their experience strongly suggests that decriminalization of drugs may cause much more good than harm. If so, the United States has important lessons to learn from their experiences.

7.5 Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs 313

Sources: Hughes & Stevens, 2010; Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2008; Reinarman & Hendrien, 2004; Szaalavitz, 2009; Tracey & Jahromi, 2010

Key Takeaways

• To deal with drugs, the United States has used several strategies, including treatment, prevention, harm reduction, and the legal war on illegal drugs.

• According to its critics, the war on illegal drugs has done much more harm than good and in this respect is repeating the example of Prohibition.

For Your Review

1. Do you think the United States should make sterile needles and syringes freely available to people who are addicted to drugs that are injected? Why or why not?

2. Do you agree or disagree that the war on illegal drugs is doing more harm than good? Explain your answer.

References

Allen, M. (2011, February 23). Why this cop asked the President about legalizing drugs. Huffington Post.

Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mackenzie-allen/why-this-cop-asked-the-pr_b_827338.html.

Blow, C. M. (2011, June 11). Drug bust. New York Times, p. A21.

Drug Policy Alliance. (2012). Drug policy around the world: The Netherlands. Retrieved from

http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/drug-facts/marijuana-facts#medical.

Faupel, C. E., Horowitz, A. M., & Weaver., G. S. (2010). The sociology of American drug use. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

Genzlinger, N. (2011, October 1). Bellying up to the time when America went dry. New York Times, p. C1.

Goode, E. (2012). Drugs in American society (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Hughes, C. E., & Stevens, A. (2010). What can we learn from the Portuguese decriminalization of illicit drugs?

British Journal of Criminology, 50(6), 999–1022.

Husak, D. (2002). Legalize this! The case for decriminalizing drugs. New York, NY: Verso Books.

314 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mackenzie-allen/why-this-cop-asked-the-pr_b_827338.html

http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/drug-facts/marijuana-facts#medical

Jensen, G. F. (2000). Prohibition, alcohol, and murder: Untangling counterveiling mechanisms. Homicide Studies,

4, 18–36.

Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2011). Monitoring the future. National

results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2010 Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. (2011). Ending the Drug War: A Dream Deferred. Medford, MA: Author.

McNamara, J. D. (2010, July 25). Legalize pot, former San Jose police chief says. San Francisco Chronicle.

Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/25/IN1K1EGQRJ.DTL.

McVay, D. A. (n.d.). Drug War Facts (6th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms.

Meier, R. F., & Geis, G. (2007). Criminal justice and moral issues. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (2008). FAQ drugs: A guide to drug policy. Retrieved from

http://www.minbuza.nl.

Okrent, D. (2011). Last call: The rise and fall of prohibition. New York, NY: Scribner.

Owens, E. G. (2011, October 2). The (not so) roaring ‘20s. New York Times, p. SR12.

Reinarman, C., Cohen, P. D. A., & Hendrien, K. L. (2004). The limited relevance of drug policy: Cannabis in

Amsterdam and in San Francisco. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 836–842.

Stinchcomb, J. B. (2010). Drug courts: Conceptual foundation, empirical findings, and policy implications.

Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 17(2), 148–167.

Szaalavitz, M. (2009, April 20). Drugs in Portugal: Did decriminalization work? Time. Retrieved from

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,1893900.html.

Tracey, M., & Jahromi, N. (2010, December 15). Importing the Portuguese model of drug reform. The Nation.

Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/157124/importing-portuguese-model-drug-reform.

7.5 Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs 315

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/25/IN1K1EGQRJ.DTL

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms

http://www.minbuza.nl/

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,1893900.html

http://www.thenation.com/article/157124/importing-portuguese-model-drug-reform

7.6 Addressing the Drug Problem and Reducing Drug Use

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the problems associated with arresting hundreds of thousands of people for drug possession.

2. List any three specific measures that may help deal with the drug problem.

As you may have already noticed and will notice again, the other chapters in this book usually present a fairly

optimistic assessment when they discuss prospects for addressing the social problem discussed in each chapter.

They point to the experience of other nations that do a good job of addressing the social problem, they cite social

science evidence that points to solutions for addressing the problem, and they generally say that the United States

could address the problem if it had the wisdom to approach it appropriately and to spend sufficient sums of money.

This chapter will not end with an optimistic assessment for addressing the drug problem. The reason for this lack

of optimism is that what’s past is prologue: People have enthusiastically used drugs since prehistoric times and

show no signs of reducing their drug use. Many and perhaps most scholars think the legal war on drugs has had

little, if any, impact on drug use (Walker, 2011), and many scholars recognize that this war brought with it the

many disadvantages cited in the previous section. As Kleiman et al. (2011, p. xvi) observe, “Our current drug

policies allow avoidable harm by their ineffectiveness and create needless suffering by their excesses.”

A growing number of people in the political world agree. In 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy issued

a major report on the world’s antidrug efforts. The commission comprised nineteen members, including a former

United Nations secretary general, a former US secretary of state, a former chair of the US Federal Reserve, and

former presidents or prime ministers of Brazil, Colombia, Greece, Mexico, and Switzerland. The commission’s

report called for a drastic rethinking of current drug policy: “The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating

consequences for individuals and societies around the world…Fundamental reforms in national and global drug

control policies are urgently needed” (Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2011, p. 3). Decriminalization and

even legalization of illegal drugs should be seriously considered, the report concluded.

Given this backdrop, many drug experts question whether our current drug policies make sense. They add that the

best approach our society could take would be to expand the prevention, treatment, and harm reduction approaches

discussed earlier; because drugs will always be with us, our society should do what it can to minimize the many

harms that drugs cause. Thus drug education prevention and drug treatment programs should be expanded, sterile

needles should be made available for drug addicts who inject their drugs, and drug courts should be used for a

greater number of drug offenders.

Beyond these approaches, some experts say marijuana use should be decriminalized and that decriminalization

of other drugs should be seriously considered. If marijuana were not only decriminalized but also legalized and

taxed, it is estimated that this new tax revenue would amount to $8.7 billion annually and that about $8.7 billion

annually would also be saved in reduced law enforcement costs, for a total of more than $17 billion in new funds

that could be used for drug prevention, drug treatment, and other needs (Kristof, 2010). Many Americans agree

with these experts: In a 2011 Gallup poll, 50 percent of the public favored legalizing marijuana, while 46 percent

opposed legalizing it (Graves, 2011).

More generally, these experts say, it makes little sense to arrest more than 1.3 million people each year for drug

possession and to put many of them in jail or prison. We do not arrest and imprison alcoholics and cigarette

smokers; instead we try to offer them various kinds of help, and we should do the same for people who are

addicted to other kinds of drugs. If arrest and imprisonment must continue, these measures should be reserved for

sellers of large quantities of illegal drugs, not for the people who use the drugs or for those who sell only small

quantities. When low-level drug dealers are imprisoned, they are simply replaced on the street by new dealers.

Providing low-level dealers with alternative sentencing would reduce the number of imprisoned dealers over time

by several hundred thousand annually without making illegal drugs more available.

In addition to all these measures, several other steps might well reduce certain kinds of drug use or at least reduce

the harm that both drugs and our current drug policies cause (Kleiman et al., 2011). These steps include the

following:

1. Providing legally prescribed heroin and/or substitute opiates, including methadone, for heroin

addicts. This provision has proven effective in several other nations.

2. Encouraging primary care physicians and other health-care providers to screen more carefully

for substance abuse.

3. Basing drug sentencing less on the quantity of illegal drugs sold and more on the level of violence

in which some drug sellers engage.

4. Abandoning DARE. According to Kleiman et al. (2011, p. 201), “the continued dominance in school-

based drug education of DARE—a program that has never been shown to actually reduce drug use—is

a scandal.” They instead recommend school-based programs that help children develop self-control

and prosocial behavior, as these programs have also been shown to reduce children’s subsequent drug

use.

5. Following the psychological principle of operant conditioning by providing drug addicts small

cash payments for clean drug tests, as these rewards have been shown to be effective.

6. Fully reintegrating former drug dealers and recovering drug addicts into society. They should

have full access to public housing, educational loans, and other benefits, and they should be allowed to

vote in states that now do not let them vote.

7. Raising alcohol taxes. According to Kleiman et al. (2011), tripling the alcohol tax would especially

reduce drinking by heavy drinkers and by minors, and it would reduce the number of homicides by

1,000 annually and the number of motor vehicle accidents by 2,000 annually. The new tax money

could also help fund alcohol treatment and prevention programs. “In the entire field of drug-abuse

control,” Kleiman et al. (2011, p. 204) write, “there is no bargain as attractive as a higher alcohol tax.”

8. Prohibiting alcohol sales to anyone who has engaged in drunk driving or who has committed

violence under the influence of alcohol. For this ban to work, everyone who wants to buy alcohol

would have to show an ID, and those prohibited from buying alcohol would have that indicated on

7.6 Addressing the Drug Problem and Reducing Drug Use 317

their ID. This ban would certainly be unpopular among the many drinkers who drink responsibly, but it

would reduce the great harm that alcohol causes.

9. Allowing marijuana users to grow their own cannabis or to buy it from small growers. This

would reduce the sales of cannabis, and thus its profits, from the organized crime groups and the

Mexican cartels that now provide much of the marijuana used in the United States.

10. Raising the cigarette tax. Some states already have high cigarette taxes, but several states have low

cigarette taxes. Raising the taxes in the low-tax states would reduce cigarette smoking in these states.

The new tax revenue could be used to fund treatment programs that help reduce smoking.

Key Takeaways

• Critics of the war on drugs say that people who use illegal drugs should be treated, not arrested, just as people who use alcohol and tobacco are treated, if they seek treatment, rather than arrested.

• Specific measures that could help address the drug problem include providing legally prescribed heroin or substitute opiates for heroin addicts and raising the alcohol tax.

For Your Review

1. Do you think that alcohol taxes should be raised? Why or why not?

2. Do you favor decriminalization of marijuana? Explain your answer.

References

Global Commission on Drug Policy. (2011). War on drugs: Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. Rio

de Janeiro, Brazil: Author.

Graves, L. (2011, October 18). Marijuana legalization receives 50 percent support in new poll. Huffington

Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/2010/2017/support-for-marijuana-legalization-at-all-

time-high_n_1016461.html?utm_source

=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=1101811&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry

&utm_term=Daily%1016420Brief.

Kleiman, M. A. R., Caulkins, J. P., & Hawken, A. (2011). Drugs and drug policy: What everyone needs to know.

New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Kristof, N. D. (2010, October 28). End the war on pot. New York Times, p. A33.

318 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/2010/2017/support-for-marijuana-legalization-at-all-time-high_n_1016461.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=1101811&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry&utm_term=Daily%1016420Brief

Walker, S. (2011). Sense and nonsense about crime, drugs, and communities: A Policy guide (7th ed.). Belmont,

CA: Wadsworth.

7.6 Addressing the Drug Problem and Reducing Drug Use 319

7.7 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Humans have used drugs of various types since prehistoric times. Alcohol has been a common drug in the United States since the colonial period, and opium, marijuana, and heroin were common legal drugs in the late nineteenth century.

2. The distinction between legal and illegal drugs lacks a logical basis. Alcohol and tobacco kill many more people than all illegal drugs combined.

3. The use of several drugs is socially patterned. Males are more likely than females to use drugs, and religious people are less likely to use them than those who are less religious. The differences that race/ethnicity, education, and region of country make for drug use depends on the type of drug.

4. Biological theories assume that drug addiction results from a genetic predisposition, while psychological theories attribute drug use to certain personality traits and to positive reinforcement.

5. Sociological theories attribute drug use to peer and cultural influences. A sociological perspective suggests that the ultimate roots of drug use lie in the social environment rather than inside the individual.

6. Major approaches to dealing with drugs include treatment, prevention, harm reduction, and the use of the criminal justice system for illegal drugs. Critics of the war on drugs say that it does more harm than good, and they urge that serious consideration be given to decriminalizing marijuana and perhaps other drugs.

Using What You Know

A college friend of yours seems to drink a lot most nights and even goes to class some mornings hung over. You’ve become so concerned that you’ve suggested to your friend when you’ve been out for the evening to just have a couple drinks. Your friend has just laughed you off. What, if anything, do you do?

What You Can Do

To help deal with the societal and individual problems caused by alcohol and other drugs, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer for a local agency that helps teenagers or adults who have a problem with alcohol or other drugs.

2. Start or join in efforts on your campus to encourage responsible drinking.

3. Start a group to encourage your state to raise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes.

Chapter 8: Crime and Criminal Justice

Social Problems in the News

“Wilson St. Residents Stunned by Shooting,” the headline said. A shooting of a toddler in Chattanooga, TN, left a neighbor afraid. At 9:45 p.m. on a Friday night, someone walked up to an apartment and fired a gun through a window. One bullet struck the toddler in the leg, and another bullet struck a 20-year-old male with him in the hand. A neighbor across the hallway heard the shots and later told a reporter, “It scared me, my heart was beating, my hands were shaking. I was nervous and scared, is the baby going to survive. I was stuck on my bed and I was like what am I supposed to do, go see who is at my door or if I open it I might get shot at. I’m worrying about the baby, that’s all I’m worrying about.” Because the 20-year-old victim was a known gang member, police suspected that the incident was related to a drive-by gang shooting that occurred earlier in the evening.

Source: Boatwright, 2011

As this poignant account reminds us, many people across the nation live in fear of crime, and you may know

several people, perhaps including yourself, who have been victims of a crime. The study of crime bears directly

on this book’s theme of continuity and change: Crime seems to have always been with us, yet sound social science

research points to many programs and policies with great promise for reducing crime if only our nation would

undertake them. We begin with some conceptual issues in understanding crime before turning to the types of

crime, explanations for crime, and some aspects of the criminal justice system.

References

Boatwright, M. (2011, March 5). Wilson St. residents stunned by shooting. WRCB-TV. Retrieved from

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14194540.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14194540

8.1 The Problem of Crime

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the extent of public concern about crime.

2. Explain how the news media contribute to myths about crime.

3. Describe how crime in the United States is measured.

Put most simply, crime is behavior that is prohibited by the criminal law because it is considered especially

harmful or offensive. This simple definition, however, raises many questions:

• Who decides what is offensive or harmful?

• Are some harmful behaviors not considered crimes, and are some crimes not that harmful?

• Are some people more likely than others to be considered criminals because of their gender, race and

ethnicity, social class, age, or other aspect of their social backgrounds?

These questions lie at the heart of the sociological study of deviance, of which crime is a special type. Deviance

is behavior that violates social norms and arouses strong social disapproval. This definition reflects the common

sociological view that deviance is not a quality of a behavior itself but rather the result of what other people think

about the behavior. This view is reflected in an often-cited quote from sociologist Howard S. Becker (1963, p.

9), who wrote several decades ago that “deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a

consequence of the application by others of rules or sanctions to an ‘offender.’ The deviant is one to whom that

label has been successfully applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label.”

This definition reminds us that some harmful behaviors, such as white-collar crime, may not be considered deviant

and fail to result in severe legal punishment, perhaps because wealthy individuals perform them. It also reminds us

that some less harmful behaviors, such as prostitution, may be considered very deviant because the public deems

the behavior immoral and because poor people engage in them. As these possibilities suggest, the application of a

criminal label to an offender is problematic: People arrested and/or convicted of a crime may not have engaged in

a very harmful behavior or even in the behavior of which they are suspected, and people with no criminal record

have in fact engaged in harmful and even criminal behavior.

Public Concern about Crime

The American public is clearly concerned about crime. Two-thirds of the public said in a 2011 Gallup poll that

crime had risen from the previous year. More than a third, 38 percent, said they would be “afraid to walk alone at

night” within one mile of their residence; this figure translates to more than 86 million adults. In the same poll,

47 percent (or about 114 million adults) said they worry about their homes being burglarized, and 44 percent said

they worry about thefts of or from their motor vehicles. Corresponding figures for other crimes were: experiencing

identity theft, 67 percent; getting mugged, 34 percent; getting attacked while driving your car, 19 percent; being

sexually assaulted, 22 percent (including 37 percent of women); and getting murdered, 20 percent (among the

lowest figures in this list, but one that still amounts to 42 million adults worrying about being murdered).

Although the public is concerned about crime, at least some of this concern might exceed what the facts about

crime would justify. For example, although most of the public, as we just noted, thinks the crime rate has been

rising, this rate has actually been declining since the early 1990s. And although one-fifth of the public worries

about getting murdered, homicides comprise less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all violent and property crime

(street crime); only about 7 of every 100,000 Americans, or 0.007 percent, are murdered every year; homicide

does not rank among the top ten causes of death (which include heart disease and cancer); and the number of

homicides is much lower than the number of deaths from harmful behavior by corporations (such as pollution or

unsafe products and workplaces). Crime is indeed a real problem, but public concern about crime may be higher

than the facts warrant.

Media Myths

To the extent this is true, news media coverage of crime may be partly responsible (Robinson, 2011). For example,

if the television news and newspapers suddenly have several stories about a few sensational crimes, public

concern about crime may jump, even though crime in general has not risen at all. Similarly, the news media have

increased their crime coverage even when crime is falling, as happened during the early 1990s when the major

US television networks more than doubled their nightly news stories about crime even though crime had been

declining (Freeman, 1994).

The news media, in fact, distort the amount and nature of crime in several ways (Surette, 2011). First, they

overdramatize crime by reporting it in many news stories. Crime dominates news coverage in many newspapers

and television newscasts, and, as just noted, the media may devote much coverage to a few sensational crimes and

create the false impression that a “crime wave” is occurring when the crime rate may even be declining.

Second, the media devote particularly heavy coverage to violent crime, reflecting the common saying that “if it

bleeds, it leads.” For example, more than 25 percent of the crime stories on evening newscasts and in newspapers

concern homicide, even though homicide comprises less than 1 percent of all crime (Feld, 2003). Similarly,

the vast majority of crime stories feature violent crime, even though violent crime comprises only about 12–14

percent of all street crimes combined. Media attention to violent crime thus gives the public the false impression

that most crime is violent when in fact most crime involves a theft of some sort (property crime).

8.1 The Problem of Crime 323

The news media feature violent crime, even though violent crime comprises only a small portion of all crime.

Darla Hueske – did not cross – CC BY-ND 2.0.

Third, the media tend to highlight crimes committed by African Americans or other people of color and crimes

with white victims. A greater percentage of crime stories involve people of color as offenders than is true in

arrest statistics. A greater percentage of crime stories also involve whites as victims than is actually true, and

newspaper stories of white-victim crimes are longer than those of black-victim crimes. Crimes in which African

Americans are the offenders and whites are the victims also receive disproportionate media coverage even though

most crimes involve offenders and victims of the same race. In all these ways, the news media exaggerate the

extent to which people of color commit crimes and the extent to which whites are victims of crimes.

Fourth, the media also tend to highlight crimes committed by youths. In one study of thousands of local newscast

stories, about two-thirds of the stories about violence depicted youthful offenders, even though teenagers commit

only about 14–16 percent of violent crime (Jackson, 1997). In a related problem, media stories involving teenagers

are much more likely to show them committing crime or other antisocial acts than committing good deeds or other

positive behavior. In these ways, the news media convey a false impression that leads the public to believe both

that youths commit much of our violent crime and that youth violence has been rising even though it has actually

declined since the early 1990s.

Measuring Crime

It is surprisingly difficult to know how much crime occurs. Crime is not like the weather, when we all can

see whether it is raining, snowing, or sunny. Usually when crime occurs, only the criminal and the victim, and

sometimes an occasional witness, know about it. We thus have an incomplete picture of the crime problem, but

324 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.1.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sierragoddess/4332377554/

because of various data sources we still have a pretty good understanding of how much crime exists and of who

is most likely to commit it and be victimized by it.

The government’s primary source of crime data is the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), published annually by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI gathers its data from police departments around the country who tell the

FBI about crimes that have come to their attention. The police also tell the FBI whether someone is arrested for

the crime and, if so, the person’s age, gender, and race. The FBI gathers all these UCR data and reports them in

an annual volume called Crime in the United States (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011).

Most UCR data concern the so-called Part I Crimes, eight felonies that the FBI considers the most serious.

Four of these are violent crimes—homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery—and four are property

crimes—burglary, larceny (e.g., shoplifting, pick-pocketing, purse-snatching), motor vehicle theft, and arson.

According to the FBI, 1,246,248 violent crimes and 9,082,887 property crimes occurred in 2010, for a total of

about 10.3 million. This is the nation’s official crime count, and by any standard it is a lot of crime. However, this

number is much lower than it should be because more than half of all crime victims do not report their crimes to

the police, and the police thus do not know about them. These unreported crimes represent “hidden” crimes or, as

they are often called, the dark figure of crime. Thus the true crime problem is much greater than suggested by the

UCR.

This underreporting of crime represents a major problem for the UCR’s validity. Several other problems exist.

First, the UCR excludes white-collar crimes and thus diverts attention away from their harm. Second, police

practices affect the number of crimes listed in the UCR. For example, the police do not record every report they

hear from a citizen as a crime. Sometimes they do not have the time to do so, and sometimes they do not believe

the citizen. If they do not record the report, the FBI does not count it as a crime. If the police start recording

more reports or fail to record even more reports, the official crime rate will rise or fall, respectively, even though

the actual number of crimes has not changed. This fact has led to crime-reporting scandals during the past two

decades, as police departments in several major cities failed to record many crimes or downgraded others (e.g.,

calling a rape a simple assault) in an apparent effort to make it appear as if the crime rate were falling (Hart, 2004).

In a third problem, if crime victims become more or less likely to report their crimes to the police (e.g., the advent

of the 911 emergency number may have increased calls to the police), the official crime rate will again change,

even if the actual number of crimes has not.

To get a more accurate picture of crime, the federal government began in the early 1970s to administer a survey,

now called the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), to tens of thousands of randomly selected US

households. People in the households are asked whether they or their residence has been the victim of several

different types of crimes in the past half year. Their responses are then extrapolated to the entire US population to

yield fairly accurate estimates of the actual number of crimes occurring in the nation. These estimates are thought

to be more accurate than the UCR’s figures, even if it is true that victims sometimes might not want to tell NCVS

interviewers what happened to them (Catalano, 2006).

Table 8.1 “Number of Crimes: Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS),

2010” lists the number of street crimes as reported by the UCR and estimated by NCVS. Note that these two

crime sources do not measure exactly the crimes. For example, the NCVS excludes commercial crimes such as

shoplifting, while the UCR includes them. The NCVS also includes simple assaults (where someone receives only

8.1 The Problem of Crime 325

a minor injury), while the UCR excludes them. These differences notwithstanding, we can still see that the NCVS

estimates about 1.8 times as many crimes as the UCR reports to us. The dark figure of crime is large indeed.

Table 8.1 Number of Crimes: Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2010

UCR NCVS

Violent crime 1,246,248 3,817,380

Property crime 9,082,887 14,908,330

Total 10,329,135 18,725,710

Source: Maguire, K. (Ed.). (2011). Sourcebook of criminal justice statistics. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/toc_3.html.

A third source of crime information is the self-report survey. Here subjects, usually adolescents, indicate on

an anonymous questionnaire whether and how often they committed various offenses in, say, the past year.

Typically, they also answer questions about their family relationships, school performance, and other aspects of

their backgrounds. Self-report studies have yielded valuable information about delinquency and explanations of

crime. Like the NCVS, they underscore how much crime is committed that does not come to the attention of the

police.

Key Takeaways

• Much of the American public is concerned about crime, and many people worry about becoming a victim of various types of crime.

• The news media overdramatize the nature and amount of crime, and they give more attention to crimes involving African Americans and Latinos as offenders and whites as victims.

• The nation’s major source of crime data is the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). However, many people do not report their crimes to the police, and police practices affect the number of “official” crimes reported by the UCR.

For Your Review

1. Why do you think so many Americans are afraid of crime even though the crime rate has greatly declined since the early 1990s?

2. Why is it difficult to measure crime accurately? Why is the measurement of crime by the FBI inaccurate?

References

Becker, H. S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance. New York, NY: Free Press.

326 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/toc_3.html

Catalano, S. M. (2006). The measurement of crime: Victim reporting and police recording. New York, NY: LFB

Scholarly.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

Feld, B. C. (2003). The politics of race and juvenile justice: The “due process revolution” and the conservative

reaction. Justice Quarterly, 20, 765–800.

Freeman, M. (1994, March 14). Networks doubled crime coverage in ‘93, despite flat violence levels in US

society. Mediaweek, 4, p. 4.

Hart, A. (2004, February 21). Report finds Atlanta police cut figures on crimes. New York Times, p. A1.

Jackson, D. Z. (1997, September 10). No wonder we’re afraid of youths. The Boston Globe, p. A15.

Robinson, M. B. (2011). Media coverage of crime and criminal justice. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.

Surette, R. (2011). Media, crime, and criminal justice: Images, realities, and policies (4th ed.). Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth.

8.1 The Problem of Crime 327

8.2 Types of Crime

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the major aspects of homicide.

2. Discuss evidence indicating that white-collar crime is more serious than street crime.

3. Explain the major issues raised by the concept of consensual crime.

Many types of crime exist. Criminologists commonly group crimes into several major categories: (1) violent

crime; (2) property crime; (3) white-collar crime; (4) organized crime; and (5) consensual or victimless crime.

Within each category, many more specific crimes exist. For example, violent crime includes homicide, aggravated

and simple assault, rape and sexual assault, and robbery, while property crime includes burglary, larceny, motor

vehicle theft, and arson. Because a full discussion of the many types of crime would take several chapters or even

an entire book or more, we highlight here the most important dimensions of the major categories of crime and the

issues they raise for public safety and crime control.

Violent Crime

Even if, as our earlier discussion indicated, the news media exaggerate the problem of violent crime, it remains

true that violent crime plagues many communities around the country and is the type of crime that most concerns

Americans. The news story that began this chapter reminds us that violent crime is all too real for too many

people; it traps some people inside their homes and makes others afraid to let their children play outside or even

to walk to school. Rape and sexual assault are a common concern for many women and leads them to be more

fearful of being victimized than men: In the 2011 Gallup poll mentioned earlier, 37 percent of women said they

worried about being sexually assaulted, compared to only 6 percent of men (see Figure 8.1 “Gender and Worry

about Being Sexually Assaulted (Percentage Saying They Worry “Frequently” or “Occasionally”)”).

Figure 8.1 Gender and Worry about Being Sexually Assaulted (Percentage Saying They Worry “Frequently” or “Occasionally”)

Source: Data from Maguire, K. (Ed.). (2011). Sourcebook of criminal justice statistics. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/

sourcebook.

Research on violent crime tends to focus on homicide and on rape and sexual assault. Homicide, of course, is

considered the most serious crime because it involves the taking of a human life. As well, homicide data are

considered more accurate than those for other crimes because most homicides come to the attention of the police

and are more likely than other crimes to lead to an arrest. For its part, the focus on rape and sexual assault

reflects the contemporary women’s movement’s interest in these related crimes beginning in the 1970s and the

corresponding interest of criminologists, both female and male, in the criminal victimization of women.

Certain aspects of homicide are worth noting. First, although some homicides are premeditated, most in fact are

relatively spontaneous and the result of intense emotions like anger, hatred, or jealousy (Fox, Levin, & Quinet,

2012). Two people may begin arguing for any number of reasons, and things escalate. A fight may then ensue that

results in a fatal injury, but one of the antagonists may also pick up a weapon and use it. About 25–50 percent of

all homicides are victim-precipitated, meaning that the eventual victim is the one who starts the argument or the

first one to escalate it once it has begun.

Second, and related to the first aspect, most homicide offenders and victims knew each other before the

homicide occurred. Indeed, about three-fourths of all homicides involve nonstrangers, and only one-fourth involve

strangers. Intimate partners (spouses, ex-spouses, and current and former partners) and other relatives commit

almost 30 percent of all homicides (Messner, Deane, & Beaulieu, 2002). Thus although fear of a deadly attack

by a stranger dominates the American consciousness, we in fact are much more likely on average to be killed by

someone we know than by someone we do not know.

8.2 Types of Crime 329

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/1c0688c2b1e70595cfca1c337dd3b67e.jpg

http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook

About two-thirds of homicides involve firearms, and half involve a handgun.

Geoffery Fairchild – The Robbery – CC BY 2.0.

Third, about two-thirds of homicides involve firearms. To be a bit more precise, just over half involve a

handgun, and the remaining firearm-related homicides involve a shotgun, rifle, or another undetermined firearm.

Combining these first three aspects, then, the most typical homicide involves nonstrangers who have an argument

that escalates and then results in the use of deadly force when one of the antagonists uses a handgun.

Fourth, most homicides (as most violent crime in general) are intraracial, meaning that they occur within the

same race; the offender and victim are of the same race. For single offender/single victim homicides where the

race of both parties is known, about 90 percent of African American victims are killed by African American

offenders, and about 83 percent of white victims are killed by white offenders (Federal Bureau of Investigation,

2011). Although whites fear victimization by African Americans more than by whites, whites in fact are much

more likely to be killed by other whites than by African Americans. While African Americans do commit about

half of all homicides, most of their victims are also African American.

Fifth, males commit about 90 percent of all homicides and females commit only 10 percent. As we discuss in

Section 3.1 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality: A Historical Prelude”, males are much more likely than women to

commit most forms of crime, and this is especially true for homicide and other violent crime.

Sixth, the homicide rate is much higher in large cities than in small towns. In 2010, the homicide rate (number

of homicides per 100,000 population) in cities with a population at or over 250,000 was 10.0 percent, compared

to only 2.5 percent in towns with a population between 10,000 and 24,999 (see Figure 8.2 “Population Size and

Homicide Rate, 2010”). Thus the risk for homicide is four times greater in large cities than in small towns. While

most people in large cities certainly do not die from homicide, where we live still makes a difference in our

chances of being victimized by homicide and other crime.

Figure 8.2 Population Size and Homicide Rate, 2010

330 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.2.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gcfairch/4189169360/

https://umn.pressbooks.network/socialproblems/?p=227#barkansoc_1.0-ch03_s01

Source: Data from Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

Finally, the homicide rate rose in the late 1980s and peaked during the early 1990s before declining sharply

until the early 2000s and then leveling off and declining a bit further since then. Although debate continues over

why the homicide rate declined during the 1990s, many criminologists attribute the decline to a strong economy,

an ebbing of gang wars over drug trafficking, and a decline of people in the 15–25 age group that commits a

disproportionate amount of crime (Blumstein & Wallman, 2006). Some observers believe rising imprisonment

rates also made a difference, and we return to this issue later in this chapter.

Rape and sexual assault were included in Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality”’s discussion of violence against women

as a serious manifestation of gender inequality. As that chapter noted, it is estimated that one-third of women

on the planet have been raped or sexually assaulted, beaten, or physically abused in some other way (Heise,

Ellseberg, & Gottemoeller, 1999). While it is tempting to conclude that such violence is much more common

in poor nations than in a wealthy nation like the United States, we saw in Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality” that

violence against women is common in this nation as well. Like homicide, about three-fourths of all rapes and

sexual assaults involve individuals who know each other, not strangers.

Property Crime

As noted earlier, the major property crimes are burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. These crimes

are quite common in the United States and other nations and, as Table 8.1 “Number of Crimes: Uniform Crime

Reports (UCR) and National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2010” indicated, millions occur annually in

this country. Many Americans have installed burglar alarms and other security measures in their homes and similar

devices in their cars and SUVs. While property crime by definition does not involve physical harm, it still makes

us concerned, in part because it touches so many of us. Although property crime has in fact declined along with

violent crime since the early 1990s, it still is considered a major component of the crime problem, because it is so

common and produces losses of billions of dollars annually.

Much property crime can be understood in terms of the roles and social networks of property criminals. In this

regard, many scholars distinguish between amateur theft and professional theft. Most property offenders are

amateur offenders: They are young and unskilled in the ways of crime, and the amount they gain from any single

8.2 Types of Crime 331

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/85daf8ae38a38cb45665dce183824c02.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/socialproblems/part/chapter-8-crime-and-criminal-justice/#barkansoc_1.0-ch08_s01_s03_t01

theft is relatively small. They also do not plan their crimes and instead commit them when they see an opportunity

for quick illegal gain. In contrast, professional property offenders tend to be older and quite skilled in the ways

of crime, and the amount they gain from any single theft is relatively large. Not surprisingly, they often plan their

crimes well in advance. The so-called cat burglar, someone who scales tall buildings to steal jewels, expensive

artwork, or large sums of money, is perhaps the prototypical example of the professional property criminals.

Many professional thieves learn how to do their crimes from other professional thieves, and in this sense they are

mentored by the latter just as students are mentored by professors, and young workers by older workers.

White-Collar Crime

If you were asked to picture a criminal in your mind, what image would you be likely to think of first: a scruffy

young male with a scowl or sneer on his face, or a handsome, middle-aged man dressed in a three-piece business

suit? No doubt the former image would come to mind first, if only because violent crime and property crime

dominate newspaper headlines and television newscasts and because many of us have been victims of violent

or property crime. Yet white-collar crime is arguably much more harmful than street crime, both in terms of

economic loss and of physical injury, illness, and even death.

What exactly is white-collar crime? The most famous definition comes from Edwin Sutherland (1949, p. 9), a

sociologist who coined the term in the 1940s and defined it as “a crime committed by a person of respectability

and high social status in the course of his occupation.” Sutherland examined the behavior of the seventy largest

US corporations and found that they had violated the law hundreds of times among them. Several had engaged in

crimes during either World War I or II; they provided defective weapons and spoiled food to US troops and even

sold weapons to Germany and other nations the United States was fighting.

Although white-collar crime as studied today includes auto shop repair fraud and employee theft by cashiers,

bookkeepers, and other employees of relatively low status, most research follows Sutherland’s definition in

focusing on crime committed by people of “respectability and high social status.” Thus much of the study of

white-collar crime today focuses on fraud by physicians, attorneys, and other professionals and on illegal behavior

by executives of corporations designed to protect or improve corporate profits (corporate crime).

In the study of professional fraud, health-care fraud stands out for its extent and cost (Rosoff, Pontell, & Tillman,

2010). Health-care fraud is thought to amount to more than $100 billion per year, compared to less than $20 billion

for all property crime combined. For example, some physicians bill Medicare and private insurance for services

that patients do not really need and may never receive. Medical supply companies sometimes furnish substandard

equipment. To compensate for the economic loss it incurs, health-care fraud drives up medical expenses and

insurance costs. In this sense, it steals from the public even though no one ever breaks into your house or robs you

at gunpoint.

Although health-care and other professional fraud are serious, corporate crime dwarfs all other forms of white-

collar crime in the economic loss it incurs and in the death, injury, and illness it causes. Corporate financial crime

involves such activities as fraud, price fixing, and false advertising. The Enron scandal in 2001 involved an energy

corporation whose chief executives exaggerated profits. After their fraud and Enron’s more dire financial state

were finally revealed, the company’s stock plummeted and it finally went bankrupt. Its thousands of workers lost

332 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

their jobs and pensions, and investors in its stock lost billions of dollars. Several other major corporations engaged

in (or strongly suspected of doing so) accounting fraud during the late 1990s and early 2000s, but Enron was

merely the most notorious example of widespread scandal that marked this period.

While corporate financial crime and corruption have cost the nation untold billions of dollars in this and earlier

decades, corporate violence—actions by corporations that kill or maim people or leave them ill—is even more

scandalous. The victims of corporate violence include corporate employees, consumers of corporate goods, and

the public as a whole. Annual deaths from corporate violence exceed the number of deaths from homicide, and

illness and injury from corporate violence affect an untold number of people every year.

The asbestos industry learned in the 1930s that asbestos was a major health hazard, but it kept this discovery a secret for more than

three decades.

Aaron Suggs – Asbestos – CC BY 2.0.

Employees of corporations suffer from unsafe workplaces in which workers are exposed to hazardous conditions

and chemicals because their companies fail to take adequate measures to reduce or eliminate this exposure. Such

exposure may result in illness, and exposure over many years can result in death. According to a recent estimate,

more than 50,000 people die each year from workplace exposure (American Federation of Labor and Congress

of Industrial Organizations [AFL-CIO], 2010), a figure about three times greater than the number of annual

homicides. About 1,500 coal miners die each year from black lung disease, which results from the breathing of

coal dust; many and perhaps most of these deaths would be preventable if coal mining companies took adequate

safety measures (G. Harris, 1998). In another example, the asbestos industry learned during the 1930s that

exposure to asbestos could cause fatal lung disease and cancer. Despite this knowledge, asbestos companies hid

evidence of this hazard for more than three decades: They allowed their workers to continue to work with asbestos

and marketed asbestos as a fire retardant that was widely installed in schools and other buildings. More than

8.2 Types of Crime 333

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.2.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ktheory/16706268/

200,000 asbestos workers and members of the public either have already died or are expected to die from asbestos

exposure; most or all of these deaths could have been prevented if the asbestos industry had acted responsibly

when it first discovered it was manufacturing a dangerous product (Lilienfeld, 1991).

Unsafe products also kill or maim consumers. One of the most notorious examples of deaths from an unsafe

product involved the Ford Pinto, a car first sold in the early 1970s that was vulnerable to fire and explosion when

hit from behind in a minor rear-end collision (Cullen, Maakestad, & Cavender, 2006). Ford knew before the Pinto

went on the market that its gas tank was unusually vulnerable in a rear-end collision and determined it would take

about $11 per car to fix the problem. It then did a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether it would cost more

to fix the problem or instead to settle lawsuits after Pinto drivers and passengers died or were burned and injured

in rear-end collisions. This analysis indicated that Ford would save about $87 million if it did not fix the problem

and instead paid out compensation after Pinto drivers and passengers died or got burned. Because Ford made this

decision, about five hundred people eventually died in Pinto rear-end collisions and many others were burned.

The toll of white-collar crime, both financial and violent, is difficult to estimate, but by all accounts it exceeds

the economic loss and death and injury from all street crime combined. White-collar crime is thought to involve

an annual economic loss of more than $700 billion annually from corporate fraud, professional fraud, employee

theft, and tax evasion and an annual toll of at least 100,000 deaths from workplace-related illness or injury, unsafe

products, and preventable environmental pollution. These figures compare to an economic loss of less than $20

billion from property crime and a death toll of about 17,000 from homicide (Barkan, 2012). By any measure, the

toll of white-collar crime dwarfs the toll of street crime, even though the latter worries us much more than white-

collar crime. Despite the harm that white-collar crime causes, the typical corporate criminal receives much more

lenient punishment, if any, than the typical street criminal (Rosoff et al., 2010).

Organized Crime

Organized crime refers to criminal activity by groups or organizations whose major purpose for existing is to

commit such crime. When we hear the term “organized crime,” we almost automatically think of the so-called

Mafia, vividly portrayed in the Godfather movies and other films, that comprises several highly organized and

hierarchical Italian American “families.” Although Italian Americans have certainly been involved in organized

crime in the United States, so have Irish Americans, Jews, African Americans, and other ethnicities over the years.

The emphasis on Italian domination of organized crime overlooks these other involvements and diverts attention

from the actual roots of organized crime.

What are these roots? Simply put, organized crime exists and even thrives because it provides goods and/or

services that the public demands. Organized crime flourished during the 1920s because it was all too ready

and willing to provide an illegal product, alcohol, that the pubic continued to demand even after Prohibition

began. Today, organized crime earns its considerable money from products and services such as illegal drugs,

prostitution, pornography, loan sharking, and gambling. It also began long ago to branch out into legal activities

such as trash hauling and the vending industry.

Government efforts against organized crime since the 1920s have focused on arrest, prosecution, and other

law-enforcement strategies. Organized crime has certainly continued despite these efforts. This fact leads some

334 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

scholars to emphasize the need to reduce public demand for the goods and services that organized crime provides.

However, other scholars say that reducing this demand is probably a futile or mostly futile task, and they instead

urge consideration of legalizing at least some of the illegal products and services (e.g., drugs and prostitution) that

organized crime provides. Doing so, they argue, would weaken the influence of organized crime.

Consensual Crime

Consensual crime (also called victimless crime) refers to behaviors in which people engage voluntarily and

willingly even though these behaviors violate the law. Illegal drug use, discussed in Chapter 7 “Alcohol and

Other Drugs”, is a major form of consensual crime; other forms include prostitution, gambling, and pornography.

People who use illegal drugs, who hire themselves out as prostitutes or employ the services of a prostitute,

who gamble illegally, and who use pornography are all doing so because they want to. These behaviors are not

entirely victimless, as illegal drug users, for example, may harm themselves and others, and that is why the term

consensual crime is often preferred over victimless crime. As just discussed, organized crime provides some of

the illegal products and services that compose consensual crime, but these products and services certainly come

from sources other than organized crime.

This issue aside, the existence of consensual crime raises two related questions that we first encountered in

Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs”. First, to what degree should the government ban behaviors that people

willingly commit and that generally do not have unwilling victims? Second, do government attempts to ban

such behaviors do more good than harm or more harm than good? Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs”’s

discussion of these questions focused on illegal drugs, and in particular on the problems caused by laws against

certain drugs, but similar problems arise from laws against other types of consensual crime. For example, laws

against prostitution enable pimps to control prostitutes and help ensure the transmission of sexual diseases because

condoms are not regularly used.

Critics of consensual crime laws say we are now in a new prohibition and that our laws against illegal drugs,

prostitution, and certain forms of gambling are causing the same problems now that the ban on alcohol did during

the 1920s and, more generally, cause more harm than good. Proponents of these laws respond that the laws are still

necessary as an expression of society’s moral values and as a means, however imperfect, of reducing involvement

in harmful behaviors.

Key Takeaways

• Most homicides are committed for relatively emotional, spontaneous reasons and between people who knew each other beforehand.

• White-collar crime involves more death, injury, and economic loss than street crime, but the punishment of white-collar crime is relatively weak.

• Consensual crime raises two related issues: (a) To what extent should the government prohibit people from engaging in behavior in which there are no unwilling victims, and (b) do laws against consensual crime do more good than harm or more harm than good?

8.2 Types of Crime 335

For Your Review

1. If homicide is a relatively emotional, spontaneous crime, what does that imply for efforts to use harsh legal punishment, including the death penalty, to deter people from committing homicide?

2. Do you think consensual crimes should be made legal? Why or why not?

References

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). (2010). Death on the job:

The toll of neglect. Washington, DC: Author.

Barkan, S. E. (2012). Criminology: A sociological understanding (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Blumstein, A., & Wallman, J. (Eds.). (2006). The crime drop in America (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Federal Author.

Fox, J. A., Levin, J., & Quinet, K. (2012). The will to kill: Making sense of senseless murder. Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Prentice Hall.

Harris, G. (1998, April 19). Despite laws, hundreds are killed by black lung. The Courier-Journal (Louisville,

KY), p. A1.

Heise, L., Ellseberg, M., & Gottemoeller, M. (1999). Ending violence against women. Population Reports, 27(4),

1–44.

Cullen, F. T., Maakestad, W. J., & Cavender, G. (2006). Corporate crime under attack: The fight to criminalize

business violence. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.

Lilienfeld, D. E. (1991). The silence: The asbestos industry and early occupational cancer research—a case study.

American Journal of Public Health, 81, 791–800.

Messner, S. F., Deane, G., & Beaulieu, M. (2002). A log-multiplicative association model for allocating homicides

with unknown victim-offender relationships. Criminology, 40, 457–479.

Rosoff, S. M., Pontell, H. N., & Tillman, R. (2010). Profit without honor: White collar crime and the looting of

America (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sutherland, E. H. (1949). White collar crime. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

336 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

8.3 Who Commits Crime?

Learning Objectives

1. Explain why males commit more crime than females.

2. Discuss whether social class differences exist in crime rates.

3. Discuss whether racial/ethnic differences exist in crime rates.

While people from all walks of life commit street crime, some people are still more likely than others to break the

law because of their social backgrounds. These social backgrounds include their gender, age, social class, urban/

rural residence, and race and ethnicity. Despite their inaccuracies, the three data sources discussed in the first

section of this chapter all provide a similar picture of what kinds of people, in terms of their social backgrounds,

are more or less likely to commit street crime. We briefly discuss each background in turn.

Gender

Simply put, males commit much more crime than females. In UCR data, men comprise about 81 percent of all

arrests for violent crime and about 63 percent of all arrests for property crime. (See Figure 8.3 “Gender and

Arrest (Percentage of All Arrests)”.) In the NCVS, victims report that males commit most of the violent crimes

they experienced, and self-report studies find that males far outpace females in the commission of serious street

offenses. When it comes to breaking the law, crime is a man’s world.

Figure 8.3 Gender and Arrest (Percentage of All Arrests)

Source: Data from Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/611b4576c4bebf92bf7881155c6ecc8d.jpg

The key question is why such a large gender difference exists. Some scholars attribute this difference to biological

differences between the sexes, but most criminologists attribute it to sociological factors. One of these is gender

role socialization: Despite greater recognition of gender roles, we continue to raise our boys to be assertive and

aggressive, while we raise our girls to be gentle and nurturing (Lindsey, 2011). Such gender socialization has

many effects, and one of these is a large gender difference in criminal behavior. A second factor is opportunity.

Studies find that parents watch their daughters more closely than they watch their sons, who are allowed to stay

out later at night and thus have more opportunity to break the law.

Males have higher crime rates than females. An important reason for this gender difference is that boys are socialized to be assertive

and aggressive, while girls are socialized to be gentle and nurturing.

Philippe Put – Fight – CC BY 2.0.

Age

Age also makes a difference in criminal behavior: Offending rates are highest in the late teens and early twenties

and decline thereafter. Accordingly, people in the 15–24 age range account for about 40 percent of all arrests even

though they comprise only about 14 percent of the population.

338 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/34547181@N00/5653340435/

Several factors again seem to account for this pattern (Shoemaker, 2010). First, peer relationships matter more

during this time of one’s life than later, and peers are also more likely during this period than later to be offenders

themselves. For both reasons, our peer relationships during our teens and early twenties are more likely than those

in our later years to draw us into crime. Second, adolescents and young adults are more likely than older adults

to lack full-time jobs; for this reason, they are more likely to need money and thus to commit offenses to obtain

money and other possessions. Third, as we age out of our early twenties, our ties to conventional society increase:

Many people marry, have children, and begin full-time employment, though not necessarily in that order. These

events and bonds increase our stakes in conformity, to use some social science jargon, and thus reduce our desire

to break the law (Laub, Sampson, & Sweeten, 2006).

Social Class

Findings on social class differences in crime are less clear than they are for gender or age differences. Arrests

statistics and much research indicate that poor people are much more likely than wealthier people to commit

street crime. However, some scholars attribute the greater arrests of poor people to social class bias against

them. Despite this possibility, most criminologists would probably agree that social class differences in criminal

offending are “unmistakable” (Harris & Shaw, 2000, p. 138). Reflecting this conclusion, one sociologist has even

noted, with tongue only partly in cheek, that social scientists know they should not “stroll the streets at night

in certain parts of town or even to park there” and that areas of cities that frighten them are “not upper-income

neighborhoods” (Stark, 1987, p. 894). Thus social class does seem to be associated with street crime, with poor

individuals doing more than their fair share.

Explanations of this relationship center on the effects of poverty, which, as the next section will discuss further, is

said to produce anger, frustration, and economic need and to be associated with a need for respect and with poor

parenting skills and other problems that make children more likely to commit antisocial behavior when they reach

adolescence and beyond. These effects combine to lead poor people to be more likely than wealthier people to

commit street crime, even if it is true that most poor people do not commit street crime at all.

Although the poor are more likely than the wealthy to commit street crime, it is also true that the wealthy are

much more likely than the poor to commit white-collar crime, which, as argued earlier, can be much more harmful

than street crime. If we consider both street crime and white-collar crime, then there does not appear to be a social

class-crime relationship, since the poor have higher rates of the former and the wealthy have higher rates of the

latter.

Urban versus Rural Residence

Where we live also makes a difference for our likelihood of committing crime. We saw earlier that big cities

have a much higher homicide rate than small towns. This trend exists for violent crime and property crime

more generally. Urban areas have high crime rates in part because they are poor, but poverty by itself does not

completely explain the urban-rural difference in crime, since many rural areas are poor as well. A key factor that

explains the higher crime rates of urban areas is their greater population density (Stark 1987). When many people

8.3 Who Commits Crime? 339

live close together, they come into contact with one another more often. This fact means that teenagers and young

adults have more peers to influence them to commit crime, and it also means that potential criminals have more

targets (people and homes) for their criminal activity. Urban areas also have many bars, convenience stores, and

other businesses that can become targets for potential criminals, and bars, taverns, and other settings for drinking

can obviously become settings where tempers flare and violence ensues.

Race and Ethnicity

In discussing who commits crime, any discussion of race and ethnicity is bound to arouse controversy because of

the possibility of racial and ethnic stereotyping. But if we can say that men and younger people have relatively

high crime rates without necessarily sounding biased against individuals who are male or younger, then it should

be possible to acknowledge that certain racial and ethnic groups have higher crime rates without sounding biased

against them.

Keeping this in mind, race and ethnicity do seem to be related to criminal offending. In particular, much research

finds that African Americans and Latinos have higher rates of street crime than non-Latino whites. For example,

although African Americans comprise about 13 percent of the US population, they account for about 39 percent of

all arrests for violent crime (see Figure 8.4 “Race and Arrest for Violent Crime (Percentage of All Violent Crime

Arrests)”).

Figure 8.4 Race and Arrest for Violent Crime (Percentage of All Violent Crime Arrests)

Source: Data from Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

Latinos also have higher crime rates than non-Latino whites, but lower rates than those for African Americans.

Although racial and ethnic bias by the criminal justice system may account for some of these racial/ethnic

differences in offending, most criminologists agree that such differences do in fact exist for serious street crimes

(Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2012).

Why do these differences exist? A racist explanation would attribute them to biological inferiority of the groups,

African Americans and Latinos, with the relatively high rates of offending. Such explanations were popular

several generations ago but fortunately lost favor as time passed and attitudes changed. Today, scholars attribute

racial/ethnic differences in offending to several sociological factors (Unnever & Gabbidon, 2011). First, African

340 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/38e30d764fcd33decc84d8f9ff4865f7.jpg

Americans and Latinos are much poorer than whites on the average, and poverty contributes to higher crime rates.

Second, they are also more likely to live in urban areas, which, as we have seen, also contribute to higher crime

rates. Third, the racial and ethnic discrimination they experience leads to anger and frustration that in turn can

promote criminal behavior. Although there is less research on Native Americans’ criminality, they, too, appear to

have higher crime rates than whites because of their much greater poverty and experience of racial discrimination

(McCarthy & Hagan, 2003).

In appreciating racial/ethnic differences in street crime rates, it is important to keep in mind that whites commit

most white-collar crime, and especially corporate crime, as it is white people who lead and manage our many

corporations. Just as social class affects the type of crime that people do, so do race and ethnicity. Wealthy, white

people commit much crime, but it is white-collar crime they tend to commit, not street crime.

Key Takeaways

• Males commit more street crime than females, in part because of gender role socialization that helps make males more assertive and aggressive.

• Young people commit a disproportionate amount of street crime, in part because of the influence of their peers and their lack of stakes in conformity.

• The disproportionate involvement of African Americans and Latinos in street crime arises largely from their poverty and urban residence.

For Your Review

1. If we say that males commit more crime than females, does that imply that we are prejudiced against males? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief essay that outlines social class and racial/ethnic differences in street crime and explains the reasons for these differences.

References

Harris, A. R., & Shaw, J. A. W. (2000). Looking for patterns: Race, class, and crime. In J. F.Sheley (Ed.),

Criminology: A contemporary handbook (3rd ed., pp. 129–163). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Laub, J. H., Sampson, R. J., & Sweeten, G. A. (2006). Assessing Sampson and Laub’s life-course theory of crime.

In F. T. Cullen (Ed.), Taking stock: The status of criminological theory (Vol. 15, pp. 313–333). New Brunswick,

NJ: Transaction.

Lindsey, L. L. (2011). Gender roles: A sociological perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

McCarthy, B., & Hagan, J. (2003). Sanction effects, violence, and native North American street youth. In D.

8.3 Who Commits Crime? 341

F. Hawkins (Ed.), Violent crime: Assessing race and ethnic differences (pp. 117–137). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Shoemaker, D. J. (2010). Theories of delinquency: An examination of explanations of delinquent behavior (6th

ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Stark, R. (1987). Deviant places: A theory of the ecology of crime. Criminology, 25, 893–911.

Unnever, J. D., & Gabbidon, S. L. (2011). A theory of African American offending: Race, racism, and crime. New

York, NY: Routledge.

Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2012). The color of justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in America (5th ed.).

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

342 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

8.4 Explaining Crime

Learning Objectives

1. Understand social structure theories of crime.

2. Explain the social bonding theory of crime.

3. Describe the general assumptions of conflict theories of crime.

If we want to be able to reduce crime, we must first understand why it occurs. Sociologists generally discount

explanations rooted in the individual biology or psychology of criminal offenders. While a few offenders may

suffer from biological defects or psychological problems that lead them to commit crime, most do not. Further,

biological and psychological explanations cannot adequately explain the social patterning of crime discussed

earlier: why higher crime rates are associated with certain locations and social backgrounds. For example, if

California has a higher crime rate than Maine, and the United States has a higher crime rate than Canada, it would

sound silly to say that Californians and Americans have more biological and psychological problems than Mainers

and Canadians, respectively. Biological and psychological explanations also cannot easily explain why crime rates

rise and fall, nor do they lend themselves to practical solutions for reducing crime.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.4.0.jpg

California has a higher crime rate than many other states, but it is difficult to argue that Californians have more biological or

psychological problems than the residents of other states.

Ken Lund – Welcome to California, Nevada-California Border, U.S. 95 – CC BY-SA 2.0.

In contrast, sociological explanations do help understand the social patterning of crime and changes in crime rates,

and they also lend themselves to possible solutions for reducing crime. A brief discussion of these explanations

follows, and a summary appears in Table 8.2 “Sociological Explanations of Crime”.

Table 8.2 Sociological Explanations of Crime

Major perspective

Related explanation

Summary of explanation

Functional (social structure theories)

Social disorganization

Certain social characteristics of urban neighborhoods contribute to high crime rates. These characteristics include poverty, dilapidation, population density, and population turnover.

Anomie According to Robert Merton, crime by the poor results from a gap between the cultural emphasis on economic success and the inability to achieve such success through the legitimate means of working.

Interactionist (social process theories)

Differential association

Edwin H. Sutherland argued that criminal behavior is learned by interacting with close friends who teach us how to commit various crimes and also the values, motives, and rationalizations we need to adopt in order to justify breaking the law.

Social bonding Travis Hirschi wrote that delinquency results from weak bonds to conventional social institutions, such as families and schools.

Labeling Deviance and crime result from being officially labeled; arrest and imprisonment increase the likelihood of reoffending.

Conflict (conflict theories)

Group conflict Criminal law is shaped by the conflict among the various social groups in society that exist because of differences in race and ethnicity, social class, religion, and other factors.

Radical The wealthy try to use the law and criminal justice system to reinforce their power and to keep the poor and people of color at the bottom of society.

Feminist

Gender plays an important role in the following areas: (1) the reasons girls and women commit crime; (2) the reasons female crime is lower than male crime; (3) the victimization of girls and women by rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence; and (4) the experience of women professionals and offenders in the criminal justice system.

The Functional Perspective: Social Structure Theories

Social structure theories all stress that crime results from the breakdown of society’s norms and social organization

and in this sense fall under the functional perspective outlined in Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”.

They trace the roots of crime to problems in the society itself rather than to biological or psychological problems

inside individuals. By doing so, they suggest the need to address society’s social structure in order to reduce crime.

Several social structure theories exist.

344 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlund/3227633996/

Social Disorganization Theory

A popular explanation is social disorganization theory. This approach originated primarily in the work of Clifford

R. Shaw and Henry D. McKay (1942), two social scientists at the University of Chicago who studied that city’s

delinquency rates during the first three decades of the twentieth century. During this time, the ethnic composition

of Chicago changed considerably, as the city’s inner zones were first occupied by English, German, and Irish

immigrants, and then by Eastern European immigrants, and then by African Americans who moved there from

southern states. Shaw and McKay found that the inner zones of Chicago consistently had the highest delinquency

rates regardless of which ethnic group lived there, and they also found that the ethnic groups’ delinquency rates

declined as they moved to outer areas of Chicago. To explain these related patterns, Shaw and McKay reasoned

that the inner zones of Chicago suffered from social disorganization: A weakening of social institutions such as

the family, school, and religion that in turn weakens the strength of social bonds and norms and the effectiveness

of socialization. Research today confirms that crime rates are highest in neighborhoods with several kinds of

structural problems, including high rates of residential mobility, population density, poverty, and single-parent

families (Mazerolle, Wickes, & McBroom, 2010).

Anomie Theory

Another popular explanation is anomie theory, first formulated by Robert K. Merton (1938) in a classic article.

Writing just after the Great Depression, Merton focused on the effects of poverty in a nation like the United

States that places so much emphasis on economic success. With this strong cultural value, wrote Merton, the

poor who do not achieve the American dream feel especially frustrated. They have several ways or adaptations of

responding to their situation (see Table 8.3 “Anomie Theory”).

Table 8.3 Anomie Theory

Goal of economic success

Accept Reject

Value of working

Accept Conformity Ritualism

Reject Innovation Retreatism

First, said Merton, they may continue to accept the goal of economic success and also the value of working at a job

to achieve such success; Merton labeled this adaptation conformity. Second, they may continue to favor economic

success but reject the value of working and instead use new, illegitimate means, for example theft, of gaining

money and possessions; Merton labeled this adaptation innovation. Third, they may abandon hope of economic

success but continue to work anyway because work has become a habit. Merton labeled this adaptation ritualism.

Finally, they may reject both the goal of economic success and the means of working to achieve such success

and withdraw from society either by turning to drugs or by becoming hobos; Merton labeled this adaptation

retreatism. He also listed a fifth adaptation, which he called rebellion, to characterize a response in which people

8.4 Explaining Crime 345

reject economic success and working and work to bring about a new society with new values and a new economic

system.

Merton’s theory was very influential for many years but eventually lost popularity, partly because many crimes,

such as assault and rape, are not committed for the economic motive that his theory assumed, and partly because

many people use drugs and alcohol without dropping out of society, as his retreatism category assumed. In recent

years, however, scholars have rediscovered and adapted his theory, and it has regained favor as new attention is

being paid to the frustration resulting from poverty and other strains in one’s life that in turn may produce criminal

behavior (Miller, Schreck, & Tewksbury, 2011).

The Interactionist Perspective: Social Process Theories

Social process theories all stress that crime results from the social interaction of individuals with other people,

particularly their friends and family, and thus fall under the interactionist perspective outlined in Chapter 1

“Understanding Social Problems”. They trace the roots of crime to the influence that our friends and family have

on us and to the meanings and perceptions we derive from their views and expectations. By doing so, they indicate

the need to address the peer and family context as a promising way to reduce crime.

Social process theories stress that crime results from social interaction. In particular, our friends influence our likelihood of

committing crime or not committing crime.

Sam.Weiss. – what happens in the guys bathroom, stays in the guys bathroom – CC BY-ND 2.0.

346 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.4.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/samuelweissphotography/3284297250/

Differential Association Theory

One of the most famous criminological theories is differential association theory, first formulated at about the

same time as Merton’s anomie theory by Edwin H. Sutherland and published in its final form in an edition of

a criminology text he wrote (Sutherland, 1947). Sutherland rejected the idea, fashionable at the time, that crime

had strong biological roots and instead said it grew out of interaction with others. Specifically, he wrote that

adolescents and other individuals learn that it is acceptable to commit crime and also how to commit crime

from their interaction with their close friends. Adolescents become delinquent if they acquire more and stronger

attitudes in favor of breaking the law than attitudes opposed to breaking the law. As Sutherland put it, “A

person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to the violation of law over definitions

unfavorable to the violation of law.” Crime and delinquency, then, result from a very normal social process, social

interaction. Adolescents are more or less at risk for delinquency partly depending on who their friends are and

what their friends do or don’t do.

Many scholars today consider peer influences to be among the most important contributors to delinquency and

other misbehavior (Akers & Sellers, 2009). One problem with differential association theory is that it does not

explain behavior, like rape, that is usually committed by a lone offender and that is generally the result of attitudes

learned from one’s close friends.

Social Bonding Theory

In a 1969 book, Causes of Delinquency, Travis Hirschi (1969) asked not what prompts people to commit crime,

but rather what keeps them from committing crime. This question was prompted by his view that human nature is

basically selfish and that it is society’s task to tame this selfishness. He wrote that an adolescent’s bonds to society,

and specifically the bonds to family and school, help keep the adolescent from breaking the law.

Hirschi identified several types of social bonds, but generally thought that the closer adolescents feel to their

family and teachers, the more they value their parents’ beliefs and school values, and the more time they spend

with their families and on school activities, the less likely they are to be delinquent. Turning that around, they are

more likely to be delinquent if they feel more distant from their parents and teachers, if they place less value on

their family’s and school’s values, and if they spend less time with these two very important social institutions in

their lives.

Hirschi’s social bonding theory attracted immediate attention and is one of the most popular and influential

theories in criminology today. It highlighted the importance of families and schools for delinquency and

stimulated much research on their influence. Much of this research has focused on the relationship between

parents and children. When this relationship is warm and harmonious and when children respect their parents’

values and parents treat their children firmly but fairly, children are less likely to commit antisocial behavior

during childhood and delinquency during adolescence. Schools also matter: Students who do well in school and

are very involved in extracurricular activities are less likely than other students to engage in delinquency (Bohm

& Vogel, 2011).

8.4 Explaining Crime 347

Children and Our Future

Saving Children from a Life of Crime

Millions of children around the nation live in circumstances that put them at risk for a childhood, adolescence, and adulthood filled with antisocial behavior, delinquency, and crime, respectively. Although most of these children in fact will not suffer this fate, many of their peers will experience these outcomes. These circumstances thus must be addressed to save these children from a life of crime. As social scientists Brandon C. Welsh and David P. Farrington observe, “Convincing research evidence exists to support a policy of saving children from a life of crime by intervening early in childhood to tackle key risk factors.”

What are these risk factors? They include being born to a teenaged, single mother; living in poverty or near poverty; attending poor, dilapidated schools; and living in high-crime urban areas. As should be evident, these risk factors are all related, as most children born to teenaged, single mothers live in poverty or near poverty, and many such children live in high-crime urban areas.

What can be done to help save such children from a life of crime? Ideally, our nation would lift them and their families entirely out of poverty with employment and social payment policies. Although this sort of national policy will not occur in the foreseeable future, a growing amount of rigorous social science evaluation evidence points to several effective programs and policies that can still help at-risk children. These include (1) at the individual level, certain types of preschool programs and social skills training programs; (2) at the family level, home visiting by trained professionals and parenting training programs; and (3) at the school and community levels, certain types of after-school and community- mentoring programs in which local adults spend time with children at risk for delinquency and other problems.

As Welsh and Farrington note, “Early prevention is by no means a panacea. But it does represent an integral part of any plan to reduce the nation’s crime rate.” They add that several other Western democracies have national agencies devoted to improving behavioral and other outcomes among those nations’ children, and they call for the United States to establish a similar national agency, the National Council on Early Prevention, as part of a nationwide strategy to prevent delinquency and other antisocial behaviors among American youth.

Sources: Piquero, Farrington, Welsh, Tremblay, & Jennings, 2009; Welsh & Farrington, 2007

Another social institution, religion, has also been the subject of research. An increasing number of studies

are finding that religious involvement seemingly helps keep adolescents from using alcohol and other drugs

(see Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs”), from engaging in frequent sexual activity, and from engaging in

delinquency generally (Desmond, Soper, & Purpura, 2009). Fewer studies of religiosity and criminality during

adulthood exist, but one investigation found an association between greater religiosity and fewer sexual partners

among never-married adults (Barkan, 2006).

Labeling Theory

Our criminal justice system is based on the idea that the prospect of quick arrest and harsh punishment should

deter criminal behavior. Labeling theory has the opposite idea, as it assumes that labeling someone as a criminal

or deviant, which arrest and imprisonment certainly do, makes the person more likely to continue to offend. This

result occurs, argues the theory, because the labeling process gives someone a negative self-image, reduces the

potential for employment, and makes it difficult to have friendships with law-abiding individuals.

348 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

When this man is released from prison, he will probably face difficulties in finding a job and starting friendships with law-abiding

people. These difficulties will make him more likely to commit new crimes.

Derek Key – Jailbirds – CC BY 2.0.

Suppose, for example, that you were just released from prison after serving a five-year term for armed robbery.

When you apply for a job and list your prison term on the application, how likely are you to get hired? If you are

at a bar and meet someone who interests you and then tell the person where you were for the previous five years,

what are the chances that the conversation will continue? Faced with bleak job prospects and a dearth of people

who want to spend time with you, what are your alternatives? Might you not succumb to the temptation to hang

out with other offenders and even to commit new crime yourself?

Although research findings are not unanimous, several studies do find that arrest and imprisonment increase future

offending, as labeling theory assumes (Nagin, Cullen, & Jonson, 2009). To the extent this undesired consequence

occurs, efforts to stem juvenile and adult crime through harsher punishment may sometimes have the opposite

result from their intention.

The Conflict Perspective

Several related theories fall under the conflict perspective outlined in Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”.

Although they all have something to say about why people commit crime, their major focus is on the use

and misuse of the criminal law and criminal justice system to deal with crime. Three branches of the conflict

perspective exist in the study of crime and criminal justice.

8.4 Explaining Crime 349

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.4.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/derekskey/3219886896

The first branch is called group conflict theory, which assumes that criminal law is shaped by the conflict among

the various social groups in society that exist because of differences in race and ethnicity, social class, religion,

and other factors. Given that these groups compete for power and influence, the groups with more power and

influence try to pass laws that ban behaviors in which subordinate groups tend to engage, and they try to use

the criminal justice system to suppress subordinate group members. A widely cited historical example of this

view is Prohibition, which was the result of years of effort by temperance advocates, most of them from white,

Anglo-Saxon, rural, and Protestant backgrounds, to ban the manufacture, sale, and use of alcohol. Although these

advocates thought alcohol use was a sin and incurred great social costs, their hostility toward alcohol was also

motivated by their hostility toward the types of people back then who tended to use alcohol: poor, urban, Catholic

immigrants. Temperance advocates’ use of legal means to ban alcohol was, in effect, a “symbolic crusade” against

people toward whom these advocates held prejudicial attitudes (Gusfield, 1963).

The second branch of the conflict perspective is called radical theory. Radical theory makes the same general

assumptions as group conflict theory about the use of criminal law and criminal justice, but with one key

difference: It highlights the importance of (economic) social class more than the importance of religion, ethnicity,

and other social group characteristics. In this way, radical theory evokes the basic views of Karl Marx on the

exploitation and oppression of the poor and working class by the ruling class (Lynch & Michalowski, 2006).

An early but still influential radical explanation of crime was presented by Dutch criminologist Willem Bonger

(1916). Bonger blamed the high US crime rate on its economic system, capitalism. As an economic system, he

said, capitalism emphasizes the pursuit of profit. Yet, if someone gains profit, someone else is losing it. This

emphasis on self-gain, he said, creates an egoistic culture in which people look out for themselves and are ready

and even willing to act in a way that disadvantages other people. Amid such a culture, he said, crime is an

inevitable outcome. Bonger thought crime would be lower in socialist societies because they place more emphasis

on the welfare of one’s group than on individual success.

Feminist approaches comprise the third branch of the conflict perspective on the study of crime and criminal

justice. Several such approaches exist, but they generally focus on at least one of four areas: (1) the reasons girls

and women commit crime; (2) the reasons female crime is lower than male crime; (3) the victimization of girls

and women by rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence; and (4) the experience of women professionals and

offenders in the criminal justice system.

Regarding the first area, the research generally finds that girls and women commit crime for the same reasons that

boys and men commit crime: poverty, parental upbringing, and so forth. But it also finds that both women and

men “do gender” when they commit crime. That is, they commit crime according to gender roles, at least to some

extent. Thus one study found that women robbers tend to rob other women and not to use a gun when they do so

(J. Miller & Brunson, 2000).

In addressing the second area, on why female crime is less common than male crime, scholars often cite two

reasons discussed earlier: gender role socialization and gender-based differences in parental supervision. One

additional reason derives from social bonding theory: Girls feel closer to their parents than boys do, and thus are

less delinquent (Lanctôt & Blanc, 2002).

350 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

One important area of feminist-inspired work on crime and criminal justice involves studies of women police officers.

Joery Bruijntjes – Polizia Locale – CC BY-NC 2.0.

We have already commented on the victimization of women from rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence, but

the study of this topic began with work by feminist criminologists during the 1970s. Since that time, innumerable

works have addressed this type of victimization, which is also thought to contribute to girls’ delinquency and,

more generally, female drug and alcohol abuse (Chesney-Lind & Jones, 2010).

The final area for feminist work addresses women professionals and offenders in the criminal justice system. This

body of research certainly goes beyond the scope of this book, but it documents the many blatant and subtle forms

of discrimination that women face as police, attorneys, judges, prison guards, and other professionals (Muraskin,

2012). A primary task of research on women offenders is to determine how they fare in the criminal justice system

compared to male offenders. Studies tend to find that females receive somewhat more lenient treatment than males

for serious offenses and somewhat harsher treatment for minor offenses, although some studies conclude that

gender does not make too much of a difference one way or the other (Chesney-Lind & Pasko, 2004).

Key Takeaways

• Social structure theories stress that crime results from economic and other problems in how society is structured and from poverty and other problems in neighborhoods.

• Interactionist theories stress that crime results from our interaction with family members, peers, and other people, and from labeling by the criminal justice system.

• Conflict theories stress that social groups with power and influence try to use the law and criminal justice system to maintain their power and to keep other groups at the bottom of society.

8.4 Explaining Crime 351

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.4.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joerybruijntjes/4504912666/

For Your Review

1. What are any two criminogenic (crime-causing) social or physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods?

2. According to labeling theory, why are arrest and imprisonment sometimes counterproductive?

References

Akers, R. L., & Sellers, C. S. (2009). Criminological theories: Introduction, evaluation, and application (5th ed.).

New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Barkan, S. E. (2006). Religiosity and premarital sex during adulthood. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,

45, 407–417.

Bohm, R. M., & Vogel, B. (2011). A primer on crime and delinquency theory (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bonger, W. (1916). Criminality and economic conditions (H. P. Horton, Trans.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown.

Chesney-Lind, M., & Jones, N. (Eds.). (2010). Fighting for girls: New perspectives on gender and violence.

Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2004). The female offender: Girls, women, and crime (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage Publications.

Desmond, S. A., Soper, S. E., & Purpura, D. J. (2009). Religiosity, moral beliefs, and delinquency: Does the effect

of religiosity on delinquency depend on moral beliefs? Sociological Spectrum, 29, 51–71.

Gusfield, J. R. (1963). Symbolic crusade: Status politics and the American temperance movement. Urbana, IL:

University of Illinois Press.

Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Lanctôt, N., & Blanc, M. L. (2002). Explaining deviance by adolescent females. Crime and Justice: A Review of

Research, 29, 113–202.

Lynch, M. J., & Michalowski, R. J. (2006). Primer in radical criminology: Critical perspectives on crime, power

and identity (4th ed.). Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

Mazerolle, L., Wickes, R., & McBroom, J. (2010). Community variations in violence: The role of social ties and

collective efficacy in comparative context. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 47(1), 3–30.

Merton, R. K. (1938). Social structure and anomie. American Sociological Review, 3, 672–682.

352 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Miller, J. M., Schreck, C. J., & Tewksbury, R. (2011). Criminological theory: A brief introduction (3rd ed.). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Miller, J., & Brunson, R. K. (2000). Gender dynamics in youth gangs: A comparison of males’ and females’

accounts. Justice Quarterly, 17, 419–448.

Muraskin, R. (Ed.). (2012). Women and justice: It’s a crime (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Nagin, D. S., Cullen, F. T., & Jonson, C. L. (2009). Imprisonment and reoffending. Crime and Justice: A Review

of Research, 38, 115–200.

Piquero, A. R., Farrington, D. P., Welsh, B. C., Tremblay, R., & Jennings, W. (2009). Effects of early family/parent

training programs on antisocial behavior and delinquency. Journal of Experimental Criminology 5, 83–120.

Shaw, C. R., & McKay, H. D. (1942). Juvenile delinquency and urban areas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago

Press.

Sutherland, E. H. (1947). Principles of criminology (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: J. P. Lippincott.

Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (2007). Save children from a life of crime. Criminology & Public Policy, 6(4),

871–879.

8.4 Explaining Crime 353

8.5 The Criminal Justice System

Learning Objectives

1. Describe what is meant by the “working personality” of the police.

2. Discuss the quality of legal representation of criminal defendants.

3. Explain whether incarceration reduces crime in an effective and cost-efficient manner.

The criminal justice system in a democracy like the United States faces two major tasks: (1) keeping the

public safe by apprehending criminals and, ideally, reducing crime; and (2) doing so while protecting individual

freedom from the abuse of power by law enforcement agents and other government officials. Having a criminal

justice system that protects individual rights and liberties is a key feature that distinguishes a democracy from a

dictatorship.

How well does the US criminal justice system work in both respects? How well does it control and reduce crime,

and how well does it observe individual rights and not treat people differently based on their social class, race and

ethnicity, gender, and other social characteristics? What are other problems in our criminal justice system? Once

again, whole books have been written about these topics, and we have space here to discuss only some of this rich

literature.

Police

The police are our first line of defense against crime and criminals and for that reason are often called “the

thin blue line.” Police officers realize that their lives may be in danger at any time, and they also often interact

with suspects and other citizens whose hostility toward the police is quite evident. For these reasons, officers

typically develop a working personality that, in response to the danger and hostility police face, tends to be

authoritarian and suspicious (Skolnick, 1994). Indeed, it is not too far-fetched to say that police-citizen relations

are characterized by mutual hostility and suspicion (Dempsey & Forst, 2012).

Two aspects of police behavior are especially relevant for a textbook on social problems. The first is police

corruption. No one knows for sure how much police corruption occurs, but low-level corruption (e.g., accepting

small bribes and stealing things from stores while on patrol) is thought to be fairly common, while high-level

corruption (e.g., accepting large bribes and confiscating and then selling illegal drugs) is thought to be far from

rare. In one study involving trained researchers who rode around in police cars, more than one-fifth of the officers

being observed committed some corruption (Reiss, 1980). Several notorious police scandals have called attention

to rampant corruption amid some police forces. One scandal more than three decades ago involved New York City

officer Frank Serpico, whose story was later documented in a best-selling book (Maas, 1973) and in a tension-

filled film starring Al Pacino. After Serpico reported high-level corruption to his superiors, other officers plotted

to have him murdered and almost succeeded. A more recent scandal involved the so-called Rampart Division in

Los Angeles and involved dozens of officers who beat and shot suspects, stole drugs and money, and lied at the

trials of the people they arrested (Glover & Lait, 2000).

The other relevant behavior is police brutality or, to use a less provocative term, the use of undue (also called

unjustified or excessive) force by police. Police, of course, are permitted and even expected to use physical

force when necessary to subdue suspects. Given the context of police work noted earlier (feelings of danger and

suspicion) and the strong emotions at work in any encounter between police and suspects, it is inevitable that some

police will go beyond the bounds of appropriate force and commit brutality. An important question is how much

police brutality occurs. In a recent national survey, about 1 percent of US residents who had had an encounter

with the police in 2008 believed that excessive force was used against them (Eith & Durose, 2011). This is a low

figure in percentage terms, but still translates to 417,000 people who may have been victims of police brutality in

one year.

How well do the police prevent crime? To answer this question, let us be clear what it is asking. The relevant

question is not whether having the police we do have keeps us safer than having no police at all. Rather, the

relevant question is whether hiring more police or making some specific change in police practice would lower

the crime rate. The evidence on this issue is complex, but certain conclusions are in order.

In terms of crime reduction, the ways in which police are deployed matter more than the actual number of police.

Joery Bruijntjes – Polizia Locale – CC BY-NC 2.0.

First, simply adding more officers to a city’s existing police force will probably not reduce crime, or will reduce

it only to a very small degree and at great expense (Walker, 2011). Several reasons may explain why additional

police produce small or no reductions in crime. Much violence takes place indoors or in other locations far from

police purview, and practical increases in police numbers still would not yield numbers high enough to guarantee

8.5 The Criminal Justice System 355

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.5.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joerybruijntjes/4504912666/

a police presence in every public location where crime might happen. Because criminals typically think they can

commit a crime with impunity if no police are around, the hiring of additional police is not likely to deter them.

Additional police may not matter, but how police are deployed does matter. In this regard, a second conclusion

from the policing and crime literature is that directed patrol involving the consistent deployment of large numbers

of police in high-crime areas (“hot spots”) can reduce crime significantly (Mastrofski, Weisburd, & Braga, 2010).

Crackdowns—in which the police flood a high crime and drug neighborhood, make a lot of arrests, and then

leave—have at most a short-term effect, with crime and drug use eventually returning to their previous levels or

simply becoming displaced to other neighborhoods.

Criminal Courts

In the US legal system, suspects and defendants enjoy certain rights and protections guaranteed by the

Constitution and Bill of Rights and provided in various Supreme Court rulings since these documents were written

some 220 years ago. Although these rights and protections do exist and again help distinguish our democratic

government from authoritarian regimes, in reality the criminal courts often fail to achieve the high standards by

which they should be judged. Justice Denied (Downie, 1972) and Injustice for All (Strick, 1978) were the titles

of two popular critiques of the courts written about four decades ago, and these titles continue to apply to the

criminal courts today.

A basic problem is the lack of adequate counsel for the poor. Wealthy defendants can afford the best attorneys and

get what they pay for: excellent legal defense. An oft-cited example here is O. J. Simpson, the former football star

and television and film celebrity who was arrested and tried during the mid-1990s for allegedly killing his ex-wife

and one of her friends (Barkan, 1996). Simpson hired a “dream team” of nationally famous attorneys and other

experts, including private investigators, to defend him at an eventual cost of some $10 million. A jury acquitted

him, but a poor defendant in similar circumstances almost undoubtedly would have been found guilty and perhaps

received a death sentence.

Almost all criminal defendants are poor or near poor. Although they enjoy the right to free legal counsel, in

practice they receive ineffective counsel or virtually no counsel at all. The poor are defended by public defenders

or by court-appointed private counsel, and either type of attorney simply has far too many cases in any time period

to handle adequately. Many poor defendants see their attorneys for the first time just moments before a hearing

before the judge. Because of their heavy caseloads, the defense attorneys do not have the time to consider the

complexities of any one case, and most defendants end up pleading guilty.

A 2006 report by a New York state judicial commission reflected these problems (Hakim, 2006, p. B1). The

report concluded that “local governments were falling well short of constitutional requirements in providing legal

representation to the poor,” according to a news story. Some New York attorneys, the report found, had an average

yearly caseload of 1,000 misdemeanors and 175 felonies. The report also found that many poor defendants in

1,300 towns and villages throughout the state received no legal representation at all. The judge who headed the

commission called the situation “a serious crisis.”

Another problem is plea bargaining, in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty, usually in return for a reduced

sentence. Under our system of justice, criminal defendants are entitled to a trial by jury if they want one. In reality,

356 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

however, most defendants plead guilty, and criminal trials are very rare: Fewer than 3 percent of felony cases go to

trial. Prosecutors favor plea bargains because they help ensure convictions while saving the time and expense of

jury trials, while defendants favor plea bargains because they help ensure a lower sentence than they might receive

if they exercised their right to have a jury trial and then were found guilty. However, this practice in effect means

that defendants are punished if they do exercise their right to have a trial. Critics of this aspect say that defendants

are being coerced into pleading guilty even when they have a good chance of winning a not guilty verdict if their

case went to trial (Oppel, 2011).

The Problem of Prisons

The United States now houses more than 1.5 million people in state and federal prisons and more than 750,000

in local jails. This total of about 2.3 million people behind bars is about double the 1990 number and yields

an incarceration rate that is by far the highest rate of any Western democracy. This high rate is troubling, and

so is the racial composition of American prisoners. More than 60 percent of all state and federal prisoners are

African American or Latino, even though these two groups comprise only about 30 percent of the national

population. As Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs” noted, African Americans and Latinos have been arrested

and imprisoned for drug offenses far out of proportion to their actual use of illegal drugs. This racial/ethnic

disparity has contributed to what law professor Michelle Alexander (2010) terms the “new Jim Crow” of

mass incarceration. Reflecting her concern, about one of every three young African American males are under

correctional supervision (in jail or prison or on probation or parole).

The corrections system costs the nation more than $75 billion annually. What does the expenditure of this huge

sum accomplish? It would be reassuring to know that the high US incarceration rate keeps the nation safe and

even helps reduce the crime rate, and it is certainly true that the crime rate would be much higher if we had no

prisons at all. However, many criminologists think the surge in imprisonment during the last few decades has not

helped reduce the crime rate at all or at least in a cost-efficient manner (Durlauf & Nagin, 2011). Greater crime

declines would be produced, many criminologists say, if equivalent funds were instead spent on crime prevention

programs instead of on incarceration (Welsh & Farrington, 2007), a point returned to in Section 8.6 “Reducing

Crime”.

Criminologists also worry that prison may be a breeding ground for crime because rehabilitation programs

such as vocational training and drug and alcohol counseling are lacking and because prison conditions are

substandard. They note that more than 700,000 inmates are released from prison every year and come back

into their communities ill equipped to resume a normal life. There they face a lack of job opportunities (how

many employers want to hire an ex-con?) and a lack of friendships with law-abiding individuals, as our earlier

discussion of labeling theory indicated. Partly for these reasons, imprisonment ironically may increase the

likelihood of future offending (Durlauf & Nagin, 2011).

Living conditions behind bars merit further discussion. A common belief of Americans is that many prisons and

jails are like country clubs, with exercise rooms and expensive video and audio equipment abounding. However,

this belief is a myth. Although some minimum-security federal prisons may have clean, adequate facilities, state

prisons and local jails are typically squalid places. As one critique summarized the situation, “Behind the walls,

prisoners are likely to find cramped living conditions, poor ventilation, poor plumbing, substandard heating

8.5 The Criminal Justice System 357

https://umn.pressbooks.network/socialproblems/wp-admin/post.php?post=683&action=edit&message=6

and cooling, unsanitary conditions, limited private possessions, restricted visitation rights, constant noise, and a

complete lack of privacy” (Kappeler & Potter, 2005, p. 293).

Some Americans probably feel that criminals deserve to live amid overcrowding and squalid living conditions,

while many Americans are probably at least not very bothered by this situation. But this situation increases

the odds that inmates will leave prison and jail as more of a threat to public safety than when they were first

incarcerated. Treating inmates humanely would be an important step toward successful reentry into mainstream

society.

People Making a Difference

Making a Difference in the Lives of Ex-Cons

The text notes that more than 600,000 inmates are released from prison every year. Many of them are burdened with drug, alcohol, and other problems and face bleak prospects for employment, friendships, and stable lives, in general. Since 1967, The Fortune Society has been making a difference in the lives of ex-convicts in and near New York City.

The Fortune Society’s website (http://www.fortunesociety.org) describes the group’s mission: “The Fortune Society is a nonprofit social service and advocacy, founded in 1967, whose mission is to support successful reentry from prison and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities.” About 70 percent of its more than 190 employees are ex-prisoners and/or have histories of substance abuse or homelessness. It is fair to say that The Fortune Society was working on prisoner reentry long before scholars discovered the problem in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The group’s president, JoAnne Page, described its halfway house where inmates stay for up to two months after their release from prisons: “This is what we do. We bring people home safely. There’s a point when the crime happened. The sentence was served, and the rehabilitation must begin. We look at a human being as much more than the worst they ever did.” Recalling that many of her relatives died in the Holocaust, Page added, “What my family experience did was to make me want to be somebody who fights institutions that damage people and who makes the world a little safer. Prisons are savage institutions.”

In addition to its halfway house, the Fortune Society provides many other services for inmates, ex-inmates, and offenders who are put on probation in lieu of incarceration. It regularly offers drug and alcohol counseling, family services, adult education and career development programs, and classes in anger management, parenting skills, and health care. One of its most novel programs is Miss Betty’s Practical Cooking and Nutrition Class, an eight-week course for ex-inmates who are young fathers. While a first reaction might be to scoff at such a class, a Fortune counselor pointed to its benefits after conceding her own immediate reaction. “When I found out about the cooking classes, I thought, ‘So they’re going to learn to cook, so what?’ What’s that going to do? But it’s building self-esteem. For most of these guys, they’re in a city, they’ve grown up on Kool-Aid and a bag of chips. This is building structure. They’re at the point where they have really accomplished something…They’re learning manners. You really can change patterns.”

One ex-convict that Fortune helped was 22-year-old Candice Ellison, who spent more than two years in prison for assault. After not finding a job despite applying to several dozen jobs over a six-month span, she turned in desperation to The Fortune Society for help. Fortune bought her interview clothes and advised her on how to talk about her prison record with potential employers. Commending the help she received, she noted, “Some of my high school friends say it’s not that hard to get a job, but for people like me with a criminal background, it’s like 20 times harder.”

The Fortune Society has received national recognition for its efforts. Two federal agencies, the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have featured The Fortune Society as a model program for helping ex-inmates. The Urban Institute featured this model in a video it developed about prisoner reentry programs. And in 2005, the American Society of Criminology presented the Society its President’s Award for “Distinguished Contributions to the Cause of Justice.” These and other examples of the national recognition won by The Fortune Society indicate that for more than four decades it has indeed been making a difference.

Sources: Bellafante, 2005; Greenhouse, 2011; Richardson, 2004

358 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.fortunesociety.org/

Focus on the Death Penalty

The death penalty is perhaps the most controversial issue in the criminal justice system today. The United States

is the only Western democracy that sentences common criminals to death, as other democracies decided decades

ago that civilized nations should not execute anyone, even if the person took a human life. About two-thirds of

Americans in national surveys favor the death penalty, with their reasons including the need for retribution (“an

eye for an eye”), deterrence of potential murderers, and lower expenditure of public funds compared to a lifetime

sentence. Social science evidence is irrelevant to the retribution argument, which is a matter for philosophy and

theology, but it is relevant to many other aspects of the death debate. Taken together, the evidence on all these

aspects yields a powerful case against the death penalty (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011).

First, capital punishment does not deter homicide: Almost all studies on this issue fail to find a deterrent effect. An

important reason for this stems from the nature of homicide. As discussed earlier, it is a relatively spontaneous,

emotional crime. Most people who murder do not sit down beforehand to calculate their chances of being arrested,

convicted, and executed. Instead they lash out. Premeditated murders do exist, but the people who commit them

do not think they will get caught and so, once again, are not deterred by the potential for execution.

Second, the death penalty is racially discriminatory. While some studies find that African Americans are more

likely than whites who commit similar homicides to receive the death penalty, the clearest evidence for racial

discrimination involves the race of the victim: Homicides with white victims are more likely than those with

African American victims to result in a death sentence (Paternoster & Brame, 2008). Although this difference is

not intended, it suggests that the criminal justice system values white lives more than African American lives.

The death penalty is racially discriminatory and does not deter homicide.

Thomas Hawk – Miami Police – CC BY-NC 2.0.

8.5 The Criminal Justice System 359

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/8.5.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/402725350/

Third, many people have been mistakenly convicted of capital offenses, raising the possibility of wrongful

executions. Sometimes defendants are convicted out of honest errors, and sometimes they are convicted because

the police and/or prosecution fabricated evidence or engaged in other legal misconduct. Whatever their source,

wrongful convictions of capital offenses raise the ugly possibility that a defendant will be executed even though he

was actually innocent of any capital crime. During the past four decades, more than 130 people have been released

from death row after DNA or other evidence cast serious doubt on their guilt. In March 2011, Illinois abolished

capital punishment, partly because of concern over the possibility of wrongful executions. As the Illinois governor

summarized his reasons for signing the legislative bill to abolish the death penalty, “Since our experience has

shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to

wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish

it” (Schwartz & Fitzsimmons, 2011:A18).

Fourth, executions are expensive. Keeping a murderer in prison for life costs about $1 million in current dollars

(say 40 years at $25,000 per year), while the average death sentence costs the state about $2 million to $3 million

in legal expenses.

This diverse body of evidence leads most criminologists to oppose the death penalty. In 1989, the American

Society of Criminology adopted this official policy position on capital punishment: “Be it resolved that because

social science research has demonstrated the death penalty to be racist in application and social science research

has found no consistent evidence of crime deterrence through execution, The American Society of Criminology

publicly condemns this form of punishment, and urges its members to use their professional skills in legislatures

and courts to seek a speedy abolition of this form of punishment.”

Key Takeaways

• Partly because the police often fear for their lives, they tend to have a “working personality” that is authoritarian and suspicious. Police corruption and use of undue force remain significant problems in many police departments.

• Although criminal defendants have the right to counsel, the legal representation of such defendants, most of whom are poor or near poor, is very inadequate.

• Prisons are squalid places, and incarceration has not been shown to reduce crime in an effective or cost- efficient manner.

• Most criminologists agree that capital punishment does not deter homicide, and they worry about racial discrimination in the use of the death penalty and about the possibility of wrongful executions.

For Your Review

1. Have you ever had an encounter with a police officer? If so, how would you describe the officer’s personality? Was it similar to what is described in the text?

2. The text argues that improvement in prison conditions would help reduce the probability of reoffending after inmates leave prison. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your answer.

360 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

References

Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York, NY: New

Press.

Barkan, S. E. (1996). The social science significance of the O. J. Simpson case. In G. Barak (Ed.), Representing

O. J.: Murder, criminal justice and mass culture (pp. 36–42). Albany, NY: Harrow and Heston.

Bellafante, G. (2005, March 9). Recipe for a second chance. New York Times, p. F1.

Death Penalty Information Center. (2011). Facts about the death penalty. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved

from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf.

Dempsey, J. S., & Forst, L. S. (2012). An introduction to policing (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Downie, L., Jr. (1972). Justice denied: The case for reform of the courts. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books.

Durlauf, S. N., & Nagin, D. S. (2011). Imprisonment and crime: Can both be reduced? Criminology & Public

Policy, 10, 13–54.

Eith, C., & Durose, M. R. (2011). Contacts between police and the public, 2008. Washington, DC: Bureau of

Justice Statistics.

Glover, S., & Lait, M. (2000, February 10). Police in secret group broke law routinely, transcripts say. The Los

Angeles Times, p. A1.

Greenhouse, S. (2011, January 25). States help ex-inmates find jobs. New York Times, p. B1.

Hakim, D. (2006, June 29). Judge urges state control of legal aid for the poor. New York Times, p. B1.

Kappeler, V. E., & Potter, G. W. (2005). The mythology of crime and criminal justice (4th ed.). Prospect Heights,

IL: Waveland Press.

Maas, P. (1973). Serpico. New York, NY: Viking Press.

Mastrofski, S. D., Weisburd, D., & Braga, A. A. (2010). Rethinking policing: The policy implications of hot spots

of crime. In N. A. Frost, J. D. Freilich & T. R. Clear (Eds.), Contemporary issues in criminal justice policy (pp.

251–264). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Oppel, R. A., Jr. (2011, September 26). Sentencing shift gives new leverage to prosecutors. New York Times, p.

A1.

Paternoster, R., & Brame, R. (2008). Reassessing race disparities in Maryland capital cases. Criminology, 46,

971–1007.

Reiss, A. J., Jr. (1980). Officer violations of the law. In R. J. Lundman (Ed.), Police behavior: A sociological

perspective (pp. 253–272). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

8.5 The Criminal Justice System 361

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf

Richardson, L. (2004, July 13). Defending the despised, and loving to do so. New York Times, p. B2.

Schwartz, J., & Fitzsimmons, E. G. (2011, March 10). Illinois governor signs capital punishment ban. New York

Times, p. A18.

Skolnick, J. H. (1994). Justice without trial: Law enforcement in democratic society (3rd ed.). New York, NY:

Macmillan.

Strick, A. (1978). Injustice for all. New York, NY: Penguin.

Walker, S. (2011). Sense and nonsense about crime, drugs, and communities: A policy guide (7th ed.). Belmont,

CA: Wadsworth.

Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.). (2007). Preventing Crime: What works for children, offenders, victims

and places. New York, NY: Springer.

362 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

8.6 Reducing Crime

Learning Objective

1. Describe five strategies that criminologists have proposed to reduce crime.

During the last few decades, the United States has used a get-tough approach to fight crime. This approach has

involved longer prison terms and the building of many more prisons and jails. As noted earlier, scholars doubt

that this surge in imprisonment has achieved significant crime reduction at an affordable cost, and they worry that

it may be leading to greater problems in the future as hundreds of thousands of prison inmates are released back

into their communities every year.

Many of these scholars favor an approach to crime borrowed from the field of public health. In the areas of

health and medicine, a public health approach tries to treat people who are already ill, but it especially focuses

on preventing disease and illness before they begin. While physicians try to help people who already have cancer,

medical researchers constantly search for the causes of cancer so that they can try to prevent it before it affects

anyone. This model is increasingly being applied to criminal behavior, and criminologists have advanced several

ideas that, if implemented with sufficient funds and serious purpose, hold great potential for achieving significant,

cost-effective reductions in crime (Barlow & Decker, 2010; Frost, Freilich, & Clear, 2010; Lab, 2010). Many of

their strategies rest on the huge body of theory and research on the factors underlying crime in the United States,

which we had space only to touch on earlier, while other proposals call for criminal justice reforms. We highlight

some of these many strategies here.

Applying Social Research

“Three Strikes” Laws Strike Out

The get-tough approach highlighted in the text has involved, among other things, mandatory minimum sentencing, in which judges are required to give convicted offenders a minimum prison term, often several years long, rather than a shorter sentence or probation.

Beginning in the 1990s, one of the most publicized types of mandatory sentencing has been the “three strikes and you’re out” policy that mandates an extremely long sentence—at least twenty-five years—and sometimes life imprisonment for offenders convicted of a third (or, in some states, a second) felony. The intent of these laws, enacted by about half the states and the federal government, is to reduce crime by keeping dangerous offenders behind bars for many years and by deterring potential offenders from committing crime (general deterrence). Sufficient time since the first three strikes laws were passed has elapsed to enable criminologists to assess whether they have, in fact, reduced crime.

Studies of this issue find that three strikes laws do not reduce serious crime and, in fact, may even increase the number of homicides. Several studies have focused on California, where tens of thousands of offenders have been sentenced under the state’s three strikes law passed in 1994. Almost all these studies conclude that California’s law did not reduce subsequent crime or did so by only a negligible amount. A few studies also have examined nationwide samples of city

and state crime rates in the states that adopted three strikes laws and in the states that did not do so. These studies also fail to find that three strikes laws have reduced crime. As one of these studies, by three criminologists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, concludes, “Consistent with other studies, ours finds no credible statistical evidence that passage of three strikes laws reduces crime by deterring potential criminals or incapacitating repeat offenders.” The national studies even find that three strikes laws have increased the number of homicides. This latter finding is certainly an unintended consequence of these laws and may stem from decisions by felons facing a third strike to kill witnesses so as to avoid life imprisonment.

In retrospect, it is not very surprising that three strikes laws do not work as intended. Many criminals simply do not think they will get caught and thus are not likely to be deterred by increased penalties. Many are also under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of their offense, making it even less likely they will worry about being caught. In addition, many three strikes offenders tend to be older (because they are being sentenced for their third felony, not just their first) and thus are already “aging out” beyond the high-crime age group, 15–25. Thus three strikes laws target offenders whose criminality is already declining because they are getting older.

In addition to the increase in homicides, research has identified other problems produced by three strikes laws. Because three strikes defendants do not want a life term, some choose a jury trial instead of pleading guilty. Jury trials are expensive and slow compared to guilty pleas and thus cost the prosecution both money and time. In another problem, the additional years that three strikes offenders spend in prison are costing the states millions of dollars in yearly imprisonment costs and in health-care costs as these offenders reach their elderly years.

As should be clear, the body of three strikes research has important policy implications, as noted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham scholars: “(P)olicy makers should reconsider the costs and benefits associated with three strikes laws” (p. 235). Three strikes laws do not lower crime and in fact increase homicides, and they have forced the states to spend large sums of money on courts and prisons. The three strikes research strongly suggests that three strikes laws should be eliminated.

Sources: Kovandzic, Sloan, & Vieraitis, 2004; Walker, 2011

A first strategy involves serious national efforts to reduce poverty and to improve neighborhood living conditions.

It is true that most poor people do not commit crime, but it is also true that most street crime is committed by

the poor or near poor for reasons discussed earlier. Efforts that create decent-paying jobs for the poor, enhance

their vocational and educational opportunities, and improve their neighborhood living conditions should all help

reduce poverty and its attendant problems and thus to reduce crime (Currie, 2011).

A second strategy involves changes in how American parents raise their boys. To the extent that the large gender

difference in serious crime stems from male socialization patterns, changes in male socialization should help

reduce crime (Collier, 2004). This will certainly not happen any time soon, but if American parents can begin

to raise their boys to be less aggressive and less dominating, they will help reduce the nation’s crime rate. As

two feminist criminologists have noted, “A large price is paid for structures of male domination and for the

very qualities that drive men to be successful, to control others, and to wield uncompromising power.…Gender

differences in crime suggest that crime may not be so normal after all. Such differences challenge us to see that in

the lives of women, men have a great deal more to learn” (Daly & Chesney-Lind, 1988, p. 527).

Lessons from Other Societies

Preventing Crime and Treating Prisoners in Western Europe

The text suggests the get-tough approach that the United States has been using to reduce crime has not worked in a cost- effective manner and has led to other problems, including a flood of inmates returning to their communities every year.

364 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

In fighting crime, the United States has much to learn from Western Europe. In contrast to the US get-tough approach, Western European nations tend to use a public health model that comprises two components. The first is a focus on crime prevention that uses early childhood intervention programs and other preventive measures to address the roots of crime and other childhood and family problems. The second is a criminal justice policy that involves sentencing defendants and treating prisoners in a manner more likely to rehabilitate offenders and reduce their repeat offending than the more punitive approach in the United States.

The overall Western European approach to offenders is guided by the belief that imprisonment should be reserved for the most dangerous violent offenders, and that probation, community service, and other forms of community corrections should be used for other offenders. Because violent offenders comprise only a small proportion of all offenders, the Western European approach saves a great deal of money while still protecting public safety.

The experience of Denmark and the Netherlands is illustrative. Like the United States, Denmark had to deal with rapidly growing crime rates during the 1960s. Whereas the United States responded with the get-tough approach involving longer and more certain prison terms and the construction of more and more prisons, Denmark took the opposite approach: It adopted shorter prison terms for violent offenders and used the funds saved from the reduced prison costs to expand community corrections for property offenders. Finland and the Netherlands have also adopted a similar approach that favors community corrections and relatively short prison terms for violent offenders over the get-tough approach the United States adopted.

All these nations save great sums of money in prison costs and other criminal justice expenses because they chose not to adopt the US get-tough approach, yet their rates of serious violent crime lag behind the US rates. Although these nations obviously differ from the United States, the advantages of their approach should be kept in mind as the United States evaluates its get-tough policies. There may be much to learn from their less punitive approach to crime: While the United States got tough, perhaps they got sensible.

Sources: Dammer & Albanese, 2011; Waller & Welsh, 2007

A third and very important strategy involves expansion of early childhood intervention (ECI) programs and

nutrition services for poor mothers and their children, as the Note 8.28 “Children and Our Future” box discussed

earlier. ECI programs generally involve visits by social workers, nurses, or other professionals to young, poor

mothers shortly after they give birth, as these mother’s children are often at high risk for later behavioral problems

(Welsh & Farrington, 2007). These visits may be daily or weekly and last for several months, and they involve

parenting instruction and training in other life skills. These programs have been shown to be very successful in

reducing childhood and adolescent misbehavior in a cost-effective manner (Greenwood, 2006). In the same vein,

nutrition services would also reduce the risk of neurological impairment among newborns and young children and

thus their likelihood of developing later behavioral problems.

A fourth strategy calls for a national effort to improve the nation’s schools and schooling. This effort would

involve replacing large, older, and dilapidated schoolhouses with smaller, nicer, and better equipped ones. For

many reasons, this effort should help improve student academic achievement and school commitment and thus

lower delinquent and later criminal behavior.

A final set of strategies involves changes in the criminal justice system that should help reduce repeat offending

and save much money that could be used to fund the ECI programs and other efforts just outlined. Placing

nonviolent property and drug offenders in community corrections (e.g., probation, daytime supervision) would

reduce the number of prison and jail inmates by hundreds of thousands annually without endangering Americans’

safety and save billions of dollars in prison costs (Jacobson, 2006). These funds could also be used to improve

prison and jail vocational and educational programming and drug and alcohol services, all of which are seriously

underfunded. If properly funded, such programs and services hold great promise for rehabilitating many inmates

8.6 Reducing Crime 365

(Cullen, 2007). Elimination of the death penalty would also save much money while also eliminating the

possibility of wrongful executions.

This is not a complete list of strategies, but it does suggest the kinds of efforts that would help address the roots

of crime and, in the long run, help to reduce it. Although the United States may not be interested in pursuing this

crime-prevention approach, strategies like the ones just mentioned would in the long run be more likely than our

current get-tough approach to create a safer society and at the same time save us billions of dollars annually.

Note that none of these proposals addresses white-collar crime, which should not be neglected in a discussion of

reducing the nation’s crime problem. One reason white-collar crime is so common is that the laws against it are

weakly enforced; more consistent enforcement of these laws should help reduce white-collar crime, as would the

greater use of imprisonment for convicted white-collar criminals (Rosoff et al., 2010).

Key Takeaways

• The get-tough approach has not been shown to reduce crime in an effective and cost-efficient manner. A sociological explanation of crime thus suggests the need to focus more resources on the social roots of crime in order to prevent crime from happening in the first place.

• Strategies suggested by criminologists to reduce crime include (a) reducing poverty and improving neighborhood living conditions, (b) changing male socialization patterns, (c) expanding early childhood intervention programs, (d) improving schools and schooling, and (e) reducing the use of incarceration for drug and property offenders.

For Your Review

1. The text notes that social science research has not shown the get-tough approach to be effective or cost- efficient. If this is true, why do you think this approach has been so popular in the United States since the 1970s?

2. Of the five strategies outlined in the text to reduce crime, which one strategy do you think would be most effective if it were implemented with adequate funding? Explain your answer.

References

Barlow, H. D., & Decker, S. H. (Eds.). (2010). Criminology and public policy: Putting theory to work.

Philadelphia, PA: Temple Univeristy Press.

Collier, R. (2004). Masculinities and crime: Rethinking the “man question”? In C. Sumner (Ed.), The Blackwell

companion to criminology (pp. 285–308). Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell.

Cullen, F. T. (2007). Make rehabilitation corrections’ guiding paradigm. Criminology & Public Policy, 6(4),

717–727.

366 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Currie, E. (2011). On the pitfalls of spurious prudence. Criminology & Public Policy, 10, 109–114.

Daly, K., & Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5, 497–538.

Dammer, H. R., & Albanese, J. S. (2011). Comparative criminal justice systems (4th ed.). Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth

Frost, N. A., Freilich, J. D., & Clear, T. R. (Eds.). (2010). Contemporary issues in criminal justice policy: Policy

proposals from the American society of criminology conference. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Greenwood, P. W. (2006). Changing lives: Delinquency prevention as crime-control policy. Chicago, IL:

University of Chicago Press.

Jacobson, M. (2006). Reversing the punitive turn: The Limits and promise of current research. Criminology &

Public Policy, 5, 277–284.

Kovandzic, T. V., Sloan, J. J., III, & Vieraitis, L. M. (2004). “Striking out” as crime reduction policy: The impact

of “three strikes” laws on crime rates in US cities. Justice Quarterly, 21, 207–239.

Lab, S. P. (2010). Crime prevention: Approaches, practices and evaluations (7th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.

Rosoff, S. M., Pontell, H. N., & Tillman, R. (2010). Profit without honor: White collar crime and the looting of

America (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Walker, S. (2011). Sense and nonsense about crime, drugs, and communities: A policy guide (7th ed.). Belmont,

CA: Wadsworth.

Waller, I., & Welsh, B. C. (2007). Reducing crime by harnessing international best practices. In D. S. Eitzen (Ed.),

Solutions to social problems: Lessons from other societies (pp. 208–216). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (2007). Save children from a life of crime. Criminology & Public Policy, 6(4),

871–879.

8.6 Reducing Crime 367

8.7 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Crime is a major concern for many Americans. More than one-third fear walking alone at night in their neighborhoods, and even larger percentages worry about specific types of crimes. News media coverage of crime contributes to these fears. The media overdramatize crime by covering so much of it and by giving especially heavy attention to violent crime even though most crime is not violent. In other problems, the news media disproportionately depict young people and people of color as offenders and whites as victims.

2. The nation’s major source of crime statistics is the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). Because many people do not tell the police about crimes they have experienced, the UCR underestimates the actual level of crime in the United States. It is also subject to changes in police reporting practices and in particular to deliberate efforts by police to downplay the amount of crime. To help correct these problems, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) measures crime every year in a national survey that asks residents to report their criminal victimization. The NCVS is thought to yield a more accurate estimate of crime than the UCR, and it also provides much information on the circumstances under which victimization occurs. Self- report surveys, typically given to adolescents, are a final form of crime measurement and provide much information on the adolescents’ social backgrounds and thus on the context of their offending.

3. The major categories of crime are violent crime, property crime, white-collar crime, and consensual crime. Much violent crime is relatively spontaneous and emotional, and a surprising amount involves victims and offenders who knew each other before the violent act occurred. Despite popular perceptions, most violent crime is also intraracial. A major distinction in the understanding of property crime is that between professional thieves, who are very skilled and steal valuable possessions or large sums of money, and amateur thieves, who are unskilled and whose theft is petty by comparison. Corporate crime and other kinds of white-collar crime arguably cost the nation more than street crime in economic loss, health problems, and death; corporate violence involves unsafe working conditions, unsafe products, and environmental pollution. Consensual crime, such as illegal drug use and prostitution, raises two important questions: (1) Which consensual but potentially harmful behaviors should the state ban and which should it not ban, and (2) does banning such behaviors do more harm than good or more good than harm?

4. Crime is socially patterned. Males commit more serious crimes than females. African Americans and Latinos have higher crime rates than whites, poor people have higher crime rates than the wealthy, and youths in their teens and early twenties have higher crime rates than older people. In addition, crime is higher in urban areas than in rural areas.

5. Many sociological theories of criminal behavior exist. Social structure theories highlight poverty and weakened social institutions as important factors underlying crime. Social process theories stress the importance of peer relationships, social bonding, and social reaction. Conflict theories call attention to the possible use of the legal system to punish behavior by subordinate groups, while feminist theories examine gender differences in criminality, the victimization of women by rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence, and the experiences of women professionals and offenders in the criminal justice system.

6. The criminal justice system costs tens of billions of dollars annually, yet scholars question the potential of this system to reduce crime. How police are deployed seems a more important factor regarding their potential for crime reduction than the actual numbers of police. The surge in imprisonment of the last few decades may have accounted for a relatively small drop in crime, but whatever reduction it has achieved has not been cost-effective, and hundreds of thousands of prison inmates are now returning every year to their communities. Several problems also exist in the criminal justice system itself. Police corruption and brutality remain serious concerns, while indigent defendants receive inadequate legal representation or none

at all. Despite public perceptions, prisons and jails are squalid places, and rape and other violence are daily concerns.

7. The United States is the only Western democracy to use the death penalty for common criminals. Social science evidence finds that the death penalty does not deter homicide, is racially discriminatory, may involve wrongful convictions, and costs considerably more than life imprisonment.

8. Many proposals for reducing crime derive from sociological evidence. These proposals aim to reduce poverty and improve neighborhood living conditions; to change male socialization patterns; to expand early childhood intervention programs and nutrition services; to improve the nation’s schools and schooling; and to reduce the number of prison inmates by placing nonviolent property and drug offenders in community corrections. The funds saved by this last proposal could be used to improve prison and jail rehabilitation programming.

Using What You Know

Suppose you are the Democratic Party Governor of a midsized state and that you are up for reelection in two years. You were a political science major in college but had a sociology minor with a focus in criminal justice. The crime rate in your state has risen slightly since you took office, and there is growing sentiment in the state’s major newspapers and from the Republican Party opposition in the state legislature to lengthen prison terms for serious crime and to build two more prisons for the greater number of prisoners that will be expected. Because of your studies in college, you are skeptical that this approach will reduce crime, and you recognize it will cost millions of dollars. But you also realize that your opponents and some members of the news media are beginning to say that you are soft on crime. What do you do?

What You Can Do

To help deal with the problem of crime, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer at an agency that helps troubled teenagers.

2. Volunteer with an organization that helps ex-offenders.

3. Work for an organization that provides early childhood intervention services for at-risk children.

8.7 End-of-Chapter Material 369

Chapter 9: Sexual Behavior

Social Problems in the News

“More Texas Schools Teach Safe Sex with Abstinence,” the headline said. Across Texas, sex education in the public schools typically emphasizes the need for abstinence and ignores the concept of safe sex. But in the western Texas town of Midland, school officials decided to include safe sex into the school district’s sex education curriculum for the seventh and eighth grades after several years of rising teen pregnancies, with 172 students pregnant in 2010. A school official said, “These are girls as young as 13 that are pregnant; some of them are on their second pregnancies.”

In what is called an “abstinence-plus” approach, the new curriculum continues to urge students to wait to have sex, but it also teaches them about birth control and condoms. A consultant at the University of Texas who was advising the Midland school system scoffed at the idea that teaching teenagers about safe sex encourages them to have sex: “I can assure you kids aren’t getting aroused when they see a condom.” She added that teenagers hear about and see a lot of sex on television and the Internet and hear about it from their friends. Given this backdrop, she said, it is important that they get accurate information about sex: “The more you know about your body, how to make better decisions and choices, the better decisions that adolescents make,” she said, adding, “The more we demystify it, the more we talk about it, the better.”

The school official was optimistic that the new curriculum would reduce teen pregnancies, but she was realistic about the difficulty of the problem. “I would love to be able say [it is] going to be 100-percent effective, we’re going to turn this thing around,” she said. “What we are going to do is impact children to make better choices in regard to sexual integrity. And that would potentially be delaying sexual activity. We’re not going to stop teenagers from having sex. I wish we could, but we’re not going to.”

Source: Smith, 2011

This news story reminds us that sexual behavior is often cause for concern and the basis for certain social

problems. It should come as no surprise that social scientists study many aspects of sexual behavior and have

provided a good deal of insight on sexual issues. This chapter discusses the social scientific evidence for various

types of sexual behavior and issues relating to them: teenage sex and pregnancy, abortion, prostitution, and

pornography. Although people often have strong views about these issues, we will see that the social scientific

evidence sometimes challenges the views that many people hold.

References

Smith, M. (2011, September 16). More Texas schools teach safe sex with abstinence. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved

from http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/condoms-safe-sex-appear-more-texas-sex-

education/.

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/condoms-safe-sex-appear-more-texas-sex-education/

9.6 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. The sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s involved changes in Americans’ attitudes on certain sexual issues and an increase in premarital sex.

2. Although teenagers are more sexually active today than before the sexual revolution, teenage pregnancy and birth rates have declined sharply since the early 1990s. Teenage pregnancy and birth cause several problems for the teenage mother and for society as a whole.

3. To reduce teenage pregnancy further, the United States should expand publically funded family planning programs and increase the provision of contraceptives at little or no cost.

4. Abortion has been common since ancient times and remains one of the most controversial issues in the United States. Since the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized all abortions during the first two trimesters, subsequent court rulings and various state actions have made abortions more difficult to obtain. Abortion rates differ by region of the nation and reflect the presence or absence of abortion providers.

5. Around the world, abortion rates do not depend on whether abortion is legal or illegal, and they occur in great numbers even when they are illegal. For abortions to be as safe as possible, they must be legal.

6. Prostitution has also been common since ancient times. Until the second decade of the twentieth century it was legal in much of the United States in the form of legal brothels.

7. Streetwalkers comprise about one-fifth of all prostitutes. Compared to indoor prostitutes, they are more likely to be victims of violence and to obtain and transmit sexual diseases.

8. When prostitution is legal, prostitutes fare much better than when prostitution is illegal. The problems that streetwalkers experience generally stem from the fact that their behavior is illegal.

9. Pornography has also been around since ancient times. It does not appear to cause sexual violence against women, and efforts to ban it raise freedom of speech issues.

Using What You Know

A friend of yours has become pregnant after a casual sexual encounter. She is in the second semester of her junior year and was planning to graduate in fifteen months and go on to get a master’s degree in a business school. She confides in you that she is considering an abortion and wants your advice on what she should do. What do you tell her?

What You Can Do

To help deal with the sexual behavior problems discussed in this chapter, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer for a local agency that helps pregnant teenagers.

2. Start or join in efforts on your campus to encourage safe sex.

3. Volunteer at a family planning agency.

372 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

9.1 An Overview of Heterosexuality

Learning Objectives

1. Explain what happened as a result of the sexual revolution.

2. Describe current views on sexual behavior.

3. Understand the prevalence of certain sexual behaviors today.

Because Chapter 5 “Sexual Orientation and Inequality” discussed sexual orientation and inequality, this chapter’s

discussion of sexual behavior focuses almost entirely on issues concerning heterosexual sex. To provide a

backdrop for these issues, we first provide an overview of heterosexual behavior and views about such behavior.

The Sexual Revolution: Changing Attitudes and Changing Behavior

The youth counterculture of the 1960s emphasized that sexual intercourse need not be delayed until marriage. Their views helped fuel

the so-called sexual revolution.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 3.0.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.1.0.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie#/media/File:Woodstock-kids.jpg

The 1960s were a time of major change in the United States. The Southern civil rights movement and Vietnam

antiwar movements shook the nation, and the women’s rights, gay rights, and environmental movements began.

Another major change was the sexual revolution, which saw a substantial change in many aspects of Americans’

sexual behavior and in how they thought about sex. Thanks in large part to the introduction of the birth control pill,

women became freer to have sex without fear of pregnancy. The hippies of the youth counterculture of the 1960s

emphasized free love, the idea that sexual intercourse and other forms of sex need not be delayed until marriage,

and a popular slogan heard during the Vietnam antiwar movement was “make love, not war.” A highlight (or

lowlight, depending on one’s view) of the era was the Summer of Love in 1967, when tens of thousands of young

people gathered in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco to do drugs, have sex, and engage in other

counterculture activities. The appearance of HIV and AIDS during the 1980s reversed some of the trends of the

sexual revolution, as people became more concerned about the consequences of unprotected sex, but the effects of

this revolution largely remain: Many more people now have sex before marriage than before the 1960s, and views

about certain sexual behaviors have become less conservative since the 1960s and 1970s (Harding & Jencks,

2003).

We can see evidence of changing views about sex in data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which has been

administered nationally since the early 1970s. One of the questions the GSS asks is about premarital sex: “There’s

been a lot of discussion about the way morals and attitudes about sex are changing in this country. If a man and

woman have sex relations before marriage, do you think it is always wrong, almost always wrong, wrong only

sometimes, or not wrong at all?” In 1972, only 27.2 percent of the public replied it was “not wrong at all,” but

by 2010, this percentage almost doubled to 53.1 percent (see Figure 9.1 “Change in Views about Premarital Sex

(Percentage Saying Premarital Sex Is “Not Wrong at All”)”).

Figure 9.1 Change in Views about Premarital Sex (Percentage Saying Premarital Sex Is “Not Wrong at All”)

Source: Data from General Social Surveys. (1972 and 2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

On two other issues, extramarital sex and sex between teenagers, views have not changed from a generation ago.

Very few Americans today, fewer than 5 percent, think that either type of sexual behavior is “not wrong at all,”

and very few thought they were not wrong a generation ago when the GSS asked about these two behaviors. As all

these trend data indicate, the sexual revolution changed certain sexual attitudes but did not affect other attitudes.

In this respect, then, the sexual revolution was only partly revolutionary.

Certain changes in sexual behavior also occurred as part of the sexual revolution. In particular, many more people

374 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/eab4cccb0adbd50e0118e61ab96c19fe.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/612e108f6d0451677358226d83851ce6.jpg

began having sex before age 18 during and after the 1960s than before the 1960s and, in a related trend, to have

more sexual partners before age 18 (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994). We can see evidence of the

former trend in national survey data reported in Table 9.1 “Percentage Who Had Heterosexual Sex before Age

18”, which shows the percentage of people born in different decades (birth cohorts) who had sex before age 18.

Among women, less than one-third of those in the 1933–1942 and 1943–1952 birth cohorts (who would all have

reached age 18 before the sexual revolution) had sex before age 18. These low figures jumped to 47.6 percent for

those in the 1953–1962 birth cohort (who became teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s, during the sexual revolution)

and then grew further to 58.2 percent in the next birth cohort. In a twenty-year span, then, women became 28.2

percent more likely (= 58.2 – 30.0) to have sex before age 18. Men, too, became more likely to have sex before

age 18, though at a slightly smaller rate of increase, 18.8 percent (= 61.3 – 42.5) over the thirty-year span shown

in the table. In related figures, only 30 percent of teenaged girls in 1972 were sexually experienced; by 1988, this

figure had jumped to 51 percent (Martinez, Copen, & Abma, 2011). The remarkable increase in teenage sex for

both females and males since the 1960s has had important repercussions down to the present, as we shall see in

the section on teenage sex and pregnancy later in this chapter.

Table 9.1 Percentage Who Had Heterosexual Sex before Age 18

Birth cohort 1933–1942 1943–1952 1953–1962 1963–1974

Women 32.2 30.0 47.6 58.2

Men 42.5 47.9 56.8 61.3

Source: Laumann, E. O., Gagnon, J. H., Michael, R. T., & Michaels, S. (1994). The social organization of sexuality. (p. 328) Chicago, IL:

University of Chicago Press.

Heterosexuality Today: Attitudes and Behavior

Americans’ attitudes today about heterosexual behavior are very diverse. On some issues, Americans are fairly

united, either in a more tolerant and accepting direction or in a less tolerant and unaccepting direction. On other

issues, Americans are fairly divided, with large numbers of people feeling one way and large numbers feeling

another way. The American public is probably even more diverse in its sexual behavior: Some people have a lot of

sex and engage in a variety of sexual activities, while other people have less sex and limit their sexual activity to

vaginal intercourse. To gain a sense of what Americans are thinking and doing in the area of heterosexual activity,

national surveys provide some important evidence.

Attitudes

As noted earlier, the GSS asks respondents to indicate their views on several types of heterosexual behavior and

issues related to this behavior. We’ll first look again at their views about sexual behavior that we examined earlier

in the discussion about the sexual revolution. This time we will focus on the percentage who say the behaviors

9.1 An Overview of Heterosexuality 375

are wrong (“always wrong,” “almost always wrong,” or “sometimes wrong”) (see Figure 9.2 “Views on Sexual

Behavior (Percentage Saying the Behavior Is Wrong)”).

Figure 9.2 Views on Sexual Behavior (Percentage Saying the Behavior Is Wrong)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Figure 9.2 “Views on Sexual Behavior (Percentage Saying the Behavior Is Wrong)” shows that Americans almost

unanimously think that adultery (extramarital sex) and teenage sex are wrong, but that they are fairly evenly split

on whether premarital sex is wrong, with 47 percent saying it is wrong and the remainder, 53 percent, saying it is

not wrong at all.

Certain aspects of our social backgrounds predict our views about premarital sex. In particular, women, older

people, and those who are more religious are more likely than their counterparts to disapprove of it. We see

evidence of these trends in Figure 9.3 “Correlates of Disapproval of Premarital Sex (Percentage Saying Premarital

Sex between a Woman and a Man Is Wrong)”, which focuses on the percentage of GSS respondents who say

that premarital sex is wrong (always wrong, almost always wrong, or sometimes wrong). Gender and age are

moderately related to views about premarital sex, while religiosity is strongly related to these views.

Figure 9.3 Correlates of Disapproval of Premarital Sex (Percentage Saying Premarital Sex between a Woman and a Man Is Wrong)

376 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/52ebfd8d4542db7ab607194824d98437.jpg

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Behavior

A good understanding of Americans’ sexual behaviors comes from the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family

Growth (NSFG), which was administered to 13,459 Americans ages 15–44 nationwide. Although this survey

9.1 An Overview of Heterosexuality 377

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.1.1.jpg

omits people older than 44, it still yields valuable information about people in their prime reproductive years.

Chapter 5 “Sexual Orientation and Inequality” on sexual orientation also used some NSFG data.

Table 9.2 “Lifetime Prevalence of Sexual Behaviors, Ages 15–24*” reports some NSFG gender-based data on

several kinds of sexual behaviors for young people ages 15–24. Although many people think that males are much

more sexually active than females, the data in Table 9.2 “Lifetime Prevalence of Sexual Behaviors, Ages 15–24*”

show that the gender differences in heterosexual contact are practically nonexistent. Reflecting a conclusion from

Chapter 5 “Sexual Orientation and Inequality”’s discussion of sexual orientation, however, females are more

likely than males to have had same-sex sexual contact. In one other gender difference not reported in the table,

males (17.6 percent) are more likely than females (9.4 percent) to have at least two heterosexual partners in the

past year. In this specific sexual activity, then, males are indeed more active than females.

Table 9.2 Lifetime Prevalence of Sexual Behaviors, Ages 15–24*

Females Males

No sexual contact 28.6 27.2

Any opposite-sex contact 70.1 71.7

Any opposite-sex contact: vaginal intercourse 65.1 62.9

Any opposite-sex contact: gave or received oral sex 62.6 64.0

Any opposite-sex contact: anal sex 20.2 20.9

Any same-sex behavior 13.4 4.0

* Percentage engaging in behavior at least once

Source: Chandra, A., Mosher, W. D., Copen, C., & Sionean, C. (2011). Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity in the United

States: Data from the 2006–2008 national survey of family growth (National Health Statistics Reports: Number 36). Hyattsville, MD: National

Center for Health Statistics.

378 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Although women and men in the United States are equally sexually active, unmarried men tend to have more sexual partners than

unmarried women.

Steve C Et tant pis pour les jaloux ! – CC BY 2.0.

We saw earlier that higher degrees of religiosity are strongly associated with greater disapproval of premarital sex.

Does this mean that religiosity should also be associated with a lower likelihood of actually engaging in premarital

sex? The answer is clearly yes, as many studies of adolescents find that those who are more religious are more

likely to still be virgins and, if they have had sex, more likely to have had fewer sexual partners (Regenerus,

2007). Survey data on adults yield a similar finding: Among all never-married adults in the GSS, those who are

more religious are also more likely to have had fewer sexual partners (Barkan, 2006). We see evidence of this

relationship in Table 9.3 “Self-Rated Religiosity and Number of Sexual Partners in Past Five Years among Never-

Married Adults Ages 18–39 (%)”, which shows that among never-married adults ages 18–39, those who are very

9.1 An Overview of Heterosexuality 379

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chtifiun/8377391904/

religious are more likely to have had no sexual partners in the past five years and, if they have had any partners,

to have had fewer partners. Although it is hypothetically possible that not having sexual partners leads someone

to become more religious, it is much more likely that being very religious reduces the number of sexual partners

that never-married adults have.

Table 9.3 Self-Rated Religiosity and Number of Sexual Partners in Past Five Years among Never-Married Adults Ages 18–39 (%)

Number of sexual partners Very religious Moderately religious Slightly religious or not at all religious

0 31.1 7.6 9.2

1 29.5 29.6 21.6

2 or more 39.4 62.8 69.2

Source: Data from General Social Surveys. (2006–2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Key Takeaways

• The sexual revolution liberalized some views about sexual behavior and increased participation in some forms of sexual behavior, particularly premarital sex.

• Gender, age, and religiosity predict attitudes about premarital sex.

• There are little or no gender differences today in the prevalence of various heterosexual behaviors, but men are more likely than women to have had at least two sex partners in the past year.

For Your Review

1. Do you think the sexual revolution was a good thing or a bad thing? Explain your answer.

2. Did it surprise you to learn that women and men are equally sexually active today? Why or why not?

References

Barkan, S. E. (2006). Religiosity and premarital sex during adulthood. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,

45, 407–417.

Harding, D. J., & Jencks, C. (2003). Changing attitudes toward premarital sex. Public Opinion Quarterly, 67(2),

211–226.

Laumann, E. O., Gagnon, J. H., Michael, R. T., & Michaels, S. (1994). The social organization of sexuality.

Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

380 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/503b67b1a9db719d88fb118932b28d3c.jpg

Martinez, G., Copen, C. E., & Abma, J. C. (2011). Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive

use, and childbearing, 2006–2010 national survey of family growth. Vital and Health Statistics, 23(31), 1–35.

Regenerus, M. D. (2007). Forbidden fruit: Sex & religion in the lives of American teenagers. New York, NY:

Oxford Univeristy Press.

9.1 An Overview of Heterosexuality 381

9.2 Teenage Sex and Pregnancy

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how many teenagers have had sex.

2. List several problems associated with teenage pregnancy and birth.

3. Discuss how to reduce teenage pregnancy and help teenage mothers.

We saw earlier that the percentage of teenagers who have sex greatly increased during the 1960s and 1970s.

Regardless of what one thinks about premarital sex, this increase had at least two important practical

consequences: It greatly increased the risk of teenage pregnancy, and it greatly increased the risk of getting HIV

and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). For these and other reasons, teenage sex rightly arouses much

concern. This section examines trends in teenage sex and pregnancy, the reasons for these trends, and possible

measures for reducing teenage pregnancy. As part of this examination, it also discusses sexually transmitted

disease, which affects sexually active teens but also sexually active people beyond their teen years.

Teenage Sexual Activity

As noted earlier, teenagers are much more sexually active today than they were before the sexual revolution.

About 43 percent of never-married teens ages 15–19 of both sexes have had sexual intercourse (Martinez et al.,

2011); this percentage represents a drop from its highest point, in 1988, of 51 percent for females and of 60

percent for males. About three-fourths of girls in today’s sexually experienced group and 85 percent of boys in this

group use contraception, most often a condom, the first time they ever have sex. In their most recent act of sexual

intercourse, almost 86 percent of girls and 93 percent of boys used contraception, again most often a condom.

The birth rate for females aged 15–19 in 2009 was 39.1 births per 1,000 females. This rate represented a

substantial decline from the early 1990s, when the rate reached a peak of almost 60. However, it was still twice as

high as Canada’s rate and much higher yet than other Western democracies (see Figure 9.4 “Teenage Birth Rates

in Selected Western Democracies (Number of Annual Births per 1,000 Women Aged 15–19)”).

Figure 9.4 Teenage Birth Rates in Selected Western Democracies (Number of Annual Births per 1,000 Women Aged 15–19)

Source: Data from Martinez, G., Copen, C. E., & Abma, J. C. (2011). Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive

use, and childbearing, 2006–2010 national survey of family growth. Vital and Health Statistics, 23(31), 1–35.

If 43 percent of teens have had sexual intercourse, that means the majority of teens, 57 percent, have never had

intercourse. It is interesting to examine their reasons for still being virgins. Table 9.4 “Main Reason Given for

Never Having Sexual Intercourse, Ages 15–19 (%)” shows the relevant data. The top reason for both sexes is

religion and morals, followed by concern about a possible pregnancy and not having found the right person with

whom to have sex.

Table 9.4 Main Reason Given for Never Having Sexual Intercourse, Ages 15–19 (%)

Females Males

Against religion or morals 38 31

Don’t want to get (a female) pregnant 19 25

Haven’t found the right person yet 17 21

Don’t want to get an STD 7 10

In a relationship, but waiting for the right time 7 5

Other reason 12 8

Source: Martinez, G., Copen, C. E., & Abma, J. C. (2011). Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing,

2006–2010 national survey of family growth. Vital and Health Statistics, 23(31), 1–35.

The Problem of Teenage Pregnancy

Most teenage pregnancies and births are unplanned and are part of a more general problem for all women in their

childbearing years. About one-half of all pregnancies in the United States, or more than 3 million pregnancies

annually, are unplanned. Approximately 40 percent of these unplanned pregnancies end in abortion, and about 10

percent end by miscarriage. Putting all these numbers together, about 1.6 million live births happen each year as a

result of unplanned pregnancies (National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2011). The cost

9.2 Teenage Sex and Pregnancy 383

of medical services for unplanned pregnancies and for the infants that are born from many of them cost the nation

more than $11 billion annually (Gold, 2011).

About one-fifth of all unplanned pregnancies, or almost 700,000 annually, occur to teenagers; another 50,000

teenage pregnancies are planned. These two figures add to 750,000 teenage pregnancies annually, with some

400,000 births resulting from these pregnancies (Kost, Henshaw, & Carlin, 2010). Altogether, about 18 percent of

women, or one of every six females, become teen mothers, and in several southern and southwestern states this

percentage is as high as 25–30 percent (Perper & Manlove, 2009).

About 18 percent of teenaged girls become mothers. In several southern and southwestern states, this percentage is as high as 25–30

percent.

bradfordst219 – CC BY 2.0.

Although teenaged pregnancies (and births from these pregnancies) are far from the majority of all pregnancies,

unplanned or planned, they pose special problems (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2011;

Anderson, 2011). On the individual level, pregnant teenagers are more at risk than older pregnant women for high

blood pressure and anemia, and they are also more likely to experience early labor, premature birth, and low birth

weight. In addition, because teenagers are more likely than adults to have STDs, pregnant teenagers are more

likely than older pregnant women to have an STD while they are pregnant, either because they already had an

STD when they conceived or because they contract an STD from having sex during pregnancy.

Many pregnant teenagers decide to drop out of school. If they stay in school, they often must deal with

the embarrassment of being pregnant, and the physical and emotional difficulties accompanying their teenage

pregnancy can affect their school performance. Once the baby is born, child care typically becomes an enormous

384 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.2.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/83850382@N02/15947691735/

problem, whether or not the new mother is in school. Because pregnant teenagers disproportionately come from

families that are poor or near poor, they have few financial resources and often have weak social support networks,

either before or after the baby is born (Andrews & Moore, 2011).

At the societal level, teenage pregnancy and motherhood are very costly in at least two important respects. First,

because pregnancy and childbirth complications are more common among teenagers, their health-care expenses

during and after pregnancy and childbirth are often higher than the expenses incurred by older women. Medicaid,

the federal government’s national health plan for poor families, often covers much of these expenses, and the

premiums that private health insurance companies charge are higher than otherwise because of their expenses

when they insure the families of pregnant teenagers.

Second, the children of teenage mothers are at risk for several kinds of behavioral and developmental problems.

The Note 9.7 “Children and Our Future” box discusses these problems further.

Children and Our Future

Kids Having Kids: The Children of Teenage Mothers

Teenage mothers (ages 15–19) are often unprepared emotionally or practically to raise a child. They often have poor parenting skills and, for example, do not take the time to read daily to their children and otherwise stimulate their cognitive development. They are also less likely than older mothers to provide proper emotional support for their children. In addition, the stress they experience as very young mothers puts them at risk for neglecting or abusing their children. The fact that teenage mothers tend to come from low-income families and continue to live in poverty or near poverty after they become mothers compounds all these problems.

For all these reasons, the children of teenage mothers are at greater risk for several kinds of problems. These problems include impaired neurological development, behavioral problems, and poor school performance.

In particular, when compared to children born to older mothers, the children of teen mothers have lower cognitive scores on the average when they start kindergarten, and they continue to have lower math, reading, and vocabulary test scores as they grow older. These problems persist into their own adolescence, as they are less likely than children of older mothers to graduate from high school. Children of teen mothers are also somewhat more likely to have chronic health problems during childhood and adolescence. When the children of teenage mothers become adolescents, they are also more at risk for delinquency and drug use and to have a prison record by the time they reach young adulthood.

The teenage pregnancy and birth rates in the United States are by far the highest of all Western democracies. The problems that children of teen mothers experience underscore the need for our nation to do everything possible to prevent teenage pregnancy.

Sources: Andrews & Moore, 2011; Hoffman & Maynard, 2008

Trends in Teenage Pregnancy

The bad news is that there are far too many teenage pregnancies. The good news is that the rate of teenage

pregnancy has declined rather dramatically since the early 1990s.

The teenage pregnancy rate is commonly expressed as the annual number of pregnancies per 1,000 women aged

15–19. In 2006, this rate was 71.5, equal to 7.15 percent of all women in this age bracket (Kost et al., 2010).

Because many women in this age group either have never had sex or have not had sex in the past year, it is

9.2 Teenage Sex and Pregnancy 385

instructive to consider the pregnancy rate among women ages 15–19 who are sexually active. In 2006, this rate

was 152.8 per 1,000, equal to 15.28 percent of all sexually active women in this age group.

As high as these rates are, and they are much higher than the rates in other Western democracies, the US

teenage pregnancy rate is much lower now than it was in the early 1990s. Figure 9.5 “Pregnancy Rates for US

Women Aged 15–19, 1972–2006 (Number of Pregnancies per 1,000 Women Aged 15–19)” displays this dramatic

trend. Teenage pregnancy reached a peak rate of 116.9 in 1990 before falling rather steadily to its 2006 rate

of 71.5, a much lower rate than existed during the early 1970s. Reflecting the decline in teenage pregnancy,

teenage births, as noted earlier, also reached a record low of 39.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15–19 in 2009,

as compared to its peak rate of 61.8 in 1991. Despite this dramatic decline, the US teenage birth rate remains

the highest of all Western democracies. Experts attribute the decline in teenage pregnancy and birth mostly

to increased contraceptive use (stemming from a combination of increased sex education in the schools and

increased provision of contraceptives to teenagers) and, to a smaller extent, to reduced sexual activity among some

teenagers (Kost et al., 2010).

Figure 9.5 Pregnancy Rates for US Women Aged 15–19, 1972–2006 (Number of Pregnancies per 1,000 Women Aged 15–19)

Source: Data from Kost, K., Henshaw, S., & Carlin, L. (2010). US teenage pregnancies, births and abortions: National and state

trends and trends by race and ethnicity, 2010. New York, NY: Guttmacher Institute.

Correlates of Teenage Pregnancy

We have already noted that teenagers from poor or near-poor families are at greater risk for becoming pregnant.

In addition to social class, two other important correlates of teenage pregnancy are race/ethnicity and geography.

Figure 9.6 “Race/Ethnicity and Teenage Pregnancy, 2006 (Number of Pregnancies per 1,000 Women Aged

15–19)” displays the racial/ethnic differences for teenage pregnancy, which are rather large. The pregnancy rates

for black and Hispanic teenagers are almost three times greater than the rates for non-Hispanic whites.

Figure 9.6 Race/Ethnicity and Teenage Pregnancy, 2006 (Number of Pregnancies per 1,000 Women Aged 15–19)

386 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/a4ec598fe7e250af2e309328626dc508.jpg

Source: Data from Kost, K., Henshaw, S., & Carlin, L. (2010). US teenage pregnancies, births and abortions: National and state

trends and trends by race and ethnicity, 2010. New York, NY: Guttmacher Institute.

Large differences also exist in teenage pregnancy rates by state and the regions of the country into which the

states fall. In general, the South has a higher teenage pregnancy rate than the rest of the nation (see Figure 9.7

“Teenage Pregnancy Rates in the United States, 2005 (Number of Pregnancies per 1,000 Women Aged 15–19)”),

although there are individual differences by state. The South’s generally higher rate stems largely from its higher

poverty rate and racial/ethnic composition. As the opening news story on Texas indicates, sex education programs

emphasizing safe sex are also less common in Southern states than in many other states. The same difference

holds for the provision of contraceptives by Planned Parenthood and other agencies and organizations. The lack

of these two important pregnancy-prevention measures probably also contributes to the South’s higher teenage

pregnancy rate.

Figure 9.7 Teenage Pregnancy Rates in the United States, 2005 (Number of Pregnancies per 1,000 Women Aged 15–19)

Source: Data from Kost, K., Henshaw, S., & Carlin, L. (2010). US teenage pregnancies, births and abortions: National and state

trends and trends by race and ethnicity, 2010. New York, NY: Guttmacher Institute.

9.2 Teenage Sex and Pregnancy 387

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/4ac2da24115a34502d739cb6fd9edead.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/d29fdee79fcd8a4d9581e764454ba19b.jpg

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In addition to pregnancy and birth, another problem associated with teenage sexual activity is the transmission of

sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). This is a problem during the teenage years, but it is even more of a problem

during young adulthood, when sexual activity is greater than during adolescence (Wildsmith, Schelar, Peterson, &

Manlove, 2010). The STD rate in the United States is higher than in most other Western democracies. Almost 19

million new cases of STDs are diagnosed annually, and more than 65 million Americans have an incurable STD

such as herpes. Although teens and young adults ages 15–24 compose only one-fourth of sexually active people,

they account for one-half of all new STDs. Despite this fact, most young adults who test positive for an STD did

not believe they were at risk for getting an STD (Wildsmith et al., 2010).

Teens and young adults ages 15–24 compose one-fourth of all sexually active people, but they account for one-half of new sexually

transmitted diseases.

Brian Rosner – New Friends at CU – CC BY 2.0.

In any one year, 15 percent of young adults ages 18 and 26 have an STD. This figure masks a significant gender

difference: 20 percent of young women have had an STD in the past year, compared to 10 percent of young men.

It also masks important racial/ethnic differences: 34 percent of young African Americans have had an STD in the

past year, compared to 10 percent of Asians, 15 percent of Hispanics, and 10 percent of whites.

Three types of sexual behaviors increase the risk of transmitting or contracting an STD: having sex with at least

three partners during the past year, having a sex partner with a known STD, and not using a condom regularly.

About 17 percent of sexually active young adults have had at least three partners during the past year, and 8

percent have had a partner with a known STD. Three-fourths of unmarried sexually active young adults do not

388 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.2.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brosner/1332351/

use a condom regularly. Combining all these risk factors, 39 percent have engaged in one risk factor in the past

year, 14 percent have engaged in at least two risk factors, and the remainder, 48 percent, have engaged in no risk

factors (Wildsmith et al., 2010).

Reducing Teenage Pregnancy and Helping Teenage Mothers

Teenage pregnancies cannot occur in either of these two situations: (1) Teenagers do not have sex, or (2) they use

effective contraception if they do have sex. If we could wave a magic wand or turn the clock back to before the

1960s, it might be possible to greatly reduce the number of teenagers who have sex, but that day is long past.

Teenage sex increased during the 1960s and 1970s and, despite some slight declines after HIV and AIDS became

a worldwide problem during the 1980s and 1990s, remains much more frequent than before the sexual revolution.

Most sexual behavior researchers believe that pleas for abstinence, as well as sex education programs that focus

solely or almost entirely on abstinence, do not help to reduce teen sex and pregnancy (Ball & Moore, 2008).

If this is true, they say, then the best strategy is to use a harm reduction approach. We first encountered this term

in Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs”’s discussion of illegal drugs. A harm reduction approach recognizes that

because certain types of harmful behavior are inevitable, our society should do its best to minimize the various

kinds of harm that these various behaviors generate. In regard to teenage sex and pregnancy, a harm reduction

approach has two goals: (1) to help reduce the risk for pregnancy among sexually active teens and (2) to help

teenage mothers and their children.

Reducing Pregnancy

To achieve the first goal, parents, sex education classes, family planning clinics, youth development programs,

and other parties must continue to emphasize the importance of waiting to have sex but also the need for teenagers

to use contraception if they are sexually active. In addition, effective contraception (birth control pills, other

hormonal control, and also condoms, which protect against STDs) must be made available for teenagers at little

or no cost. Studies indicate that these two contraception strategies do not lead to more teenage sex, and they

also indicate that consistent contraceptive use greatly reduces the risk of teenage pregnancy. As one writer has

summarized these studies’ conclusions, “Contraceptives no more cause sex than umbrellas cause rain…When

contraception is unavailable, the likely consequences is not less sex, but more pregnancy” (Kristof, 2011, p. A31).

People Making a Difference

Helping Teenagers Reduce the Risk of Pregnancy

The Metro Council for Teen Potential (MCTP) is a membership coalition in Rochester, New York, that “promotes a comprehensive community-wide approach to foster youth assets and youth health,” according to its website. To do so, MCTP provides various kinds of information to its member agencies and organizations, including the latest data on pregnancy and other problems facing teens and the latest information on the “best practices” to use to help teens. It has also developed a youth curriculum and media campaign aimed at informing youths about risky behaviors, sexuality,

9.2 Teenage Sex and Pregnancy 389

and other aspects of their lives. Its member groups include the Rochester School District and youth development organizations throughout Rochester.

An important focus of MCTP’s efforts is teen pregnancy, and MCTP has received substantial funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to formulate and implement strategies to prevent teen pregnancies. Its website includes results from a random survey of Rochester-area teens about their sexual behavior, views about teen pregnancy, substance use, and other behaviors and attitudes. The website also includes some basic data on Rochester teens’ sexual experiences. For example, the 2006 teen birth rate in Rochester was 76 births per 1,000 girls ages 15–19; this rate was much higher than the US rate of 42 and the New York state rate of 26.

MCTP supports several initiatives in Rochester that focus on teenage sexuality and pregnancy. One set of programs called CONECTS provides a variety of teenage pregnancy prevention strategies through such subcontractors as the YWCA. Another program, In-Control, provides reproductive health care and education through Planned Parenthood. A third program, Family Talk, involves workshops that aim to help parents of teens talk more effectively with their children about sexuality and substance abuse.

For these and other efforts, MCTP has won the Organizational Award from the Youth Services Quality Council for the high quality of its work for youths and their families. In helping to reduce teen pregnancy and address other problems facing teenagers in Rochester, the Metro Council for Teen Potential is making a difference. For further information, visit its website at http://www.metrocouncil.us.

In this regard, a recent report of the Guttmacher Institute called contraception a “proven, cost-effective strategy”

(Gold, 2011, p. 7). It added, “Contraception is almost universally accepted as a way to reduce the risk of

unintended pregnancy…Contraceptive use reduces the risk of unintended pregnancy significantly, and consistent

contraceptive use virtually eliminates it.” The report noted that government-funded family planning agencies

prevent 2 million unintended pregnancies annually by providing contraception to 9 million young and low-

income women each year. Because most of the women who would have these prevented pregnancies would be

eligible for Medicaid, the Medicaid savings from these prevented pregnancies amount to about $7 billion annually.

An expansion of family planning services would almost certainly be an effective strategy for reducing teenage

pregnancies as well as unplanned pregnancies among older women.

Another strategy to prevent teenage pregnancy involves the use of early childhood intervention (ECI) programs.

Many such programs exist, but they generally involve visits by social workers, nurses, and other professionals to

the homes of children who are at risk for neurological, emotional, and/or behavioral problems during their first

several years and also as they grow into adolescents and young adults (Kahn & Moore, 2010). It might sound

like a stereotype, but these children are disproportionately born to single, teenage mothers and/or to slightly older

parents who live in poverty or near poverty. Long-term evaluation studies show that the best of these programs

reduce the likelihood that the very young children they help will become pregnant or have children of their own

after they become teenagers (Ball & Moore, 2008). In effect, helping young children today helps prevent teenage

pregnancy tomorrow.

Helping Teen Mothers

Because teen pregnancies occur despite the best prevention efforts, the second goal of a harm reduction approach

is to help teens during their pregnancy and after childbirth. This strategy has the immediate aim of providing

practical and emotional support for these very young mothers; it also has the longer-term aims of reducing repeat

pregnancies and births and of preventing developmental and behavior problems among their children.

390 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.metrocouncil.us/

To achieve these aims, ECI programs have again been shown to be helpful (Ball & Moore, 2008). Another type

of program to help teen mothers involves the use of second-chance homes, which are maternity group homes for

unmarried teen mothers (Andrews & Moore, 2011). One of the many sad facts of teenage motherhood is that teen

mothers often have nowhere to live. A teen mother’s parent(s) may refuse to let her and her infant live with them,

either because they are angry at her pregnancy or because they simply do not have the room or financial means to

house and take care of a baby. Or a pregnant teen may decide to leave her parents’ home because of the parents’

anger or because they refuse to let her continue seeing the child’s father. In another possibility, a teen mother may

begin living with the father, but these unions are typically unstable and often end, again leaving her and her child

without a home. As well, many teen mothers were runaways from home before they became pregnant or were

living in foster care. Because of all these situations, many teen mothers find themselves without a place to live.

Second-chance homes provide many kinds of services for pregnant teenagers and teen

mothers, many of whom are unable to continue living with their own parents.

Teresa Rodríguez – cynthea y kabeer jr – CC BY-ND 2.0.

In second-chance homes (which, depending on the program, are in reality one large house, a set of apartments, or a

network of houses), mothers and children (as well as pregnant teens) receive shelter and food, but they also receive

important services, such as childrearing help, educational and vocational counseling and training, family planning

9.2 Teenage Sex and Pregnancy 391

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.2.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/teresawer/2176902075/

counseling, and parenting classes. Although rigorous evaluation studies do not yet exist of the effectiveness of

second-chance homes, they do seem to offer a valuable resource for teen mothers and their children (Andrews &

Moore, 2011).

Addressing Poverty

A final strategy for addressing the problem of teenage sex and pregnancy is to address a more general societal

condition that helps produce teenage sex and pregnancy. This condition is poverty. As noted earlier, children who

grow up in poor families and in disadvantaged neighborhoods—those with high rates of poverty, unemployment,

high school dropouts, and so forth—are more likely to have sex earlier as teens and to become pregnant (Harding,

2003; Scott, Steward-Streng, Barry, & Manlove, 2011). Efforts that reduce poverty (see Chapter 2 “Poverty”)

and improve the conditions of disadvantaged neighborhoods will also reduce the collateral effects of poverty,

including teenage pregnancy.

Key Takeaways

• The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and birth of all Western democracies. However, these rates have declined substantially from the early 1990s.

• Pregnancies and births among teenagers incur higher health-care costs than those among older women. In addition, children of teenage mothers are at risk for several kinds of developmental, cognitive, and behavioral problems.

• A key strategy to reduce teenage pregnancies involves the provision and use of effective contraception at little or no cost. A key strategy to help teen mothers and their children involves second-chance homes and early childhood intervention programs.

For Your Review

1. Imagine that you became a parent at age 17. How would your life have been different from what it is now?

2. Many sexually active teenagers do not use contraception regularly. Why do you think they do not use it more often?

392 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

9.3 Abortion

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the history of abortion and abortion law in the United States.

2. Explain why there are regional differences in abortion rates.

3. Describe some of the correlates of views on abortion.

A major consequence of unplanned pregnancy, during or after the teen years, is abortion. As noted earlier, about

40 percent of all unplanned pregnancies are terminated by an abortion. The more we can reduce unplanned

pregnancies through the various strategies just discussed, the fewer abortions we will have. This section presents

some additional information on abortion while acknowledging the incredibly strong passions that abortion raises

on both sides of the issue. Many people believe that abortion represents a woman’s right to control her own body,

while many other people believe that abortion is murder. We will not review these arguments, which should be

very familiar by now, but we will look at the history of abortion and present some public opinion data about

abortion and public health data on its prevalence. We end with a brief discussion of abortion policy.

A Brief History of Abortion

Like drug use discussed in Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs” and prostitution discussed later in this chapter,

abortion has a very long history. In fact, sex historians Vern Bullough and Bonnie Bullough (1977, p. 92) note

that abortion has “been widely practiced since the beginning of recorded history.” Although early Christianity

regarded abortion as murder, there was no general agreement regarding how old the fetus must be for an abortion

to be considered murder. During the Middle Ages, most religious scholars thought abortion was not murder unless

quickening (when a woman begins to feel the fetus moving) had occurred, which is usually about four to five

months into a pregnancy. In a notable development, Pope Pius IX declared in 1869 that abortion was murder no

matter how young the fetus was, and that remains the current belief of the Catholic Church.

During the nineteenth century, many countries passed new laws that banned abortion, and most US states did so

as well. Bullough and Bullough (1977, p. 111) say that these new laws were intended to protect pregnant women

from unskilled abortionists, but that the laws backfired because “desperate women turned to illegal practitioners.”

Many illegal abortion providers were simply unskilled to perform abortions, but even doctors and midwives who

provided abortions illegally did not have access to hospitals or medical clinics if something went wrong. After

antibiotics came into use during the twentieth century, illegal abortion providers also did not have access to these

miracle drugs and thus could not treat infections that occurred after they performed their abortions. By the early

1960s, the only legal abortions in most states were those done to save the mother’s life, with about 8,000 such

therapeutic abortions performed annually.

In addition to these legal abortions, an estimated 400,000–650,000 illegal abortions were also being performed

annually by the early 1960s. For the reasons just given, these abortions were often risky procedures and resulted

in a “very high maternal mortality rate” (Bullough & Bullough, 1977, p. 112). In plain English, many women died

from illegal abortions.

The sheer number of illegal abortions and maternal death and health complications helped ignite a new abortion

rights movement. This movement also believed that women have the right to control their own bodies without

government interference. By 1970, sixteen states had legalized abortion or had made abortions easier to receive

under certain circumstances. Some courts began to rule that laws against abortion violated women’s constitutional

right to privacy. Finally, the US Supreme Court supported legal abortion in its famous and controversial 1973

decision, Roe v. Wade. This decision allowed all abortions during the first trimester (a roughly three-month period

of pregnancy) and permitted states to regulate abortion during the second trimester to protect the mother’s health,

but states could still not prohibit abortion during this trimester. For the remaining trimester, states were allowed to

prohibit abortion except when the mother’s life or health was at stake.

The legalization of abortion by the Roe decision was controversial from the beginning and remains controversial

today (see Note 9.14 “Applying Social Research”). Amid all this controversy, it is important to keep in mind that

the Roe decision protected the health and lives of many pregnant women. As the Guttmacher Institute (Cohen,

2009, p. 2) explains, “The United States legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, in part because of the clear

evidence that restrictive laws were not ending abortion but were exacting a significant public health toll, notably

on lower-income women who could not travel or pay for safe services. Almost immediately afterward, pregnancy-

related deaths and hospitalizations due to complications of unsafe abortion effectively ended. The United States

was not the first country and has been far from the last to recognize this relationship and move to liberalize its

law.”

Applying Social Research

The Abortion and Crime Rate Controversy

In 2001, two scholars published an article on abortion and crime rates. The article concluded that the legalization of abortion after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 lowered the crime rate two decades later. They reasoned that the Roe decision increased the number of abortions among poor teenagers, whose children are at risk for delinquency and crime when they reach adolescence and young adulthood. Because the increased number of abortions meant that these children were never born, the crime rate in the late 1980s and 1990s was lower than it would have been because of the Roe decision.

This article set off a firestorm of controversy, with people on both sides of the abortion debate appalled at the implication that abortions should be promoted to lower the crime rate many years later. The article also set off a wave of social science research to determine the validity of the article’s conclusion.

The research that has been published in the decade since this controversial article has yielded mixed results. Some studies have found that legal abortion did lower the crime rate; other studies have found that it did not lower the crime rate; and some studies have even found that it raised the crime rate. Even if abortion might have lowered the crime rate during the 1990s, most criminologists think that the crime rate decline during that decade mostly stemmed from other reasons, including more effective policing and a thriving economy.

It remains highly debatable whether any possible crime-reducing effect of abortion is a relevant factor for the debate over legal abortion. Regardless of its possible relevance, however, the social science research on this issue is so equivocal that it is premature to assume that abortion does, in fact, lower the crime rate.

394 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Sources: Chamlin, Myer, & Sanders, 2008; Donohue & Levitt, 2001; Kahane, Paton, & Simmons, 2008

The legalization of abortion in the United States after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision of the Supreme Court reduced the number of

unsafe abortions.

Jason Taellious – Support Planned Parenthood Sign Art – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Despite the fact that Roe v. Wade ended the health risks of unsafe abortions, access to abortion has weakened

in the years since this case was decided in 1973. In a 1992 ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme

Court weakened Roe by ruling that states could ban abortions after the fetus became viable at twenty-two or

twenty-three weeks, which is before the end of the second trimester. This ruling also allowed states to require a

twenty-four-hour waiting period, the signing of an informed consent form, and the signing of a parental consent

form for minors. Various acts by Congress have also made it more difficult to receive an abortion. In particular,

Congressional legislation in 1976 banned Medicaid funding of abortions.

Many states have passed various measures to make it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion. As of March

2012, these selected measures were in effect (Guttmacher Institute, 2012):

• Thirty-two states prohibit the use of state funds for abortions unless the woman’s life is in danger or

the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

• Nineteen states require that a woman receive counseling before an abortion that includes information

on one or more of the following topics: the ability of a fetus to feel pain, mental health consequences

following an abortion, the availability of ultrasound, or the claimed link between abortion and breast

cancer.

9.3 Abortion 395

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamsjung/6143376184/

• Twenty-six states require a waiting period between receiving counseling and receiving an abortion.

• Twenty-six states require consent from one or both parents for a minor to receive an abortion, and

fifteen states require that one or both parents be notified; included in these numbers are four states that

require both consent and notification.

• Two states require a woman to have an ultrasound before having an abortion.

Abortion Data

Some basic facts about the number of abortions in the United States are essential for a complete understanding of

the abortion issue. (Data are for 2008 and come from Jones & Kooistra, 2011). Perhaps the most important fact

is that about 1.2 million abortions occur annually in the United States, down from a peak of 1.6 million abortions

in 1990. This decrease is thought to stem from a drop in unwanted pregnancies (see earlier discussion) and from

a decline in facilities that provide abortions because of harassment from abortion opponents and reduced public

funding. About 90 percent of abortions are done during the first trimester (approximately twelve weeks).

The abortion rate (number of abortions per 1,000 women ages 15–44) differs by region (2008 data) and is highest

in the Northeast and lowest in the Midwest (see Figure 9.8 “Regional Differences in Abortion Rates, 2008”). It

should be noted, however, that there is much variation within each region. In the West, for example, the abortion

rate is 27.6 in California but only 0.9 in Wyoming.

Figure 9.8 Regional Differences in Abortion Rates, 2008

Source: Data from Jones, R. K., & Kooistra, K. (2011). Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008.

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 43, 41–50.

These regional and state differences greatly reflect the presence or absence of nearby abortion providers. In many

parts of the nation, it is very difficult and even practically impossible for women to get an abortion. Only 13

percent of the more than 3,000 counties in the United States have an abortion provider; one-third of women of

childbearing age (15–44) live in the 87 percent of counties that lack any abortion providers (Jones & Kooistra,

2011). These women must travel relatively long distances to a provider and may lack the money or transportation

to do so. The percentage of women ages 15–44 in counties with no provider reflects the regional abortion rates

in Figure 9.8 “Regional Differences in Abortion Rates, 2008”. In the Midwest, 52 percent of these women live

396 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/329b0c1fcbf8ce3ed487213258c18fe3.jpg

in counties without a provider. Comparable figures for the other regions are: Northeast, 18 percent; South, 47

percent; and West, 13 percent. About half of all women in the Midwest and South, then, live in counties without

an abortion provider.

Public Views about Abortion

People tend to hold very strong views about abortion, and the news media regularly report on rallies and other

events carried out by both sides of the abortion controversy. This news coverage obscures an important fact about

public opinion on abortion: The public largely supports abortions that occur under certain circumstances, while it

is divided over abortions that occur under other circumstances. On some types of abortions, then, there is a strong

public consensus in a favor of abortion, while on other types of abortions there is much disagreement.

The circumstances for which the public largely supports abortions are those where the physical health of the

mother is at stake, where the pregnancy resulted from a rape or act of incest, or where the baby is likely to have a

serious defect. The circumstances for which the public is divided on abortion are those where a woman wants an

abortion for any other reason, including her wish not to have any more children.

We see evidence of these two patterns of abortion opinion in data from the GSS. The GSS regularly asks a series

of questions that begin with the following statement: “Please tell me whether or not you think it should be possible

for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if…” After this initial statement, the question lists a circumstance

or reason for an abortion. These scenarios are as follows: (a) The woman’s own health is seriously endangered by

the pregnancy; (b) she became pregnant as a result of rape; (c) there is a strong chance of serious defect in the

baby; (d) she is married and does not want any more children; (e) the family has a very low income and cannot

afford any more children; (f) she is not married and does not want to marry the man; and (g) the woman wants it

for any reason.

As Figure 9.9 “Support for Legal Abortion (Percentage Saying a Woman Should Be Able to Obtain a Legal

Abortion for Each Circumstance)” shows, strong majorities of the public support a legal abortion for the first three

scenarios: the women’s health is endangered, the pregnancy resulted from a rape; or the baby is likely to have

a serious defect. On the other hand, only 40–50 percent of the public support a legal abortion for the remaining

scenarios: a married woman does not want more children, the family cannot afford more children, an unmarried

woman does not want to marry; or a woman wants an abortion for any reason.

Figure 9.9 Support for Legal Abortion (Percentage Saying a Woman Should Be Able to Obtain a Legal Abortion for Each Circumstance)

9.3 Abortion 397

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Correlates of Public Views

398 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/26426c13cd2c59499c9587a0a2571e06.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.3.2.jpg

Although the Catholic Church is a leading opponent of legal abortions, Catholics are not more likely than Protestants to oppose legal

abortion.

Matthew Paulson – Sacred Heart Catholic Church – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Reflecting the sociological principle that our social backgrounds influence our attitudes and behaviors, several

aspects of people’s social backgrounds are associated with their views on abortion. We can illustrate this by using

the GSS question that asks whether respondents support a legal abortion “for any reason.” In the entire GSS

sample, about 43 percent support legal abortion for any reason; using a common term for people who favor legal

abortion, they are entirely pro-choice.

You have probably heard many times that people who are religious tend to oppose abortion rights much more

than people who are less religious. Using the GSS “for any reason” item, we would thus expect that very religious

people would be much less likely than other people to favor abortion for any reason. Figure 9.10 “Self-Rated

Religiosity and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)” shows this is indeed the case. People who say

they are not religious are almost four times more likely than those who are very religious to support a legal

abortion for any reason.

Figure 9.10 Self-Rated Religiosity and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

You have probably also heard many times that the Catholic Church is a leading opponent of legal abortion. Does

this mean that Catholics themselves are less likely than Protestants to support legal abortion for any reason? The

answer to this question is no: Figure 9.11 “Religious Preference and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason

(%)” shows that Catholics and Protestants are about equally likely to favor legal abortion for any reason, with

Jews and people with no religious preference about twice as likely to favor it.

Figure 9.11 Religious Preference and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)

9.3 Abortion 399

https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewpaulson/5802355139/

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/3a7c4e9a32d12351a1853ccb5fff3ca9.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/fbcfb38054182d4a3f3c059c51269eeb.jpg

Source: Data from General Social Surveys. (2008–2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

It might make sense to think that women are more likely than men to favor legal abortion. However, there is no

gender difference in this regard. As Figure 9.12 “Gender and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)”

shows, women are in fact slightly less likely than men to favor legal abortion, although the difference shown in

the figure is too small to be statistically significant.

Figure 9.12 Gender and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Three other aspects of our social backgrounds are rather strongly associated with abortion views: education, our

political views, and region of country. People with college degrees are much more likely than those with lower

education levels to support legal abortion for any reason (Figure 9.13 “Education and Support for Legal Abortion

for Any Reason (%)”); liberals are twice as likely as conservatives to favor legal abortion (Figure 9.14 “Self-

Described Political Views and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)”); and people in the Northeast and

West are more likely to favor legal abortion than people in the South and Midwest.

Figure 9.13 Education and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)

400 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/b9886e5f01d5080e6a6a701e26bf6d4d.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/190fbe2a57bc4be78af9ee63b682be00.jpg

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Figure 9.14 Self-Described Political Views and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Figure 9.15 Region and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

9.3 Abortion 401

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/508a5f834e4a2360a6b5940b2c9eb57f.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/42b1e0162df635b2442a7b4784ee6237.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.3.1.jpg

Reducing Abortions and Making Them Safe

No one likes abortions. Abortion rights opponents liken them to murder, and abortion rights proponents are

certainly not gleeful when abortions occur. Rather, they recognize that abortions will occur whether they are legal

or illegal, and they think that legal abortion protects women from the dangers of illegal abortions and recognizes

women’s right to control their own bodies. As President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have

summarized the view of abortion rights proponents in various speeches during the past two decades, abortion

should be safe, legal, and rare.

Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs”’s discussion of illegal drugs emphasized that “what’s past is prologue”:

Because drugs have been used since prehistoric times, it is no surprise that illegal drug use remains common today

even despite possible arrest and punishment. The long history of abortion suggests that “what’s past is prologue”

is again a relevant theme for this particular behavior. Since the beginning of recorded history, women have tried

to end their pregnancies. Whatever we might think of abortion, the fact remains that many women will continue

to try to end their pregnancies whether abortion is legal or whether it is illegal. As with teenage pregnancy and

the use of illegal drugs, a harm reduction approach to abortion again makes sense in view of this basic fact, as we

shall now explain.

Around the world, the rate of abortion is generally unrelated to whether it is legal or illegal. Laws against

abortions thus do not reduce abortions, but they do cause another very serious problem (Barot, 2011). When

abortion is illegal, women either must have an abortion from an unskilled provider in unhygienic conditions, or

they may try to induce their own abortion by inserting an object into their uterus or by ingesting a toxic substance.

Not surprisingly, all these illegal abortions are very risky and can lead to many complications, including severe

bleeding, serious infection, or organ damage, any of which can be fatal. Unsafe abortion around the world is

one of the top three reasons for maternal mortality, along with childbirth-related infection and hemorrhaging. For

abortion to be safe, then, it must be legal. Making abortion illegal does not make abortions disappear, but it does

make them dangerous.

Both sides of the abortion debate want to see abortions reduced. How then can this goal be achieved? The most

promising strategy is to reduce unintended pregnancies, as discussed in the previous section on teenage pregnancy,

through the consistent use of effective contraception. The reason for this strategy is simple: Almost all abortions

result from unintended pregnancies, and if we can reduce unintended pregnancies, we will reduce the number

of abortions. As the Guttmacher Institute (Barot, 2011, p. 24) explains, “Extensive research shows that behind

almost every abortion is an unintended pregnancy, and the most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy is

through correct and consistent use of contraceptives.”

Ironically, the religious opponents and politically conservative opponents of abortion also tend to be opposed to

sex education that emphasizes safe sex and, as well, to providing contraceptives at no cost or low cost to sexually

active teenagers and young adults. During the past few years, many state governments led by conservative

governors and/or state legislatures have reduced or eliminated funding for Planned Parenthood and other family

planning agencies whose clients are largely low-income women (Pollitt, 2011; Tan, 2011).

These funding cuts and other efforts to reduce contraceptive counseling and provision have two consequences.

First, they help ensure that many more unwanted babies are born, at a cost of roughly $10,000 in medical delivery

402 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

costs for each baby and thousands of dollars more in the societal problems (discussed in the teenage pregnancy

section) associated with unwanted births to poor mothers. In 2011, Texas reduced family planning funds by $73

million annually, despite estimates that this reduction would result in 20,000 additional births annually that would

involve $200 million in medical delivery costs.

Efforts to reduce contraceptive counseling and the use of contraceptives help increase the number of unplanned pregnancies and, in

turn, the number of abortions.

anqa – contraceptive pills – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Second, these efforts also help ensure that more unintended pregnancies and thus more abortions will occur. If,

as the Guttmacher Institute reminds us, almost all abortions result from unintended pregnancies, then any efforts

by political and religious forces that make it less likely that sexually active people use contraception ironically

help increase the number of abortions. Because abortion opponents want to reduce abortions, they should favor

additional funding for family planning agencies and for other efforts that increase contraceptive use.

A few numbers indicate the seriousness of the problem. The federal program that funds family planning centers

is Title X of the Public Health Services Act. Centers funded by Title X provide contraceptive services and other

services to about 4.7 million women annually. The Guttmacher Institute (2011) estimates that these services help

prevent 973,000 unintended pregnancies. These pregnancies would have resulted in 433,000 unplanned births and

406,000 abortions. If efforts that have been attempted in Congress to reduce or eliminate Title X funding succeed,

these pregnancies and abortions would occur.

Beyond these considerations, it is also important that public funds be available to pay for abortions by low-income

women. As noted earlier, Medicaid funding cannot be used for abortions that are not meant to protect the mother’s

health or to end a pregnancy from rape or incest, and about two-thirds of the states have eliminated state funding

9.3 Abortion 403

https://www.flickr.com/photos/anqa/763119307/

for these abortions. Because only a small proportion of women are poor enough to be covered by Medicaid,

restoring Medicaid coverage for all abortions would increase the number of abortions by only 2.5 percent (Gold,

2010).

Although people on both sides of the abortion debate have sincere, strongly held views, a dispassionate analysis

based on the discussion in this section leads to the following conclusions. First, if we want abortions to be rare,

efforts to promote safe sex and the consistent use of effective contraception must be applauded and funded, not

condemned and unfunded. Second, abortions will occur whether or not they are legal; recognizing this fact, if we

want abortions to be safe, they must be legal, and restrictions on access to them should be removed.

Key Takeaways

• Abortion continues to be one of the most controversial issues in the United States. Many states have implemented laws and policies that make it difficult to obtain abortions.

• Several aspects of our social backgrounds predict views on legal abortion. In particular, religiosity is associated with opposition to legal abortion, while education is associated with approval of legal abortion.

• To reduce the number of abortions, it is necessary to reduce unwanted pregnancies. To ensure that abortions will be safe, they must be legal.

For Your Review

1. Do you favor or oppose legal abortion? Does your answer depend on the reasons for which a woman desires an abortion? Write an essay in which you explain your answer.

2. A major principle of sociology is that social backgrounds influence attitudes and behavior. Write an essay in which you illustrate this principle with regard to attitudes about abortion.

References

Barot, S. (2011). Unsafe abortion: The missing link in global efforts to improve maternal health. Guttmacher

Policy Review, 14(2), 24–28.

Bullough, V. L., & Bullough, B. (1977). Sin, sickness, and sanity: A history of sexual attitudes. New York, NY:

New American Library.

Chamlin, M. B., Myer, A. J., & Sanders, B. A. (2008). Abortion as crime control: A cautionary tale. Criminal

Justice Policy Review, 19(2), 135–152.

Cohen, S. A. (2009). Facts and consequences: Legality, incidence and safety of abortion worldwide. Guttmacher

Policy Review, 12(4), 2–6.

404 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Donohue, J. J., & Levitt, S. D. (2001). The impact of legalized abortion on crime. Quarterly Journal of

Economics, 116, 379–420.

Gold, R. B. (2010). Insurance coverage and abortion incidence: Information and misinformation. Guttmacher

Policy Review, 13(4), 7–10.

Guttmacher Institute. (2012). An overview of abortion laws. Retrieved on March 31, 2012 at

http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_OAL.pdf.

Guttmacher Institute. (2011). Title X-supported family planning services nationally and in each state. Retrieved

November 4, 2011, from http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2011/02/16/index.html.

Jones, R. K., & Kooistra, K. (2011). Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008.

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 43, 41–50.

Kahane, L. H., Paton, D., & Simmons, R. (2008). The abortion-crime link: Evidence from England and Wales.

Economica, 75(1), 1–21.

Pollitt, K. (2011, October 5). Ban birth control? They wouldn’t dare… The Nation. Retrieved from

http://www.thenation.com/article/163808/ban-birth-control-they-wouldnt-dare?rel=emailNation.

Tan, T. (2011, October 16). Planned Parenthood struggles after state budget cuts. New York Times, p. A29.

9.3 Abortion 405

http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_OAL.pdf

http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2011/02/16/index.html

http://www.thenation.com/article/163808/ban-birth-control-they-wouldnt-dare?rel=emailNation

9.4 Prostitution

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the history of prostitution in the United States.

2. List the reasons that lead many people to dislike prostitution.

3. Explain the problems that streetwalkers experience and why these problems occur.

Prostitution, the selling of sexual services, is yet another controversial sexual behavior. Many people, and

especially those with conservative, religious views, believe prostitution is immoral because it involves sex for

money, and they consider prostitution a sign of society’s moral decay. Many feminists believe that prostitution

is degrading to women and provides a context in which prostitutes are robbed, beaten, and/or raped. These two

groups of people might agree on little else, but they both hold strong negative views about prostitution. Regardless

of their other beliefs, many people also worry that prostitution spreads STDs. All these groups think prostitution

should remain illegal, and they generally prefer stricter enforcement of laws against prostitution.

Other people also do not like prostitution, but they believe that the laws against prostitution do more harm than

good. They think that legalizing prostitution would reduce the various harms prostitution causes, and they believe

that views about the immorality of prostitution should not prevent our society from dealing more wisely with it

than it does now.

This section presents a short history of prostitution before turning to the various types of prostitution, reasons

for prostitution, and policy issues about how best to deal with this particular sexual behavior. Because most

prostitution involves female prostitutes and male customers, our discussion will largely focus on this form.

History of Prostitution

Often called the world’s oldest profession, prostitution has been common since ancient times (Ringdal, 2004).

In ancient Mesopotamia, priests had sex with prostitutes. Ancient Greece featured legal brothels (houses of

prostitution) that serviced political leaders and common men alike. Prostitution was also common in ancient

Rome, and in the Old Testament it was “accepted as a more or less necessary fact of life and it was more or less

expected that many men would turn to prostitutes” (Bullough & Bullough, 1977, pp. 137–138). During the Middle

Ages and through the nineteenth century, prostitution was tolerated as a necessary evil, as legal brothels operated

in much of Europe and were an important source of tax revenue. As the dangers of venereal disease became

known, some cities shut down their brothels, but other cities required regular medical exams of their brothels’

prostitutes.

Prostitution was also common in the United States through the nineteenth century (Bullough & Bullough, 1987).

Poor women became prostitutes because it provided a source of income at a time when they had few other options

for jobs. Some prostitutes worked for themselves on streets and in hotels and other establishments, and other

prostitutes worked in legal brothels in many US cities. During the Civil War, prostitutes found many customers

among the soldiers of the Union and the Confederacy; the term hooker for prostitute comes from their relations

with soldiers commanded by Union general Joseph Hooker. After the Civil War, camps of prostitutes would set up

at railroad construction sites. When the railroad workers would visit the camps at night, they hung their red signal

lamps outside the prostitutes’ tents so they could be found if there was a railroad emergency. The term “red-light

district” for a prostitution area originated in the red glow that resulted from this practice.

Many US cities had legal brothels into the early 1900s. Beginning in about 1910, however, religious groups and

other parties increasingly spoke out about the immorality of prostitution, and in addition claimed that middle-class

girls were increasingly becoming prostitutes. Their efforts succeeded in shutting down legal brothels nationwide.

Some illegal brothels continued, and among their number was a San Francisco brothel run during the 1940s by

a madam (brothel manager and/or owner) named Sally Stanford. Her clientele included many leading politicians

and businessmen of San Francisco and nearby areas. Like other earlier brothels, Stanford’s brothel required

regular medical exams of her employees to help prevent the spread of venereal diseases (Stanford, 1966). Despite

or perhaps because of her fame from being a madam, Stanford was later elected mayor of Sausalito, a town across

the bay from San Francisco.

Prostitution in the United States Today

Estimates of the number of prostitutes in the United States range widely between 70,000 and 500,000. Streetwalkers comprise about

one-fifth of all prostitutes.

Eric Parker – Prostitute 3 am – CC BY-NC 2.0.

9.4 Prostitution 407

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.4.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericparker/5774333720/

No one really knows how many prostitutes we now have. Prostitutes are not eager to be studied, and because

their work is illegal, the federal government does not compile statistics on their numbers as it does for physicians,

plumbers, teachers, and hundreds of other legal occupations. One well-analyzed estimate put the number of female

prostitutes at 70,000 and further concluded that they engage in an average of 700 acts of prostitution with male

customers annually, or almost 50 million acts of prostitution overall each year (Brewer et al., 2000). However,

other estimates put the number of prostitutes as high as 500,000, with many of these prostitutes working part-time,

whether or not they also work in a legal occupation (Clinard & Meier, 2011).

Regardless of the actual number, prostitution is very common. The GSS asks, “Thinking about the time since your

18th birthday, have you ever had sex with a person you paid or who paid you for sex?” In 2010, 11.9 percent of

men and 1.7 percent of women answered “yes” to this question. These figures translate to about 13.5 million men

18 and older who have engaged in prostitution, usually as the customer, and 2.1 million women.

In 2010, police and other law enforcement agents made almost 63,000 arrests for prostitution and commercialized

vice (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011). Most of these arrests were of prostitutes, but some were of

customers. Women accounted for almost 69 percent of the arrests in this entire category.

Types of Prostitutes

Several types of prostitutes exist. At the bottom of the prostitution “hierarchy” are streetwalkers (also called street

prostitutes), who typically find their customers, or are found by their customers, somewhere on a street. They

then have a quick act of sex in the customer’s car, in an alleyway or other secluded spot, or in a cheap hotel.

Although streetwalkers are the subjects in most studies of prostitutes, they in fact compose only about one-fifth of

all prostitutes (Weitzer, 2012).

The remaining 80 percent of prostitutes generally work indoors. Call girls work as independent operators in their

homes or fairly fancy hotels and charge a lot of money for their services, which include sex but also talking and

dining. Their clients are typically businessmen or other wealthy individuals. Many call girls earn between $200

and $500 per hour, and some earn between $1,000 and $6,000 per hour or per session (Weitzer, 2009). Escorts

work for escort agencies, which often advertise heavily in phone books and on the Internet. They may operate

out of an apartment rented by their agency or come to a client’s hotel room or other location. Although they may

actually act as an escort to a dinner or show, typically their services include sexual acts. They, too, are generally

well paid for their work, but do not earn nearly as much as call girls because they have to give at least 30 percent

of their earnings to their agency.

Call girls and escorts rank at the top of the prostitution hierarchy (Weitzer, 2009). Below them, but above

streetwalkers, are three other types of prostitutes. Brothel workers, as the name implies, are prostitutes who work

in brothels. The only legal brothels in the United States today are found in several rural counties in Nevada,

which legalized prostitution in these counties in 1971. Workers in these brothels pay income tax. Because their

employers require regular health exams and condom use, the risk of sexually transmitted disease in Nevada’s

brothels is low. Massage parlor workers, as their name also implies, work in massage parlors. Many massage

parlors, of course, involve no prostitution at all, and are entirely legal. However, some massage parlors are in fact

fronts for prostitution, where the prostitute masturbates a man and brings him to what is often termed a “happy

408 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

ending.” A final category of prostitution involves prostitutes who work in bars, casinos, or similar establishments

(bar or casino workers). They make contact with a customer in these settings and then have sex with them

elsewhere.

The lives and welfare of streetwalkers are much worse than those of the five types of indoor workers just listed.

As sociologist Ronald Weitzer (2012, p. 212) observes, “Many of the problems associated with ‘prostitution’

are actually concentrated in street prostitution and much less evident in the indoor sector.” In particular, many

streetwalkers are exploited or abused by pimps, use heroin or other drugs, and are raped, robbed, and/or beaten by

their clients. A good number of streetwalkers also began their prostitution careers as runaway teenagers and were

abused as children.

In contrast, indoor workers begin their trade when they were older and are less likely to have been abused as

children. Their working conditions are much better than those for streetwalkers, they are less likely to be addicted

to drugs and to have STDs, they are better paid, and they are much less likely to be victimized by their clients.

Studies that compare indoor prostitutes with nonprostitutes find that they have similar levels of self-esteem,

physical health, and mental health. Many indoor prostitutes even report a rise in self-esteem after they begin their

indoor work (Weitzer, 2012).

Explaining Prostitution

By definition, prostitution involves the selling of sex. This means that money is the key feature of prostitution.

As such, money is also the major motivation for women who become prostitutes, as most of them come from

low-income backgrounds. For indoor workers, and especially call girls, prostitution is a potentially well-paying

occupation. Streetwalkers hardly get rich from prostitution and suffer the many problems listed earlier, but

prostitution still provides them a source of income that they are unlikely to receive through legal occupations

because they have few marketable job skills.

Despite this financial motivation, most women do not become prostitutes, and scholars have tried to understand

why some women do so. Because prostitutes are not eager to be studied, as noted earlier, we do not yet have

studies of random samples of prostitutes, and probably never will have such studies. As also noted earlier, most

studies of prostitutes involve streetwalkers, even though they compose only about 20 percent of all prostitutes.

Several of these studies cite high rates of child abuse in the backgrounds of streetwalkers, but other studies find

that their rates of child abuse are similar to those of women from similar sociodemographic backgrounds who are

not prostitutes (Weitzer, 2009). Although some studies find certain psychological problems among streetwalkers,

it is unclear whether these problems existed before they became streetwalkers or developed (as is very possible)

after they became streetwalkers. Methodologically, the best way to clarify this causal question would be to

randomly assign young women to become prostitutes or not to become prostitutes, and then to study what happens

to their psychological health afterward. For many reasons, this type of study would be highly unethical and will

never be done. In the absence of studies of this type, it is difficult to determine what exactly prompts some women

to become prostitutes.

9.4 Prostitution 409

Customers of prostitutes tend to come from the same kinds of social backgrounds as do noncustomers. They have certain motivations

for wanting to be with a prostitute, but many noncustomers have the same motivations yet still do not pay for prostitution.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 2.5.

Customers

There is an old saying that “it takes two to tango.” Prostitution obviously cannot occur unless a customer wants

to pay for the services of a prostitute. Despite this essential fact of prostitution, there are very few studies of why

men choose to become customers. The implicit message from this lack of studies is that it is normal for men to

have sex with a prostitute but abnormal for women to charge these men for this sex. The few studies we do have

do not find any substantial differences between customers and noncustomers (Weitzer, 2009). Just as men come

from various social backgrounds, so do the men who choose to have sex with a prostitute.

Customers do have certain motivations for choosing to pay for prostitution (Weitzer, 2009). These motivations

include (1) the desire to have sex with someone with a certain physical appearance (age, race, body type); (2) the

lack of a sexual partner or dissatisfaction with a sexual partner, including a desire to have unconventional sex that

the partner does not share; (3) the thrill of having sex with a prostitute; and (4) the desire to have sex without

having to make an emotional commitment. Although one or more of these motivations may be necessary for a

man’s decision to seek prostitution, they do not entirely explain this decision. For example, many men may not

have a sexual partner or may be dissatisfied with a partner they do have, but they still do not decide to pay for a

prostitute.

410 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/9.4.1.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_customer_of_a_prostitute._Photo_taken_in_the_brothel_Erotikakademie,_Berlin_2001.jpg

Sociological Perspectives

Beyond explaining why individual women and men are more likely than others to pay for sex or to receive pay

for sex, the three sociological perspectives outlined in Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”—functionalist

theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism—offer more general insights on prostitution. Table 9.5

“Theory Snapshot” provides a summary of these insights.

Table 9.5 Theory Snapshot

Theoretical perspective

Contributions to understanding prostitution

Functionalism

Prostitution is functional for several parties in society. It provides prostitutes a source of income, and it provides a sexual alternative for men who lack a sexual partner or are dissatisfied with their current sexual partner. According to Kingsley Davis, prostitution also helps keep the divorce rate lower than it would be if prostitution did not exist.

Conflict theory

Prostitution arises from women’s poverty in a patriarchal society. It also reflects the continuing cultural treatment of women as sex objects who exist for men’s pleasure.

Symbolic interactionism

Prostitutes and their customers have various understandings of their behavior that help them justify why they engage in this behavior. Many prostitutes believe they are performing an important service for their customers, and this belief is perhaps more common among indoor prostitutes than among street prostitutes.

According to functionalist theory, prostitution exists because it serves several important functions for society

generally and for certain people in society. As we have already mentioned, it provides a source of income for

many women who otherwise might be jobless, and it provides a sexual alternative for men with the motivations

listed earlier. Almost eight decades ago, sociologist Kingsley Davis (1937) wrote that prostitution even lowers

the divorce rate. He reasoned that many married men are unhappy with their sex life with their wives. If they

do not think this situation can improve, some men start an affair with another woman and may fall in love with

that woman, threatening these men’s marriages. Other men turn to a prostitute. Because prostitution is generally

impersonal, these men do not fall in love with their prostitutes, and their marriages are not threatened. Without

prostitution, then, more men would have affairs, and more divorces would result. Although Davis’s hypothesis is

provocative, there are no adequate studies to test it.

According to conflict theory, prostitution reflects the economic inequality in society. Many poor women feel

compelled to become prostitutes because of their lack of money; because wealthier women have many other

sources of income, the idea of becoming a prostitute is something they never have to consider. Sad but interesting

historical support for this view comes from an increase in prostitution in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Many women lost husbands and boyfriends in the war and were left penniless. Lacking formal education and

living in a society that at the time offered few job opportunities to women, many of these bereaved women were

forced to turn to prostitution to feed their families and themselves. As American cities grew rapidly during the

last decades of the nineteenth century, thousands of immigrant women and other poor women also turned to

prostitution as a needed source of income (Rosen, 1983). This late nineteenth-century increase in prostitution,

then, occurred because of women’s poverty.

According to the feminist version of conflict theory, prostitution results not only from women’s poverty but also

9.4 Prostitution 411

from society’s patriarchal culture that still views men as the dominant figure in heterosexual relationships and that

still treats women as “sex objects” who exist for men’s pleasure (Barry, 1996). In such a culture, it is no surprise

and even inevitable that men will want to pay for sex with a woman and that women will be willing to be paid for

sex. In this feminist view, the oppression and exploitation that prostitution inherently involves reflects the more

general oppression and exploitation of women in the larger society.

Symbolic interactionism moves away from these larger issues to examine the everyday understandings that

prostitutes and their customers have about their behavior. These understandings help both prostitutes and

customers justify their behavior. Many prostitutes, for example, believe they are performing an important service

for the men who pay them. Indoor prostitutes are perhaps especially likely to feel they are helping their customers

by providing them not only sex but also companionship (Weitzer, 2009). A woman who owned a massage parlor

named “The Classic Touch” echoed this view. Her business employed fourteen women who masturbated their

customers and offered a senior citizen discount. The owner reasoned that her employees were performing an

important service: “We have many senior citizens and handicapped people. We have some men who are impotent

and others who are divorced or in bad marriages. This is a safe, AIDS-free environment…that helps marriages.

Husbands come in here and get a stress release and then they are able to go home and take on more. These are

men who aren’t in bars picking up strange women” (Ordway, 1995, p. 1).

Dealing with Prostitution

With prostitution, past is once again prologue. It has existed since ancient times, and it has continued throughout

the United States long since prostitution was banned by the United States in 1920. The legal brothels that now

exist in rural counties in Nevada are the exception in this nation, not the rule. Yet prostitution is common outside

of Nevada, and thousands of arrests occur nationwide for it.

As with illegal drugs (see Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs”), as we think about how to deal with prostitution,

we should consider both a philosophical question and a social science question (Meier & Geis, 2007). The

philosophical question is whether two people should be allowed to engage in a behavior, in this case prostitution,

in which both want to participate. Many people may dislike this behavior for various reasons, but is that sufficient

justification for the behavior to be banned if both people (let’s assume they are legal adults) want to engage in

it? In this regard, and without at all meaning to equate prostitution with same-sex sexual behavior, an analogy

with homosexuality is worth considering. Homosexual sex used to be illegal because many people thought it

was immoral. When the US Supreme Court finally invalidated all laws against homosexual sex in its 2003 case,

Lawrence v. Texas, the majority opinion declared that “the fact that a State’s governing majority has traditionally

viewed a particular practice as immoral is not a sufficient reason for upholding a law prohibiting the practice.”

It further asserted, “The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their

existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the

Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government.”

Although the majority opinion specifically said its decision did not apply to prostitution, a reasonable argument

may be made that respect for privacy of consensual sexual conduct also means that prostitution, too, should be

legal.

Here it may be argued that prostitution still victimizes and objectifies women even if they want to engage in

412 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

it. This is a reasonable argument, but there are many occupations that victimize employees, either because the

occupations are dangerous (such as coal mining and construction work) or because the job requirements objectify

women as sex objects (such as fashion modeling and cheerleading). Because hardly anyone would say these

occupations should be illegal, is it logical to say that prostitution should be illegal? Former US Surgeon General

Joycelyn Elders thinks it makes no sense to ban prostitution simply because it objectifies women: “Why are we

so upset about sex workers selling sexual acts to consenting adults?” she asks. “We say that they are selling their

bodies, but how different is that from what athletes do? They’re selling their bodies. Models? They’re selling their

bodies. Actors? They’re selling their bodies” (McCaslin, 1999, p. A8).

The social science question concerning laws against prostitution is whether these laws do more good than harm, or

more harm than good. If they do more good than harm, they should be maintained and even strengthened; if they

do more harm than good, they should be repealed. A growing number of scholars believe that the laws against

prostitution do more harm than good, and they say that the best way to deal with prostitution might be to legalize

and regulate it (Weitzer, 2011).

Proponents of legalization argue as follows. Although many people cite the horrible lives of many streetwalkers

as a major reason for their support of laws against prostitution, these laws ironically cause the problems that

streetwalkers experience (Weitzer, 2011). When US prostitution was legal a century ago in brothels across the

nation, brothel prostitutes were safer than streetwalkers are now. Prostitutes working today in Nevada’s legal

brothels are safer than streetwalkers. Whatever we might think of their behavior, legal brothel workers are

relatively safe from being robbed, beaten, or raped, and their required regular medical exams leave them relatively

free of sexually transmitted disease. The health problems and criminal victimization that many streetwalkers

experience happen because their behavior is illegal, and legalizing and regulating prostitution would reduce these

problems (Weitzer, 2011).

In this regard, legalization of prostitution is yet another harm reduction approach to a social problem. As Weitzer

(2012, p. 227) observes, “Research suggests that, under the right conditions, legal prostitution can be organized

in a way that increases workers’ health, safety, and job satisfaction. Mandatory condom use and other safe-sex

practices are typical in legal brothels, and the workers face much lower risk of abuse from customers.”

Legalization of prostitution would also yield a considerable amount of tax revenue, as is now true in Nevada. Let’s

assume that 50 million acts of prostitution occur annually in the United States, to cite our earlier estimate that

is probably too low, and that each of these acts costs an average $30. Putting these numbers together, prostitutes

receive $1.5 billion annually in income. If they paid about one-third of this amount (admittedly a rough estimate)

in payroll taxes, the revenue of state and federal governments would increase by $500 million. Because the tens of

thousands of arrests for prostitution and commercialized vice annually would reduce significantly if prostitution

were legalized, the considerable financial savings from this reduction could be used for other pursuits.

Legalizing prostitution would add the United States to the lengthy list of other Western democracies that have

already legalized it. Although their models of legalization vary, the available evidence indicates that legalizing

prostitution does, in fact, reduce the many problems now associated with illegal prostitution (see Note 9.25

“Lessons from Other Societies”).

9.4 Prostitution 413

Workers in legal brothels are relatively safe from victimization by customers and from the risk of incurring and transmitting sexual

diseases.

Wikimedia Commons – public domain.

Lessons from Other Societies

Legal Brothels in Other Western Democracies

In many other Western democracies, prostitution is legal to varying degrees that depend on the specific nation. In some nations, streetwalking is permitted, but in other nations, only brothels are permitted.

The legal brothel model is what the United States had a century ago and has today only in rural Nevada. As in Nevada, other nations that permit legal brothels usually require regular health exams and the use of condoms to prevent the transmission of sexual diseases. They also license the brothels so that the brothels must fulfill various standards, including the safe-sex practices just mentioned, to receive a license. In addition, brothels must pay taxes on their revenues, and brothel workers must pay taxes on their incomes.

As in rural Nevada, brothel workers in these other nations are unlikely to be abused by their customers. A major reason for their relative safety is that they work indoors and that any abuse by customers might be heard or witnessed by someone else inside the brothel. In addition, brothels in many nations have implemented certain measures to ensure workers’ safety, including the provision of panic buttons, the use of listening devices, and screening of customers when they enter the brothel.

A report by the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands, where legal brothels operate, has concluded that most brothel workers say that they feel safe. A government report in New Zealand, which legalized prostitution in 2003, concluded that legalization made it more likely that prostitutes report any problems to the police and also increased their self- esteem because their behavior was now legal. A government commission in Australia that evaluated legal brothels in the northeastern state of Queensland concluded, “There is no doubt that licensed brothels provide the safest working environment for sex workers in Queensland…Legal brothels now powering in Queensland provide a sustainable model for a healthy, crime-free, and safe legal licensed brothel industry.”

Assessing all these nations’ experiences, sociologist Ronald Weitzer concluded that “legal prostitution, while no panacea,

414 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/d9ab85a317a3b432cfbc888849239e3e.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inez%27s.JPG

is not inherently dangerous and can be structured to minimize risks and empower workers.” The United States, then, has much to learn from the other Western democracies that have legalized prostitution.

Sources: Weitzer, 2009, 2012

Key Takeaways

• Prostitution has existed since ancient times and continues to be common today around the world. The United States had legal brothels before 1920, and legal brothels are found today in rural counties in Nevada.

• Many people oppose prostitution because they feel it is immoral or because they feel it degrades and victimizes women. Because prostitution usually involves consensual behavior, some scholars say it should not be illegal in a society that values a right to privacy.

• Some scholars also say that laws against prostitution do more harm than good and in particular account for the various problems that streetwalkers experience.

For Your Review

1. Do you think prostitution should become legal and regulated? Why or why not?

2. The major difference between prostitution and sex resulting from a casual pickup involves whether money is exchanged. Write an essay in which you first take the “pro” side on the following debate question, and then take the “con” side: that prostitution is worse than sex from a casual pickup.

References

Barry, K. (1996). The prostitution of sexuality. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Brewer, D. D., Potterat, J. J., Garrett, S. B., Muth, S. Q., John M. Roberts, J., Kasprzyk, D., et al. (2000).

Prostitution and the sex discrepancy in reported number of sexual partners. Proceedings of the National Academy

of Sciences, 97, 12385–12388.

Bullough, V. L., & Bullough, B. (1977). Sin, sickness, and sanity: A history of sexual attitudes. New York, NY:

New American Library.

Bullough, V. L., & Bullough, B. (1987). Women and prostitution: A social history. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.

Clinard, M. B., & Meier, R. F. (2011). Sociology of deviant behavior (14th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace.

Davis, K. (1937). The sociology of prostitution. American Sociological Review, 2, 744–755.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States, 2010. Washington, DC: Author.

9.4 Prostitution 415

McCaslin, J. (1999, October 13). Vaginal politics. Washington Times, p. A8.

Meier, R. F., & Geis, G. (2007). Criminal justice and moral issues. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Ordway, R. (1995, May 26). Relaxation spas perplex officials. The Bangor Daily News, p. 1.

Ringdal, N. J. (2004). Love for sale: A world history of prostitution (R. Daly, Trans.). New York, NY: Grove Press.

Rosen, R. (1983). The lost sisterhood: Prostitution in America, 1900–1918. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins

Univesity Press.

Stanford, S. (1966). The lady of the house. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam.

Weitzer, R. (2009). Sociology of sex work. Annual Review of Sociology, 35(0360-0572, 0360-0572), 213–234.

Weitzer, R. (2011). Legalizing prostitution: From illicit vice to lawful business. New York, NY: New York

University Press.

Weitzer, R. (2012). Prostitution: Facts and fictions. In D. Hartmann & C. Uggen (Eds.), The Contexts reader (pp.

223–230). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

416 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

9.5 Pornography

Learning Objectives

1. Explain why pornography is difficult to define.

2. Describe evidence indicating that pornography is popular.

3. Discuss whether pornography contributes to violence against women.

Pornography may be defined as printed or visual materials that are sexually explicit and that are intended to arouse

sexual excitement rather than artistic appreciation. This definition is fine as far as it goes, but it does raise many

questions that underscore the difficulty of dealing with prostitution. For example, how “explicit” must a printed

or visual material be for it to be explicit? Is a picture of a woman in a skimpy negligee explicit, or must she be

fully unclothed? If a woman in a photo is wearing an evening gown that is very low-cut, is that explicit? If a

young male gets aroused by seeing her cleavage, does that make the photo of her pornographic? If two people

on network television are obviously beginning to have consensual sex just before a commercial begins (this is

network television, after all), is that explicit and arousing enough to constitute pornography? If you answered

no to this last question, what if some viewers did find this short portrayal of consensual sex to be explicit and

arousing? Is their reaction enough for us to have to conclude that the scene they saw was indeed pornographic?

How many people in fact have to find a printed or visual material explicit and arousing for it to be considered

pornographic?

These questions suggest that it is not very easy to define pornography after all. Back in the 1950s, young males

in the United States would leaf through National Geographic magazine to peek at photos of native women who

were partially nude. Those photos, of course, were not put there to excite boys across the country; instead they

were there simply to depict native people in their natural habitat. Another magazine began about the same time

that also contained photos of nude women. Its name was Playboy, and its photos obviously had a much different

purpose: to excite teenage boys and older men alike. Other, more graphic magazines grew in its wake, and today

television shows and PG-13 and R-rated movies show more nudity and sex than were ever imaginable in the days

when National Geographic was a boy’s secret pleasure. Beyond these movies and television shows, a powerful

pornography industry now exists on the Internet, in porn stores, and elsewhere. Although Playboy quickly became

very controversial, it is considered tame compared to what else is now available.

If things as different as National Geographic, Playboy, R-rated movies, and hard-core pornography show nudity

and can be sexually arousing, what, then, should be considered pornography? Are at least some of the tamer

pictures in Playboy really that different from the great paintings in art history that depict nude women? This

question is not necessarily meant to defend Playboy; rather, it is meant to have you think about what exactly is

and is not pornography and what, if anything, our society can and should do about it.

However we define pornography, sexually explicit materials, along with drugs, prostitution, and abortion, have

been common since ancient times (Bullough & Bullough, 1977). Archeologists have uncovered sexually explicit

drawings, pottery, and other artifacts from China, Greece, Japan, Persia, Peru, and other locations; these artifacts

depict sexual organs and sexual behavior. Sexually explicit material appears in much writing left from ancient

Greece and ancient Rome. “Vast quantities of material dealing with sex” (Bullough & Bullough, 1977, p. 161)

remain from medieval Europe. The huge amount of pornography that exists today represents a centuries-old

tradition.

Public Opinion about Pornography

Many people oppose pornography, but two very different groups have been especially outspoken over the years,

as has been true about prostitution. One of these groups consists of religious organizations and individuals who

condemn pornography as a violation of religious values and as an offense to society’s moral order. The other group

consists of feminists who condemn pornography for its sexual objectification of women and especially condemn

the hard-core pornography that glorifies horrible sexual violence against women. Many feminists also charge that

pornography promotes rape by reinforcing the cultural myths discussed earlier. As one writer put it in a famous

phrase some thirty years ago, “Pornography is the theory, and rape the practice” (Morgan, 1980, p. 139).

The GSS asks, “Which of these statements comes closest to your feelings about pornography laws: (1) There

should be laws against the distribution of pornography whatever the age; (2) There should be laws against the

distribution of pornography to persons under 18; or (3) There should be no laws forbidding the distribution of

pornography.” In 2010, about 31 percent of the public thought that pornography should be illegal for everyone,

and 65 percent thought it should be illegal for people under 18; only 4 percent thought there should be no laws

against pornography. Adding the last two percentages together, though, 69 percent thought pornography should

be legal for everyone 18 and older.

Certain aspects of our social backgrounds predict our views about pornography laws. Two of the strongest

predictors are gender and religiosity. Focusing on the percentage who favor laws against pornography regardless

of age, there is a strong gender difference in this view (see Figure 9.16 “Gender and Support for Laws against

Pornography Regardless of Age (%)”), with women more than twice as likely than men to favor these laws.

Religiosity also predicts support for pornography laws regardless of age: People who consider themselves very

religious are five times more likely than those who consider themselves not religious to favor these laws (see

Figure 9.17 “Self-Rated Religiosity and Support for Laws against Pornography Regardless of Age (%)”).

Figure 9.16 Gender and Support for Laws against Pornography Regardless of Age (%)

418 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Figure 9.17 Self-Rated Religiosity and Support for Laws against Pornography Regardless of Age (%)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

The Popularity of Pornography

Pornography is so widespread and easy to access on the Internet and elsewhere that many people must be viewing

it, reading it, and in general “using” it. Various data and estimates for the United States support this assumption

(Diamond, 2009; Family Safe Media, 2011). For example, pornography revenues amount to more than $13 billion

annually (from the sale and rental of adult DVDs, the viewing of pornographic Internet sites, the purchase of

adult videos on cable and in hotel rooms, payments for phone sex, visits in exotic dance clubs, the purchase of

sexually explicit novelties, and subscriptions to and the purchase of sexually explicit magazines). An estimated

12 percent of all websites are pornographic. In addition, about 40 percent of Americans visit pornographic sites

on the Internet at least monthly, and, according to the GSS, one-fourth of Americans, or almost 60 million adults,

have seen an X-rated movie in the past year.

We saw earlier that gender and religiosity predict views about pornography laws. As you might expect, they also

predict X-rated movie viewing. Men are more than twice as likely as women to have seen an X-rated movie in

the past year (see Figure 9.18 “Gender and Viewing of X-Rated Movie in Past Year (Percentage Seeing a Movie

9.5 Pornography 419

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/c38f2431527ee050a3a2cfd9d38284a3.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/1a198504ee4e607f15cccf5d9b32207f.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/57d9b9813808f3dc81ac5793d3801a6b.jpg

at Least Once)”), while very religious people are only about one-third as likely as those who are not religious to

have seen an X-rated movie.

Figure 9.18 Gender and Viewing of X-Rated Movie in Past Year (Percentage Seeing a Movie at Least Once)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Figure 9.19 Self-Rated Religiosity and Viewing of X-Rated Movie in Past Year (Percentage Seeing a Movie at Least Once)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10.

Effects of Pornography

Many feminists and other people oppose pornography because they believe it causes rape or other violence against

women. This belief raises an important question: To what extent does pornography in fact cause such violence?

The fairest answer might be that we do not really know. Many scholars believe pornography does cause violence

against women, but other scholars conclude that pornography does not have this effect and may even help reduce

sexual violence by providing a sexual outlet for men (Diamond, 2009; Weitzer, 2011).

These divergent views reflect the complexity of the evidence from studies of pornography. Many studies do

conclude that pornography causes rape. For example, male students who watch violent pornography in

experiments later exhibit more hostile attitudes toward women than those watching consensual sex or nonsexual

420 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/05/431b983a13169a6a09dfe156655d2138.jpg

http://www.familysafemedia.com/pornography_statistics.html

interaction. However, it remains doubtful that viewing pornography in real life has a longer-term effect that lasts

beyond the laboratory setting, and several experimental studies do not even find any short-term effects. In other

types of research, rape rates have not risen in the US states that have made their pornography laws more lenient,

and states’ rape rates are not related to their circulation rates of pornographic magazines. Further, rape rates have

declined sharply since the early 1990s even though pornography is much more widely available now than back

then thanks to the Internet and other technologies.

A recent review of the research on pornography and rape concluded that pornography does not increase rape

(Ferguson & Hartley, 2009, p. 323):

Evidence for a causal relationship between exposure to pornography and sexual aggression is slim and may, at certain times,

have been exaggerated by politicians, pressure groups and some social scientists. Some of the debate has focused on violent

pornography, but evidence of any negative effects is inconsistent, and violent pornography is comparatively rare in the real

world. Victimization rates for rape in the United States demonstrate an inverse relationship between pornography consumption

and rape rates. Data from other nations have suggested similar relationships…It is concluded that it is time to discard the

hypothesis that pornography contributes to increased sexual assault behavior.

Dealing with Pornography

Whatever pornography is or is not, many people find it disgusting, but many other people are more tolerant of

it. In our discussion of prostitution, we examined the issue of whether it is proper for a democracy to ban a

consensual behavior simply or mostly because many people consider it immoral. The same question may be asked

about pornography (to be more precise, pornography that does not involve children), especially because it does

not appear to cause violence against women. Even if it did cause such violence, efforts to stop it raise important

issues of freedom of speech and censorship. In a free society, civil liberties advocates say, we must proceed very

cautiously. Once we ban some forms of pornography, they ask, where do we stop (Strossen, 2000).

This issue aside, much of what we call pornography still degrades women by depicting them as objects that exist

for men’s sexual pleasure and by portraying them as legitimate targets of men’s sexual violence. These images

should be troubling for any society that values gender equality. The extent of pornography in the United States

may, for better or worse, reflect our historical commitment to freedom of speech, but it may also reflect our lack

of commitment to full equality between women and men. Even if, as we have seen, the survey evidence shows

growing disapproval of traditional gender roles, the persistence of pornography shows that our society has a long

way to go toward viewing women as equally human as men.

Key Takeaways

• Pornography is notoriously difficult to define. Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, to quote the old saying, so is pornography.

• Pornography is a major industry in the United States and around the world and accounts for about $13 billon

9.5 Pornography 421

in US revenues annually.

• A growing conclusion from the research evidence is that pornography does not lead to violence against women. In addition to this consideration, laws against pornography raise questions of freedom of speech.

For Your Review

1. Do you think all pornography should be legal for people age eighteen and older? Why or why not?

2. In your opinion, does pornography promote violence against women? Explain your answer.

References

Bullough, V. L., & Bullough, B. (1977). Sin, sickness, and sanity: A history of sexual attitudes. New York, NY:

New American Library.

Diamond, M. (2009). Pornography, public acceptance and sex related crime: A review. International Journal of

Law & Psychiatry, 32(5), 304–314.

Family Safe Media. (2011). Pornography statistics. Retrieved October 23, 2011, from

http://www.familysafemedia.com/pornography_statistics.html.

Ferguson, C. J., & Hartley, R. D. (2009). The pleasure is momentary…the expense damnable?: The influence of

pornography on rape and sexual assault. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 14(5), 323–329.

Morgan, R. (1980). Theory and practice: Pornography and rape. In L. Lederer (Ed.), Take Back the Night (pp.

134–140). New York, NY: William Morrow.

Strossen, N. (2000). Defending pornography: Free speech, sex, and the fight for women’s rights. New York, NY:

New York University Press.

Weitzer, R. (2011). Review essay: Pornography’s effects: The need for solid evidence. [Book review]. Violence

Against Women, 17(5), 666–675.

422 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Chapter 10: The Changing Family

Social Problems in the News

“Help for Domestic Violence Victims Declining,” the headline said. In Georgia, donations and other financial assistance to battered women’s shelters were dwindling because of the faltering economy. This decreased funding was forcing the shelters to cut back their hours and lay off employees. As Meg Rogers, the head of a shelter with a six-month waiting list explained, “We are having to make some very tough decisions.”

Reflecting her experience, shelters in Georgia had to turn away more than 2,600 women and their children in the past year because of lack of space. Many women had to return to the men who were abusing them. This situation troubled Rogers. “I think their safety is being compromised,” she said. “They may go to the abuser’s family even if they don’t go back to the abuser.” A domestic violence survivor also worried about their fate and said she owed her own life to a women’s shelter: “I love them to this day and I’m alive because of them.”

Source: Simmons, 2011

Once upon a time, domestic violence did not exist, or so the popular television shows of the 1950s would have

had us believe. Neither did single-parent households, gay couples, interracial couples, mothers working outside

the home, heterosexual spouses deciding not to have children, or other family forms and situations that are

increasingly common today. Domestic violence existed, of course, but it was not something that television shows

and other popular media back then depicted. The other family forms and situations also existed to some degree

but have become much more common today.

Families shown in today’s television shows are very different from the traditional family depicted in popular television shows

of the 1950s. Television families from the 1950s consisted of two heterosexual parents, with the father working outside the

home and the mother staying at home with two or more wholesome children.

The Bees Knees Daily – Cast photo of the Cleaver Family from “Leave It To Beaver” – CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The 1950s gave us Leave It to Beaver and other television shows that depicted loving, happy, “traditional” families

living in the suburbs. The father worked outside the home, the mother stayed at home to take care of the kids and

do housework, and their children were wholesome youngsters who rarely got into trouble and certainly did not use

drugs or have sex. Today we have ABC’s Modern Family, which features one traditional family (two heterosexual

parents and their three children) and two nontraditional families (one with an older white man and a younger

Latina woman and her child, and another with two gay men and their adopted child). Many other television shows

today and in recent decades have featured divorced couples or individuals, domestic violence, and teenagers doing

drugs or committing crime.

424 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.0.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/beeskneesdaily/11500358504/

In the real world, we hear that parents are too busy working at their jobs to raise their kids properly. We hear of

domestic violence as in the story from Georgia at the start of this chapter. We hear of kids living without fathers,

because their parents are divorced or never were married in the first place. We hear of young people having

babies, using drugs, and committing violence. We hear that the breakdown of the nuclear family, the entrance of

women into the labor force, and the growth of single-parent households are responsible for these problems. Some

observers urge women to work only part-time or not at all so they can spend more time with their children. Some

yearn wistfully for a return to the 1950s, when everything seemed so much easier and better. Children had what

they needed back then: one parent to earn the money, and another parent to take care of them full time until they

started kindergarten, when this parent would be there for them when they came home from school.

Families have indeed changed, but this yearning for the 1950s falls into what historian Stephanie Coontz (2000)

calls the “nostalgia trap.” The 1950s television shows did depict what some families were like back then, but

they failed to show what many other families were like. Moreover, the changes in families since that time have

probably not had all the harmful effects that many observers allege. Historical and cross-cultural evidence even

suggests that the Leave It to Beaver-style family of the 1950s was a relatively recent and atypical phenomenon

and that many other types of families can thrive just as well as the 1950s television families did.

This chapter expands on these points and looks at today’s families and the changes they have undergone. It also

examines some of the controversies and problems now surrounding families and relationships.

References

Coontz, S. (2000). The way we never were: American families and the nostalgia trap. New York, NY: Basic

Books.

Simmons, A. (2011, October 29). Help for domestic violence victims declining. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Retrieved from http://www.ajc.com/news/crime/help-for-domestic-violence-1212373.html.

Chapter 10: The Changing Family 425

http://www.ajc.com/news/crime/help-for-domestic-violence-1212373.html

10.1 Overview of the Family

Learning Objectives

1. Describe why many children throughout history have not lived in a nuclear family.

2. Understand the status of the nuclear family in the United States since the colonial period.

3. Describe the major marriage and family arrangements in the United States today.

A family is a group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment

and who care for one another. Defined in this way, the family is universal or nearly universal: Some form of the

family has existed in every society, or nearly every society, that we know about (Starbuck, 2010). Yet it is also true

that many types of families have existed, and the cross-cultural and historical record indicates that these different

forms of the family can all “work”: They provide practical and emotional support for their members and they

socialize their children.

It is important to keep this last statement in mind, because Americans until the last few decades thought of only

one type of family, and that is the nuclear family: A married heterosexual couple and their young children living

by themselves under one roof. The nuclear family has existed in most societies with which scholars are familiar.

An extended family, which consists of parents, their children, and other relatives, has a nuclear family at its core

and was quite common in prehistoric societies. Many one-parent families begin as (two-parent) nuclear families

that dissolve upon divorce or separation or, more rarely, the death of one of the parents. In recent decades, one-

parent families have become more common in the United States because of divorce and births out of wedlock, but

they were actually very common throughout most of human history because many spouses died early in life and

because many babies were born out of wedlock.

Although the nuclear family is a common family arrangement today, historically many children lived with only one parent because

spouses died early and many babies were born out of wedlock.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 2.0.

Although many prehistoric societies featured nuclear families, a few societies studied by anthropologists have

not had them. In these societies, a father does not live with a woman after she has his child and sees them either

irregularly or not at all. Despite the absence of a father and the lack of a nuclear family, this type of family

arrangement seems to have worked well in these societies. In particular, children are cared for and grow up to be

productive members of their societies (Smith, 1996).

These examples do not invalidate the fact that nuclear families are almost universal. But they do indicate that the

functions of the nuclear family can be achieved through other family arrangements. If that is true, perhaps the

oft-cited concern over the “breakdown” of the 1950s-style nuclear family in modern America is at least somewhat

undeserved. As indicated by the examples just given, children can and do thrive without two parents. To say this

is meant neither to extol divorce, births out of wedlock, and fatherless families nor to minimize the problems they

may involve. Rather, it is meant simply to indicate that the nuclear family is not the only viable form of family

organization (Seccombe, 2012).

In fact, although nuclear families remain the norm in most societies, in practice they are something of a historical

10.1 Overview of the Family 427

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.1.0.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family#/media/File:W.H._Shumard_family,_circa_1955.jpg

rarity: Until about a century ago, many spouses died by their mid-forties, and many babies were born out of

wedlock. In medieval Europe, for example, people died early from disease, malnutrition, and other problems. One

consequence of early mortality was that many children could expect to outlive at least one of their parents and

thus essentially were raised in one-parent families or in stepfamilies (Gottlieb, 1993).

During the American colonial period, different family types abounded, and the nuclear family was by no means

the only type (Coontz, 1995). Nomadic Native American groups had relatively small nuclear families, while

nonnomadic groups had larger extended families. Because nuclear families among African Americans slaves

were difficult to achieve, slaves adapted by developing extended families, adopting orphans, and taking in other

people not related by blood or marriage. Many European parents of colonial children died because average life

expectancy was only 45 years. The one-third to one-half of children who outlived at least one of their parents lived

in stepfamilies or with just their surviving parent. Mothers were so busy working the land and doing other tasks

that they devoted relatively little time to child care, which instead was entrusted to older children or servants.

Moving much forward in US history, an important change in American families occurred during the 1940s after

World War II ended. As men came home after serving in the military in Europe and Japan, books, magazines,

and newspapers exhorted women to have babies, and babies they did have: People got married at younger ages

and the birth rate soared, resulting in the now famous baby boom generation. Meanwhile, divorce rates dropped.

The national economy thrived as auto and other factory jobs multiplied, and many families for the first time could

dream of owning their own homes. Suburbs sprang up, and many families moved to them. Many families during

the 1950s did indeed fit the Leave It to Beaver model of the breadwinner-homemaker suburban nuclear family.

Following the Depression of the 1930s and the war of the 1940s, the 1950s seemed an almost idyllic decade.

Even so, less than 60 percent of American children during the 1950s lived in breadwinner-homemaker nuclear

families. Moreover, many lived in poverty, as the poverty rate then was almost twice as high as it is today. Teenage

pregnancy rates were about twice as high as today. Although not publicized back then, alcoholism and violence in

families were common. Historians have found that many women in this era were unhappy with their homemaker

roles, Mrs. Cleaver (Beaver’s mother) to the contrary, suffering from what Betty Friedan (1963) famously called

the “feminine mystique.”

During the 1960s and 1970s, women began to enter the labor force. They did so to increase their families’ incomes

and to achieve greater self-fulfillment. More than 60 percent of married women with children under 6 years of

age are now in the labor force, compared to less than 19 percent in 1960. At about the same time, divorce rates

increased for several reasons that we examine later in this chapter. Changes in the American family had begun,

and along with them various controversies and problems.

Marriage and the Family in the United States Today

In the United States today, marriage remains an important institution. Only about 27 percent of all adults (18

or older) have never been married, 56 percent are currently married, 10 percent are divorced, and 6 percent are

widowed (see Figure 10.1 “Marital Status of the US Population 18 Years of Age or Older, 2010”). Thus 72 percent

of American adults have been married, whether or not they are currently married. Because more than half of the

never-married people are under 30, it is fair to say that many of them will be getting married sometime in the

428 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

future. When we look just at people aged 45–54, about 87 percent are currently married or had been married at

some point in their lives. In a 2010 poll, only 5 percent of Americans under age 30 said they did not want to get

married (Luscombe, 2010). These figures all indicate that marriage continues to be an important ideal in American

life, even if not all marriages succeed. As one sociologist has said, “Getting married is a way to show family and

friends that you have a successful personal life. It’s like the ultimate merit badge” (Luscombe, 2010).

Although marriage remains an important institution, two recent trends do suggest that its importance is declining

for some segments of the population (Cohn, Passel, Wang, & Livingston, 2011). First, although 71 percent of

adults have been married, this figure represents a drop from 85 percent in 1960. Second, education greatly affects

whether we marry and stay married, and marriage is less common among people without a college degree.

Figure 10.1 Marital Status of the US Population 18 Years of Age or Older, 2010

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington,

DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

Recent figures provide striking evidence of this relationship. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of college graduates

are currently married, compared to less than half (47 percent) of high school graduates and high school dropouts

combined. People with no more than a high school degree are less likely than college graduates to marry at all,

and they are more likely to get divorced, as we shall discuss again later, if they do marry.

This difference in marriage rates worsens the financial situation that people with lower education already face. As

one observer noted, “As marriage increasingly becomes a phenomenon of the better-off and better-educated, the

incomes of two-earner married couples diverge more from those of struggling single adults” (Marcus, 2011). One

of the many consequences of this education gap in marriage is that the children of one-parent households are less

likely than those of two-parent households to graduate high school and to attend college. In this manner, a parent’s

low education helps to perpetuate low education among the parent’s children.

10.1 Overview of the Family 429

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/877d6450977a285196adc30b22a266e0.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.1.1.jpg

The United States Compared to Other Democracies

In several ways, the United States differs from other Western democracies in its view of marriage and in its

behavior involving marriage and other intimate relationships (Cherlin, 2010; Hull, Meier, & Ortyl, 2012). First,

Americans place more emphasis than their Western counterparts on the ideal of romantic love as a basis for

marriage and other intimate relationships and on the cultural importance of marriage. Second, the United States

has higher rates of marriage than other Western nations. Third, the United States also has higher rates of divorce

than other Western nations; for example, 42 percent of American marriages end in divorce after fifteen years,

compared to only 8 percent in Italy and Spain. Fourth, Americans are much more likely than other Western

citizens to remarry once they are divorced, to cohabit in short-term relationships, and, in general, to move from

one intimate relationship to another, a practice called serial monogamy. This practice leads to instability that can

have negative impacts on any children that may be involved and also on the adults involved.

Americans place more emphasis than Europeans on the ideal of romantic love as the basis for marriage. This emphasis helps account

for why the United States has a higher divorce rate than many European nations.

Ken Witherow – Digimem Studio Photo Shoot – CC BY 2.0.

The US emphasis on romantic love helps account for its high rates of marriage, divorce, and serial monogamy.

It leads people to want to be in an intimate relationship, marital or cohabiting. Then when couples get married

because they are in love, many quickly find that passionate romantic love can quickly fade; because their

expectations of romantic love were so high, they become more disenchanted once this happens and unhappy in

their marriage. As sociologist Andrew J. Cherlin (2010, p. 4) observes, “Americans are conflicted about lifelong

marriage: they value the stability and security of marriage, but they tend to believe that individuals who are

430 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenwitherow/15276787618/

unhappy with their marriages should be allowed to end them.” Still, the ideal of romantic love persists even after

divorce, leading to remarriage and/or other intimate relationships.

Children and Families

The United States has about 36 million families with children under 18. About 70 percent of these are married-

couple families, while 30 percent (up from about 14 percent in the 1950s) are one-parent families. Most of these

latter families are headed by the mother (see Figure 10.2 “Family Households with Children under 18 Years of

Age, 2010”).

Figure 10.2 Family Households with Children under 18 Years of Age, 2010

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington,

DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

The proportion of families with children under 18 that have only one parent varies significantly by race and

ethnicity: Latino and African American families are more likely than white and Asian American households to

have only one parent (see Figure 10.3 “Race, Ethnicity, and Percentage of Family Groups with Only One Parent,

2010”). Similarly, whereas 30 percent of all children do not live with both their biological parents, this figure,

too, varies by race and ethnicity: about 61 percent of African American children, 15 percent of Asian children, 33

percent of Latino children, and 23 percent of non-Latino white children.

Figure 10.3 Race, Ethnicity, and Percentage of Family Groups with Only One Parent, 2010

10.1 Overview of the Family 431

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/769cb41a128b4602787e9c7d58118a3c.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/1cc44a6ec6687557b631bbda96cc7a1d.jpg

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

We will discuss several other issues affecting children later in this chapter. But before we move on, it is worth

noting that children, despite all the joy and fulfillment they so often bring to parents, also tend to reduce parents’

emotional well-being. As a recent review summarized the evidence, “Parents in the United States experience

depression and emotional distress more often than their childless adult counterparts. Parents of young children

report far more depression, emotional distress and other negative emotions than non-parents, and parents of grown

children have no better well-being than adults who never had children” (Simon, 2008, p. 41).

Children have these effects because raising them can be both stressful and expensive. Depending on household

income, the average child costs parents between $134,000 and $270,000 from birth until age 18. College education

obviously can cost tens of thousands of dollars beyond that. Robin W. Simon (2008) argues that American

parents’ stress would be reduced if the government provided better and more affordable day care and after-school

options, flexible work schedules, and tax credits for various parenting costs. She also thinks that the expectations

Americans have of the joy of parenthood are unrealistically positive and that parental stress would be reduced if

expectations became more realistic.

Key Takeaways

• Although the nuclear family has been very common, many children throughout history have not lived in a nuclear family, in part because a parent would die at an early age.

• Most Americans eventually marry. This fact means that marriage remains an important ideal in American life, even if not all marriages succeed.

• About 30 percent of children live with only one parent, almost always their mother.

432 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2032116,2032100.html

For Your Review

1. Write a brief essay in which you describe the advantages and disadvantages of the 1950s-type nuclear family in which the father works outside the home and the mother stays at home.

2. The text notes that most people eventually marry. In view of the fact that so many marriages end in divorce, why do you think that so many people continue to marry?

3. Some of the children who live only with their mothers were born out of wedlock. Do you think the parents should have married for the sake of their child? Why or why not?

References

Cherlin, A. J. (2010). The marriage-go-round: The state of marriage and the family in America today. New York,

NY: Vintage.

Cohn, D., Passel J., Wang, W., & Livingston, G. (2011). Barely half of US adults are married—a record low.

Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

Coontz, S. (1995, summer). The way we weren’t: The myth and reality of the “traditional” family. National

Forum: The Phi Kappa Phi Journal, 11–14.

Friedan, B. (1963). The feminine mystique. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Gottlieb, B. (1993). The family in the Western world from the black death to the industrial age. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press.

Hull, K. E., Meier, A., & Ortyl, T. (2012). The changing landscape of love and marriage. In D. Hartmann & C.

Uggen (Eds.), The contexts reader (2nd ed., pp. 56–63). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Luscombe, B. (2010, November 18). Who needs marriage? A changing institution. Time. Retrieved from

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2032116,2032100.html.

Marcus, R. (2011, December 18). The marriage gap presents a real cost. The Washington Post. Retrieved

from http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-marriage-gap-presents-a-real-cost/2011/12/16/

gIQAz24DzO_story.html?hpid=z3.

Seccombe, K. (2012). Families and their social worlds (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Simon, R. W. (2008). The joys of parenthood, reconsidered. Contexts, 7(2), 40–45.

Smith, R. T. (1996). The matrifocal family: Power, pluralism, and politics. New York, NY: Routledge.

Starbuck, G. H. (2010). Families in context (2nd ed.). Boulder, CO: Paradigm.

10.1 Overview of the Family 433

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-marriage-gap-presents-a-real-cost/2011/12/16/gIQAz24DzO_story.html?hpid=z3

10.2 Sociological Perspectives on the Family

Learning Objective

1. Summarize understandings of the family as presented by functional, conflict, and social interactionist theories.

Sociological views on today’s families and their problems generally fall into the functional, conflict, and social

interactionist approaches introduced in Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”. Let’s review these views,

which are summarized in Table 10.1 “Theory Snapshot”.

Table 10.1 Theory Snapshot

Theoretical perspective

Major assumptions

Functionalism

The family performs several essential functions for society. It socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, it helps regulate sexual activity and sexual reproduction, and it provides its members with a social identity. Family problems stem from sudden or far-reaching changes in the family’s structure or processes; these problems threaten the family’s stability and weaken society.

Conflict theory

The family contributes to social inequality by reinforcing economic inequality and by reinforcing patriarchy. Family problems stem from economic inequality and from patriarchal ideology. The family can also be a source of conflict, including physical violence and emotional cruelty, for its own members.

Symbolic interactionism

The interaction of family members and intimate couples involves shared understandings of their situations. Wives and husbands have different styles of communication, and social class affects the expectations that spouses have of their marriages and of each other. Family problems stem from different understandings and expectations that spouses have of their marriage.

Social Functions of the Family

Recall that the functional perspective emphasizes that social institutions perform several important functions to

help preserve social stability and otherwise keep a society working. A functional understanding of the family

thus stresses the ways in which the family as a social institution helps make society possible. As such, the family

performs several important functions.

First, the family is the primary unit for socializing children. No society is possible without adequate socialization

of its young. In most societies, the family is the major unit in which socialization happens. Parents, siblings, and,

if the family is extended rather than nuclear, other relatives all help socialize children from the time they are born.

One of the most important functions of the family is the socialization of children. In most societies the family is the major unit through

which socialization occurs.

Colleen Kelly – Kids Playing Monopoly Chicago – CC BY 2.0.

Second, the family is ideally a major source of practical and emotional support for its members. It provides them

food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials, and it also provides them love, comfort, and help in times of emotional

distress, and other types of support.

Third, the family helps regulate sexual activity and sexual reproduction. All societies have norms governing with

whom and how often a person should have sex. The family is the major unit for teaching these norms and the

major unit through which sexual reproduction occurs. One reason for this is to ensure that infants have adequate

emotional and practical care when they are born.

Fourth, the family provides its members with a social identity. Children are born into their parents’ social class,

race and ethnicity, religion, and so forth. Some children have advantages throughout life because of the social

identity they acquire from their parents, while others face many obstacles because the social class or race/ethnicity

into which they are born is at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

Beyond discussing the family’s functions, the functional perspective on the family maintains that sudden or far-

reaching changes in conventional family structure and processes threaten the family’s stability and thus that of

society. For example, most sociology and marriage-and-family textbooks during the 1950s maintained that the

male breadwinner–female homemaker nuclear family was the best arrangement for children, as it provided for a

family’s economic and child-rearing needs. Any shift in this arrangement, they warned, would harm children and,

by extension, the family as a social institution and even society itself. Textbooks no longer contain this warning,

but many conservative observers continue to worry about the impact on children of working mothers and one-

parent families. We return to their concerns shortly.

10.2 Sociological Perspectives on the Family 435

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.2.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/familytravelck/7112758505/

The Family and Conflict

Conflict theorists agree that the family serves the important functions just listed, but they also point to problems

within the family that the functional perspective minimizes or overlooks altogether.

First, the family as a social institution contributes to social inequality. Because families pass along their wealth to

their children, and because families differ greatly in the amount of wealth they have, the family helps reinforce

existing inequality. As it developed through the centuries, and especially during industrialization, the family also

became more and more of a patriarchal unit (since men made money working in factories while women stayed

home), helping to reinforce men’s status at the top of the social hierarchy.

Second, the family can also be a source of conflict for its own members. Although the functional perspective

assumes the family provides its members emotional comfort and support, many families do just the opposite and

are far from the harmonious, happy groups depicted in the 1950s television shows. Instead, they argue, shout, and

use emotional cruelty and physical violence. We return to family violence later in this chapter.

The conflict perspective emphasizes that many of the problems we see in today’s families stem from economic

inequality and from patriarchy. The problems that many families experience reflect the fact that they live in

poverty or near poverty. Money does not always bring happiness, but a dire lack of money produces stress and

other difficulties that impair a family’s functioning and relationships. The Note 10.9 “Applying Social Research”

box discusses other ways in which social class influences the family.

Conflict within a family also stems from patriarchy. Husbands usually earn more money than wives, and many

men continue to feel that they are the head of their families. When women resist this old-fashioned notion, spousal

conflict occurs.

Applying Social Research

Social Class and the Family

A growing amount of social science research documents social class differences in how well a family functions: the quality of its relationships and the cognitive, psychological, and social development of its children. This focus reflects the fact that what happens during the first months and years of life may have profound effects on how well a newborn prospers during childhood, adolescence, and beyond. To the extent this is true, the social class differences that have been found have troublesome implications.

According to sociologist Frank E. Furstenberg Jr., “steep differences exist across social classes” in mothers’ prenatal experiences, such as the quality of their diet and health care, as well as in the health care that their infants receive. As a result, he says, “children enter the world endowed unequally.” This inequality worsens after they are born for several reasons.

First, low-income families are much more likely to experience negative events, such as death, poor health, unemployment, divorce, and criminal victimization. When these negative events do occur, says Furstenberg, “social class affects a family’s ability to cushion their blow…Life is simply harder and more brutish at the bottom.” These negative events produce great amounts of stress; as Chapter 2 “Poverty” discussed, this stress in turn causes children to experience various developmental problems.

Second, low-income parents are much less likely to read and speak regularly to their infants and young children, who

436 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

thus are slower to develop cognitive and reading skills; this problem in turn impairs their school performance when they enter elementary school.

Third, low-income parents are also less able to expose their children to cultural experiences (e.g., museum visits) outside the home, to develop their talents in the arts and other areas, and to otherwise be involved in the many nonschool activities that are important for a child’s development. In contrast, wealthier parents keep their children very busy in these activities in a pattern that sociologist Annette Lareau calls concerted cultivation. These children’s involvement in these activities provides them various life skills that help enhance their performance in school and later in the workplace.

Fourth, low-income children grow up in low-income neighborhoods, which often have inadequate schools and many other problems, including toxins such as lead paint, that impair a child’s development. In contrast, says Furstenberg, children from wealthier families “are very likely to attend better schools and live in better neighborhoods. It is as if the playing field for families is tilted in ways that are barely visible to the naked eye.”

Fifth, low-income families are less able to afford to send a child to college, and they are more likely to lack the social contacts that wealthier parents can use to help their child get a good job after college.

For all these reasons, social class profoundly shapes how children fare from conception through early adulthood and beyond. Because this body of research documents many negative consequences of living in a low-income family, it reinforces the need for wide-ranging efforts to help such families.

Sources: Bandy, Andrews, & Moore, 2012; Furstenberg, 2010; Lareau, 2010

Families and Social Interaction

Social interactionist perspectives on the family examine how family members and intimate couples interact on a

daily basis and arrive at shared understandings of their situations. Studies grounded in social interactionism give

us a keen understanding of how and why families operate the way they do.

Some studies, for example, focus on how husbands and wives communicate and the degree to which they

communicate successfully (Tannen, 2001). A classic study by Mirra Komarovsky (1964) found that wives in blue-

collar marriages liked to talk with their husbands about problems they were having, while husbands tended to

be quiet when problems occurred. Such gender differences are less common in middle-class families, where men

are better educated and more emotionally expressive than their working-class counterparts, but gender differences

in communication still exist in these families. Another classic study by Lillian Rubin (1976) found that wives

in middle-class families say that ideal husbands are ones who communicate well and share their feelings, while

wives in working-class families are more apt to say that ideal husbands are ones who do not drink too much and

who go to work every day.

According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, family problems often stem from the different

understandings, perceptions, and expectations that spouses have of their marriage and of their family. When

these differences become too extreme and the spouses cannot reconcile their disagreements, spousal conflict and

possibly divorce may occur (Kaufman & Taniguchi, 2006).

10.2 Sociological Perspectives on the Family 437

Key Takeaways

• The family ideally serves several functions for society. It socializes children, provides practical and emotional support for its members, regulates sexual reproduction, and provides its members with a social identity.

• Reflecting conflict theory’s emphases, the family may also produce several problems. In particular, it may contribute for several reasons to social inequality, and it may subject its members to violence, arguments, and other forms of conflict.

• Social interactionist understandings of the family emphasize how family members interact on a daily basis. In this regard, several studies find that husbands and wives communicate differently in certain ways that sometimes impede effective communication.

For Your Review

1. As you think how best to understand the family, do you favor the views and assumptions of functional theory, conflict theory, or social interactionist theory? Explain your answer.

2. Do you think the family continues to serve the function of regulating sexual behavior and sexual reproduction? Why or why not?

References

Bandy, T., Andrews, K.M., & Moore, K.A. (2012). Disadvantaged families and child outcomes: The importance

of emotional support for mothers. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Furstenberg, F. E., Jr. (2010). Diverging development: The not-so-invisible hand of social class in the United

States. In B. J. Risman (Ed.), Families as they really are (pp. 276–294). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Kaufman, G., & Taniguchi, H. (2006). Gender and marital happiness in later life. Journal of Family Issues, 27(6),

735–757.

Komarovsky, M. (1964). Blue-collar marriage. New York, NY: Random House.

Lareau, A. (2010). Unequal childhoods: Inequalities in the rhythms of daily life. In B. J. Risman (Ed.), Families

as they really are (pp. 295–298). New York: W. W. Norton.

Rubin, L. B. (1976). Worlds of pain: Life in the working-class family. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Tannen, D. (2001). You just don’t understand: Women and men in conversation. New York, NY: Quill.

438 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss why the US divorce rate rose during the 1960s and 1970s and summarize the major individual-level factors accounting for divorce today.

2. Describe the effects of divorce for spouses and children.

3. Summarize the evidence on how children fare when their mothers work outside the home.

4. Describe the extent of family violence and explain why it occurs.

According to the census, roughly 6 million opposite-sex couples are currently cohabiting in the United States. The average

cohabitation lasts less than two years.

Amit Gupta – CC BY-NC 2.0.

American families have undergone many changes since the 1950s. Scholars, politicians, and the public have

strong and often conflicting views on the reasons for these changes and on their consequences. We now look at

some of the most important issues affecting US families through the lens of the latest social scientific evidence.

Because Chapter 5 “Sexual Orientation and Inequality” on sexual orientation and inequality discussed same-sex

marriage and families, please refer back to that chapter for material on this very important topic.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/superamit/49037441/

Cohabitation

Some people who are not currently married nonetheless cohabit, or live together, with someone of the opposite sex

in a romantic relationship. The census reports that about 6 million opposite-sex couples are currently cohabiting;

these couples constitute about 10 percent of all opposite-sex couples (married plus unmarried) who live together.

The average cohabitation lasts less than two years and ends when the couple either splits up or gets married; about

half of cohabiting couples do marry, and half split up. More than half of people in their twenties and thirties have

cohabited, and roughly one-fourth of this age group is currently cohabiting (Brown, 2005). Roughly 55 percent of

cohabiting couples have no biological children, about 45 percent live with a biological child of one of the partners,

and 21 percent live with their own biological child. (These figures add to more than 100 percent because many

couples live with their own child and a child of a partner.) About 5 percent of children live with biological parents

who are cohabiting.

Interestingly, many studies find that married couples who have cohabited with each other before getting married

are more likely to divorce than married couples who did not cohabit (Jose, O’Leary, & Moyer, 2010). As

sociologist Susan L Brown (2005, p. 34) notes, this apparent consequence is ironic: “The primary reason people

cohabit is to test their relationship’s viability for marriage. Sorting out bad relationships through cohabitation is

how many people think they can avoid divorce. Yet living together before marriage actually increases a couple’s

risk of divorce.” Two reasons may account for this result. First, cohabitation may change the relationship between

a couple and increase the chance they will divorce if they get married anyway. Second, individuals who are willing

to live together without being married may not be very committed to the idea of marriage and thus may be more

willing to divorce if they are unhappy in their eventual marriage.

Recent research compares the psychological well-being of cohabiting and married adults and also the behavior

of children whose biological parent or parents are cohabiting rather than married (Apel & Kaukinen, 2008;

Brown, 2005). On average, married adults are happier and otherwise have greater psychological well-being than

cohabiting adults, while the latter, in turn, fare better psychologically than adults not living with anyone. Research

has not yet clarified the reasons for these differences, but it seems that people with the greatest psychological

and economic well-being are most likely to marry. If this is true, it is not the state of being married per se that

accounts for the difference in well-being between married and cohabiting couples, but rather the extent of well-

being that affects decisions to marry or not marry. Another difference between cohabitation and marriage concerns

relationship violence. Among young adults (aged 18–28), this type of violence is more common among cohabiting

couples than among married or dating couples. The reasons for this difference remain unknown but may again

reflect differences in the types of people who choose to cohabit (Brown & Bulanda, 2008).

The children of cohabiting parents tend to exhibit lower well-being of various types than those of married parents:

They are more likely to engage in delinquency and other antisocial behavior, and they have lower academic

performance and worse emotional adjustment. The reasons for these differences remain to be clarified but may

again stem from the types of people who choose to cohabit rather than marry.

440 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Divorce and Single-Parent Households

The US divorce rate has risen since the early 1900s, with several peaks and valleys, and is now the highest in the

industrial world. It rose sharply during the Great Depression and World War II, probably because of the economic

distress of the former and the family disruption caused by the latter, and fell sharply after the war as the economy

thrived and as marriage and family were proclaimed as patriotic ideals. It dropped a bit more during the 1950s

before rising sharply through the 1960s and 1970s (Cherlin, 2009). The divorce rate has since declined somewhat

(see Figure 10.4 “Number of Divorces per 1,000 Married Women Aged 15 or Older, 1960–2009”) and today is

only slightly higher than its peak at the end of World War II. Still, the best estimates say that 40–50 percent of

all new marriages will one day end in divorce (Teachman, 2008). The surprising announcement in June 2010 of

the separation of former vice president Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, was a poignant reminder that divorce is a

common outcome of many marriages.

Figure 10.4 Number of Divorces per 1,000 Married Women Aged 15 or Older, 1960–2009

Source: Data from Wilcox, W. B. (Ed.). (2010). The state of our unions, 2010: Marriage in America. Charlottesville, VA: National Marriage Project.

Reasons for Divorce

We cannot be certain about why the divorce rate rose so much during the 1960s and 1970s, but we can rule out

two oft-cited causes. First, there is little reason to believe that marriages became any less happy during this period.

We do not have good data to compare marriages then and now, but the best guess is that marital satisfaction did

not decline after the 1950s ended. What did change was that people after the 1950s became more willing to seek

divorces in marriages that were already unhappy.

Second, although the contemporary women’s movement is sometimes blamed for the divorce rate by making

women think marriage is an oppressive institution, the trends in Figure 10.4 “Number of Divorces per 1,000

Married Women Aged 15 or Older, 1960–2009” suggest this blame is misplaced. The women’s movement

emerged in the late 1960s and was capturing headlines by the early 1970s. Although the divorce rate obviously

rose after that time, it also started rising several years before the women’s movement emerged and captured

headlines. If the divorce rate began rising before the women’s movement started, it is illogical to blame the

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 441

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/18e02193d9c7cd71895c42ee8f297808.jpg

women’s movement. Instead, other structural and cultural forces must have been at work, just as they were at

other times in the last century, as just noted, when the divorce rate rose and fell.

Why, then, did divorce increase during the 1960s and 1970s? One reason is the increasing economic independence

of women. As women entered the labor force in the 1960s and 1970s, they became more economically

independent of their husbands, even if their jobs typically paid less than their husbands’ jobs. When women in

unhappy marriages do become more economically independent, they are more able to afford to get divorced than

when they have to rely entirely on their husbands’ earnings (Hiedemann, Suhomlinova, & O’Rand, 1998). When

both spouses work outside the home, moreover, it is more difficult to juggle the many demands of family life, and

family life can be more stressful. Such stress can reduce marital happiness and make divorce more likely. Spouses

may also have less time for each other when both are working outside the home, making it more difficult to deal

with problems they may be having.

Disapproval of divorce has declined since the 1950s, and divorce is now

considered a normal if unfortunate part of life.

John C Bullas BSc MSc PhD MCIHT MIAT – Divorce Cakes a_005 – CC BY-

NC-ND 2.0.

It is also true that disapproval of divorce has declined since the 1950s, even if negative views of it still remain

(Cherlin, 2009). Not too long ago, divorce was considered a terrible thing; now it is considered a normal if

unfortunate part of life. We no longer say a bad marriage should continue for the sake of the children. When New

York Governor Nelson Rockefeller ran for president in the early 1960s, the fact that he had been divorced hurt his

popularity, but when California Governor Ronald Reagan ran for president less than two decades later, the fact

that he had been divorced was hardly noted. Many presidential candidates and other politicians today have been

divorced. But is the growing acceptability of divorce a cause of the rising divorce rate, or is it the result of the

rising divorce rate? Or is it both a cause and a result? This important causal order question is difficult to resolve.

442 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.3.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/superamit/49037441/

Another reason divorce rose during the 1960s and 1970s may be that divorces became easier to obtain legally.

In the past, most states required couples to prove that one or both had committed actions such as mental cruelty,

adultery, or other such behaviors in order to get divorced. Today almost all states have no-fault divorce laws that

allow a couple to divorce if they say their marriage has failed from irreconcilable differences. Because divorce has

become easier and less expensive to obtain, more divorces occur. But are no-fault divorce laws a cause or result

of the post-1950s rise in the divorce rate? The divorce rate increase preceded the establishment of most states’

no-fault laws, but it is probably also true that the laws helped make additional divorces more possible. Thus no-

fault divorce laws are probably one reason for the rising divorce rate after the 1950s, but only one reason (Kneip

& Bauer, 2009).

We have just looked at possible reasons for divorce rate trends, but we can also examine the reasons why certain

marriages are more or less likely to end in divorce within a given time period. Although, as noted earlier, 40–50

percent of all new marriages will probably end in divorce, it is also true that some marriages are more likely to

end than others. Family scholars identify several correlates of divorce (Clarke-Stewart & Brentano, 2006; Wilcox,

2010). An important one is age at marriage: Teenagers who get married are much more likely to get divorced than

people who marry well into their twenties or beyond, partly because they have financial difficulties and are not

yet emotionally mature. A second correlate of divorce is social class: People who are poor and have less formal

education at the time of their marriage are much more likely to get divorced than people who begin their marriages

in economic comfort and with higher levels of education.

Effects of Divorce and Single-Parent Households

Much research exists on the effects of divorce on spouses and their children, and scholars often disagree on what

these effects are. One thing is clear: Divorce plunges many women into poverty or near-poverty (Gadalla, 2008;

Wilcox, 2010). Many have been working only part time or not at all outside the home, and divorce takes away their

husband’s economic support. Even women working full time often have trouble making ends meet, because many

are in low-paying jobs. One-parent families headed by a woman for any reason are much poorer ($32,031 in 2010

median annual income) than those headed by a man ($49,718). Meanwhile, the median income of married-couple

families is much higher ($72,751). Almost 32 percent of all single-parent families headed by women are officially

poor, compared to only about 16 percent of single-parent families headed by men and 6 percent of married-couple

families (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2011).

Although the economic consequences of divorce seem clear, what are the psychological consequences for

husbands, wives, and their children? Are they better off if a divorce occurs, worse off, or about the same?

Effects on Spouses

The research evidence for spouses is very conflicting. Many studies find that divorced spouses are, on average,

less happy and have poorer mental health after their divorce, but some studies find that happiness and mental

health often improve after divorce (Cherlin, 2009; Waite, Luo, & Lewin, 2009). The postdivorce time period

that is studied may affect what results are found: For some people psychological well-being may decline in the

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 443

immediate aftermath of a divorce, given how difficult the divorce process often is, but rise over the next few

years. The contentiousness of the marriage also matters. Some marriages ending in divorce have been filled

with hostility, conflict, and sometimes violence, while other marriages ending in divorce have not been very

contentious at all, even if they have failed. Individuals seem to fare better psychologically after ending a very

contentious marriage but fare worse after ending a less contentious marriage (Amato & Hohmann-Marriott, 2007).

Effects on Children

What about the children? Parents used to stay together “for the sake of the children,” thinking that divorce would

cause their children more harm than good. Studies of this issue generally find that children in divorced families

are indeed more likely, on average, to do worse in school, to use drugs and alcohol and suffer other behavioral

problems, and to experience emotional distress and other psychological problems (Wilcox, 2010). The trauma of

the divorce and the difficulties that single parents encounter in caring for and disciplining children are thought to

account for these effects.

However, two considerations suggest that children of divorce may fare worse for reasons other than divorce

trauma and the resulting single-parent situation. First, most children whose parents divorce end up living with

their mothers. As we just noted, many divorced women and their children live in poverty or near poverty. To the

extent that these children fare worse in many ways, their mothers’ low incomes may be a contributing factor.

Studies of this issue find that divorced mothers’ low incomes do, in fact, help explain some of the difficulties that

their children experience (Demo & Fine, 2010). Divorce trauma and single-parenthood still matter for children’s

well-being in many of these studies, but the worsened financial situation of divorced women and their children

also makes a difference.

Second, it is possible that children do worse after a divorce because of the parental conflict that led to the divorce,

not because of the divorce itself. It is well known that the quality of the relationship between a child’s parents

affects the child’s behavior and emotional well-being (Moore, Kinghorn, & Bandy, 2011). This fact raises the

possibility that children may fare better if their parents end a troubled marriage than if their parents stay married.

Recent studies have investigated this issue, and their findings generally mirror the evidence for spouses just cited:

Children generally fare better if their parents end a highly contentious marriage, but they fare worse if their parents

end a marriage that has not been highly contentious (Hull et al., 2012). As one researcher summarizes this new

body of research, “All these new studies have discovered the same thing: The average impact of divorce in society

at large is to neither increase nor decrease the behavior problems of children. They suggest that divorce, in and

of itself, is not the cause of the elevated behavior problems we see in children of divorce” (Li, 2010, p. 174).

Commenting on divorces from highly contentious marriages, sociologist Virginia E. Rutter (2010, p. 169) bluntly

concludes, “There are times and situations when divorce is beneficial to the people who divorce and to their

children.”

Fathers and Children

Recall that most children whose parents are not married, either because they divorced or because they never were

444 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

married, live with their mothers. Another factor that affects how children in these situations fare is the closeness

of the child-father relationship. Whether or not children live with their fathers, they fare better in many respects

when they have an emotionally close relationship with their fathers. This type of relationship is certainly more

possible when they live with their fathers, and this is a reason that children who live with both their parents fare

better on average than children who live only with their mother. However, some children who do live with their

fathers are less close to them than some children who live apart from their fathers.

Recent research by sociologist Alan Booth and colleagues (Booth, Scott, & King, 2010) found that the former

children fare worse than the latter children. As Booth et al. (2010, p. 600) summarize this result, “We find that

adolescents who are close to their nonresident fathers report higher self-esteem, less delinquency, and fewer

depressive symptoms than adolescents who live with a father with whom they are not close. It appears that

adolescents benefit more from a close bond to a nonresident father than a weak bond to a resident father.” To

the extent this is true, they add, “youth are not always better off in two-parent families.” In fact, children who

are not close to a father with whom they live have lower self-esteem than children who are not close to a father

with whom they do not live. Overall, though, children fare best when they live with fathers with whom they have

a close relationship: “It does not appear that strong affection alone can overcome the problems associated with

father absence from the child’s residence.”

Marriage and Well-Being

Is marriage good for people? This is the flip side of the question we have just addressed on whether divorce is bad

for people. Are people better off if they get married? Or are they better off if they stay single?

In 1972, sociologist Jessie Bernard (1972) famously said that every marriage includes a “her marriage” and a “his

marriage.” By this she meant that husbands and wives view and define their marriages differently. When spouses

from the same marriage are interviewed, they disagree on such things as how often they should have sex, how

often they actually do have sex, and who does various household tasks. Women do most of the housework and

child care, while men are freer to work and do other things outside the home. Citing various studies, she said that

marriage is better for men than for women. Married women, she said, have poorer mental health than unmarried

women, while married men have better mental health than unmarried men. In short, she said that marriage was

good for men but bad for women.

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 445

Married people are generally happier than unmarried people and score higher on other measures of psychological well-being.

Silvia Sala – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Critics later said that Bernard misinterpreted her data on women and that married women are also better off than

unmarried women (Glenn, 1997). Recent research generally finds that marriage does benefit both sexes: Married

people, women and men alike, are generally happier than unmarried people (whether never married, divorced, or

widowed), score better on other measures of psychological well-being, are physically healthier, have better sex

lives, and have lower death rates (Waite et al., 2009; Wilcox, 2010). There is even evidence that marriage helps

keep men from committing crime (Theobald & Farrington, 2011)! Marriage has these benefits for several reasons,

including the emotional and practical support spouses give each other, their greater financial resources compared

to those of unmarried people, and the sense of obligation they have toward each other.

Three issues qualify the general conclusion that marriage is beneficial (Frech & Williams, 2007). First, it

would be more accurate to say that good marriages are beneficial, because bad marriages certainly are not, and

stressful marriages can impair physical and mental health (Parker-Pope, 2010). Second, although marriage is

generally beneficial, its benefits seem greater for older adults than for younger adults, for whites than for African

Americans, and for individuals who were psychologically depressed before marriage than for those who were not

depressed. Third, psychologically happy and healthy people may be the ones who get married in the first place

and are less apt to get divorced once they do marry. If so, marriage does not promote psychological well-being;

rather, psychological well-being promotes marriage. Research testing this selectivity hypothesis finds that both

processes occur: Psychologically healthy people are more apt to get and stay married, but marriage also promotes

psychological well-being.

446 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.3.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shitsuren/11382771733/

Working Mothers and Day Care

As noted earlier, women are now much more likely to be working outside the home than a few decades ago. This

is true for both married and unmarried women and also for women with and without children. As women have

entered the labor force, the question of who takes care of the children has prompted much debate and controversy.

Many observers say young children suffer if they do not have a parent, implicitly their mother, taking care of them

full-time until they start school and being there every day when they get home from school. The public is divided

on the issue of more mothers working outside the home: 21 percent say this trend is “a good thing for society”; 37

percent say it is “a bad thing for society”; and 46 percent say it “doesn’t make much difference” (Morin, 2010).

What does research say about how young children fare if their mothers work? (Notice that no one seems to worry

that fathers work!)

Early studies compared the degree of attachment shown to their mothers by children in day care and that shown

by children who stay at home with their mothers. In one type of study, children were put in a laboratory room

with their mothers and observed as the mothers left and returned. The day-care kids usually treated their mothers’

departure and returning casually and acted as if they did not care that their mothers were leaving or returning.

In contrast the stay-at-home kids acted very upset when their mothers left and seemed much happier and even

relieved when they returned. Several researchers concluded that these findings indicated that day-care children

lacked sufficient emotional attachment to their mothers (Schwartz, 1983). However, other researchers reached

a very different conclusion: The day-care children’s apparent nonchalance when their mothers left and returned

simply reflected the fact that they always saw her leave and return every day when they went to day care. The

lack of concern over her behavior showed only that they were more independent and self-confident than the stay-

at-home children, who were fearful when their mothers left, and not that they were less attached to their mothers

(Coontz, 1997).

More recent research has compared stay-at-home children and day-care children starting with infancy, with some

of the most notable studies using data from a large study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and

Human Development, a branch of the National Institutes of Health (Rabin, 2008). This research finds that day-

care children exhibit better cognitive skills (reading and arithmetic) than stay-at-home children but are also

slightly more likely to engage in aggressive behavior that is well within the normal range of children’s behavior.

This research has also yielded two other conclusions. First, the quality of parenting and other factors such as

parent’s education and income matter much more for children’s cognitive and social development than whether or

not they are in day care. Second, to the extent that day care is beneficial for children, it is high-quality day care

that is beneficial, as low-quality day care can be harmful.

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 447

Children in day care exhibit better cognitive skills than stay-at-home children but are also slightly more likely to engage in aggressive behavior that is within the normal range of

children’s behavior.

njxw – Daycare – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

This latter conclusion is an important finding, because many day-care settings in the United States are not high

quality. Unfortunately, many parents who use day care cannot afford high-quality care, which can cost hundreds

of dollars monthly. This problem reflects the fact that the United States lags far behind other Western democracies

in providing subsidies for day care (see Note 10.21 “Lessons from Other Societies” later in this chapter). Because

working women are certainly here to stay and because high-quality day care seems at least as good for children as

full-time care by a parent, it is essential that the United States make good day care available and affordable.

Affordable child care is especially essential for low-income parents. After the United States plunged into

economic recession in 2008, many states reduced their subsidies for child care. As a result, many low-income

parents who wanted to continue working or to start a job could not afford to do so because child care can be very

expensive: For a family living below the poverty line, child care comprises one-third of the family budget on the

average. As the head of a California organization that advocates for working parents explained, “You can’t expect

a family with young children to get on their feet and get jobs without child care” (Goodman, 2010, p. A1).

Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Marriages and Families

Marriages and families in the United States exhibit a fair amount of racial and ethnic diversity, as we saw

earlier in this chapter. Children are more likely to live with only one parent among Latino and especially African

American families than among white and Asian American families. Moreover, African American, Latino, and

448 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.3.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/89887865@N00/2425909092/

Native American children and their families are especially likely to live in poverty. As a result, they are at much

greater risk for the many problems that children in poverty experience (see Chapter 2 “Poverty”).

Beyond these cold facts lie other racial and ethnic differences in family life (Wright, Mindel, Tran, & Habenstein,

2012). Studies of Latino and Asian American families find they have especially strong family bonds and loyalty.

Extended families in both groups and among Native Americans are common, and these extended families have

proven a valuable shield against the problems all three groups face because of their race/ethnicity and poverty.

The status of the African American family has been the source of much controversy for several decades. Perhaps

the major reason for this controversy is the large number of African American children living in single-parent

households: Whereas 41 percent of all births are to unmarried women (up from 28 percent in 1990), such births

account for 72 percent of all births to African American women (see Figure 10.5 “Percentage of Births to

Unmarried Mothers, by Race/Ethnicity 2010”).

Figure 10.5 Percentage of Births to Unmarried Mothers, by Race/Ethnicity 2010

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

Many scholars attribute the high number of fatherless families among African Americans to the forcible

separation of families during slavery and to the fact that so many young black males today are unemployed, in

prison or jail, or facing other problems (Patterson, 1998). Some observers say this high number of fatherless

families in turn contributes to African Americans’ poverty, crime, and other problems (Haskins, 2009). But other

observers argue that this blame is misplaced to at least some extent. Extended families and strong female-headed

households in the African American community, they say, have compensated for the absence of fathers (Willie

& Reddick, 2010). The problems African Americans face, they add, stem to a large degree from their experience

of racism, segregated neighborhoods, lack of job opportunities, and other structural difficulties (Sampson, 2009).

Even if fatherless families contribute to these problems, these scholars say, these other factors play a larger role.

Family Violence

Although family violence has received much attention since the 1970s, families were violent long before scholars

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 449

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/4f177f1e49ded82c4b4885f755d15b5a.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.3.4.jpg

began studying family violence and the public began hearing about it. We can divide family violence into

two types: violence against intimates (spouses, live-in partners, boyfriends, or girlfriends) and violence against

children. (Violence against elders also occurs and was discussed in Chapter 6 “Aging and Ageism”.)

Violence against Intimates

Intimates commit violence against each other in many ways: they can hit with their fists, slap with an open hand,

throw an object, push or shove, or use or threaten to use a weapon. When all these acts and others are combined,

we find that much intimate violence occurs. While we can never be certain of the exact number of intimates who

are attacked, the US Department of Justice estimates from its National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) that

about 509,000 acts of violence (2010 data) are committed annually by one intimate against another intimate; 80

percent of these acts are committed by men against women (Truman, 2011). Another national survey about a

decade ago found that 22 percent of US women had been physically assaulted by a spouse or partner at some point

in their lives (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). This figure, if still true, translates to more than 20 million women today.

A national survey of Canadian women found that 29 percent had been attacked by a spouse or partner (Randall &

Haskell, 1995). Taken together, these different figures all indicate that intimate partner violence is very common

and affects millions of people.

According to some estimates, about one-fifth of US women have been assaulted by a spouse or partner at least once in their lives.

Neil Moralee – Not Defeated. – CC BY 2.0.

Some observers claim that husbands are just as likely as wives to be beaten by a spouse, and there is evidence

450 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee/14721834616/

that husbands experience an act of violence from their wives about as often as wives do from their husbands. Yet

this “gender equivalence” argument has been roundly criticized. Although women do commit violence against

husbands and boyfriends, their violence is less serious (e.g., a slap compared to using a fist) and usually in self-

defense to their husbands’ violence. And although some studies find an equal number of violent acts committed

by husbands and wives, other studies find much more violence committed by husbands (Johnson, 2006).

Why do men hit their wives, partners, and girlfriends? As with rape (see Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality”),

sociologists answer this question by citing both structural and cultural factors. Structurally, women are the

subordinate gender in a patriarchal society and, as such, are more likely to be victims of violence, whether it is

rape or intimate violence. Intimate violence is more common in poor families, and economic inequality thus may

lead men to take out their frustration over their poverty on their wives and girlfriends (Martin, Vieraitis, & Britto,

2006).

Cultural myths also help explain why men hit their wives and girlfriends (Gosselin, 2010). Many men continue

to believe that their wives should not only love and honor them but also obey them, as the traditional marriage

vow says. If they view their wives in this way, it becomes that much easier to hit them. In another myth, many

people ask why women do not leave home if the hitting they suffer is really that bad; the implication is that the

hitting cannot be that bad because they do not leave home. This reasoning ignores the fact that many women do

try to leave home, which often angers their husbands and ironically puts the women more at risk for being hit,

or they do not leave home because they have nowhere to go (Kim & Gray, 2008). As the news story that began

this chapter discussed, battered women’s shelters are still few in number and can accommodate a woman and her

children for only two or three weeks. Many battered women also have little money of their own and simply cannot

afford to leave home. The belief that battering cannot be that bad if women hit by their husbands do not leave

home ignores all these factors and is thus a myth that reinforces spousal violence against women. (See Note 10.15

“People Making a Difference” for a profile of the woman who started the first women’s shelter.)

People Making a Difference

The Founder of the First Battered Women’s Shelter

Sandra Ramos deserves our thanks because she founded the first known shelter for battered women in North America back in the late 1970s.

Her life changed one night in 1970 when she was only 28 years old and working as a waitress at a jazz club. One night a woman from her church in New Jersey came to her home seeking refuge from a man who was abusing her. Ramos took in the woman and her children and soon did the same with other abused women and their children. Within a few months, twenty-two women and children were living inside her house. “It was kind of chaotic,” recalls Maria, 47, the oldest of Ramos’s three children. “It was a small house; we didn’t have a lot of room. But she reaches out to people she sees suffering. She does everything in her power to help them.”

When authorities threatened to arrest Ramos if she did not remove all these people from her home, she conducted sit-ins and engaged in other actions to call attention to the women’s plight. She eventually won county funding to start the first women’s shelter.

Today Ramos leads a New Jersey nonprofit organization, Strengthen Our Sisters, that operates several shelters and halfway houses for battered women. Her first shelter and these later ones have housed thousands of women and children since the late 1970s, and at any one time today they house about 180 women and their children.

One woman whom Ramos helped was Geraldine Wright, who was born in the Dominican Republic. Wright says she

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 451

owes Ramos a great debt. “Sandy makes you feel like, OK, you’re going through this, but it’s going to get better,” she says. “One of the best things I did for myself and my children was come to the shelter. She helped me feel strong, which I usually wasn’t. She helped me get a job here at the shelter so that I could find a place and pay the rent.”

Since that first woman knocked on her door in 1970, Sandra Ramos has worked unceasingly for the rights and welfare of abused women. She has fittingly been called “one of the nation’s most well-known and tireless advocates on behalf of battered women.” For more than forty years, Sandra Ramos has made a considerable difference.

Source: Llorente, 2009

Child Abuse

Child abuse takes many forms. Children can be physically or sexually assaulted, and they may also suffer from

emotional abuse and practical neglect. Whatever form it takes, child abuse is a serious national problem.

It is especially difficult to know how much child abuse occurs. Infants obviously cannot talk, and toddlers and

older children who are abused usually do not tell anyone about the abuse. They might not define it as abuse, they

might be scared to tell on their parents, they might blame themselves for being abused, or they might not know

whom they could talk to about their abuse. Whatever the reason, they usually remain silent, thus making it very

difficult to know how much abuse takes place.

452 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Government data estimate that about 800,000 children are abused or neglected each year. Because most

children do not report their abuse or neglect, the actual number is probably much higher.

Jane Fox – Child Abuse mental – CC BY-ND 2.0.

Using information from child protective agencies throughout the country, the US Department of Health and

Human Services estimates that almost 800,000 children (2008 data) are victims of child abuse and neglect

annually (Administration on Children Youth and Families, 2010). This figure includes some 122,000 cases

of physical abuse; 69,000 cases of sexual abuse; 539,000 cases of neglect; 55,000 cases of psychological

maltreatment; and 17,000 cases of medical neglect. The total figure represents about 1 percent of all children

under the age of 18. Obviously this is just the tip of the iceberg, as many cases of child abuse never become

known. A 1994 Gallup poll asked adult respondents about physical abuse they suffered as children. Twelve

percent said they had been abused (punched, kicked, or choked), yielding an estimate of 23 million adults in the

United States who were physically abused as children (D. W. Moore, 1994). Some studies estimate that about 25

percent of girls and 10 percent of boys are sexually abused at least once before turning 18 (Garbarino, 1989). In

a study of a random sample of women in Toronto, Canada, 42 percent said they had been sexually abused before

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 453

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/10.3.5.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/runjanefox/18235242949/

turning 16 (Randall & Haskell, 1995). Whatever the true figure is, most child abuse is committed by parents,

stepparents, and other people the children know, not by strangers.

Children and Our Future

Is Spanking a Good Idea?

As the text discusses, spanking underlies many episodes of child abuse. Nonetheless, many Americans approve of spanking. In the 2010 General Social Survey, 69 percent of respondents agreed that “it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard, spanking.” Reflecting this “spare the rod and spoil the child” belief, most parents have spanked their children. National survey evidence finds that two-thirds of parents of toddlers ages 19–35 months have spanked their child at least once, and one-fourth spank their child sometimes or often.

The reason that many people approve of spanking and that many parents spank is clear: They believe that spanking will teach a child a lesson and improve a child’s behavior and/or attitude. However, most child and parenting experts believe the opposite is true. When children are spanked, they say, and especially when they are spanked regularly, they are more likely to misbehave as a result. If so, spanking ironically produces the opposite result from what a parent intends.

Spanking has this effect for several reasons. First, it teaches children that they should behave to avoid being punished. This lesson makes children more likely to misbehave if they think they will not get caught, as they’d not learn to behave for its own sake. Second, spanking also teaches children that it is OK to hit someone to solve an interpersonal dispute and even to hit someone if you love her or him, because that is what spanking is all about. Third, children who are spanked may come to resent their parents and thus be more likely to misbehave because their bond with their parents weakens.

This harmful effect of spanking is especially likely when spanking is frequent. As Alan Kazin, a former president of the American Psychological Association (APA) explains, “Corporal punishment has really serious side effects. Children who are hit become more aggressive.” When spanking is rare, this effect may or may not occur, according to research on this issue, but this research also finds that other forms of discipline are as effective as a rare spanking in teaching a child to behave. This fact leads Kazin to say that even rare spanking should be avoided. “It suppresses [misbehavior] momentarily. But you haven’t really changed its probability of occurring. Physical punishment is not needed to change behavior. It’s just not needed.”

Sources: Berlin et al., 2009; Harder, 2007; Park, 2010; Regalado, Sareen, Inkelas, Wissow, & Halfon, 2004

Why does child abuse occur? Structurally speaking, children are another powerless group and, as such, are easy

targets of violence. Moreover, the best evidence indicates that child abuse is more common in poorer families.

The stress these families suffer from their poverty is thought to be a major reason for the child abuse occurring

within them (Gosselin, 2010). As with spousal violence, then, economic inequality is partly to blame for child

abuse. Cultural values and practices also matter. In a nation where spanking is common, it is inevitable that

physical child abuse will occur, because there is a very thin line between a hard spanking and physical abuse: Not

everyone defines a good, hard spanking in the same way. As two family violence scholars once noted, “Although

most physical punishment [of children] does not turn into physical abuse, most physical abuse begins as ordinary

physical punishment” (Wauchope & Straus, 1990, p. 147). (See Note 10.17 “Children and Our Future” for a

further discussion of spanking.)

Abused children are much more likely than children who are not abused to end up with various developmental,

psychological, and behavioral problems throughout their life course. In particular, they are more likely to be

aggressive, to use alcohol and other drugs, to be anxious and depressed, and to get divorced if they marry (Trickett,

Noll, & Putnam, 2011).

454 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Key Takeaways

• The divorce rate rose for several reasons during the 1960s and 1970s but has generally leveled off since then.

• Divorce often lowers the psychological well-being of spouses and their children, but the consequences of divorce also depend on the level of contention in the marriage that has ended.

• Despite continuing controversy over the welfare of children whose mothers work outside the home, research indicates that children in high-quality day care fare better in cognitive development than those who stay at home.

• Violence between intimates is fairly common and stems from gender inequality, income inequality, and several cultural myths that minimize the harm that intimate violence causes.

• At least 800,000 children are abused or neglected each year in the United States. Because most abused children do not report the abuse, the number of cases of abuse and neglect is undoubtedly much higher.

For Your Review

1. Think of someone you know (either yourself, a relative, or a friend) whose parents are divorced. Write a brief essay in which you discuss how the divorce affected this person.

2. Do you think it is ever acceptable for a spouse to slap or hit another spouse? Why or why not?

References

Administration on Children Youth and Families. (2010). Child maltreatment 2008. Washington, DC: US

Department of Health and Human Services.

Amato, P. R., & Hohmann-Marriott, B. (2007). A comparison of high- and low-distress marriages that end in

divorce. Journal of Marriage & Family, 69(3), 621–638.

Apel, R., & Kaukinen, C. (2008). On the relationship between family structure and antisocial behavior: Parental

cohabitation and blended households. Criminology, 46(1), 35–70.

Berlin, L. J., Ispa, J. M., Fine, M. A., Malone, P. S., Brooks-Gunn, J., Brady-Smith, C., et al. (2009). Correlates

and consequences of spanking and verbal punishment for low-income white, African American, and Mexican

American toddlers. Child Development, 80(5), 1403–1420.

Bernard, J. (1972). The future of marriage. New York, NY: Bantam.

Booth, A., Scott, M. E., & King, V. (2010). Father residence and adolescent problem behavior: Are youth always

better off in two-parent families? Journal of Family Issues, 31(5), 585–605.

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 455

Brown, S. L. (2005). How cohabitation is reshaping American families. Contexts, 4(3), 33–37.

Brown, S. L., & Bulanda, J. R. (2008). Relationship violence in young adulthood: A comparison of daters,

cohabitors, and marrieds. Social Science Research, 37(1), 73–87.

Cherlin, A. J. (2009). The origins of the ambivalent acceptance of divorce. Journal of Marriage & Family, 71(2),

226–229.

Clarke-Stewart, A., & Brentano, C. (2006). Divorce: Causes and consequences. New Haven, CT: Yale University

Press.

Coontz, S. (1997). The way we really are: Coming to terms with America’s changing families. New York, NY:

Basic Books.

Demo, D. H., & Fine, M. A. (2010). Beyond the average divorce. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2011). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the

United States: 2010 (Current Population Reports, P60-239). Washington, DC: US Census Bureau.

Frech, A., & Williams, K. (2007). Depression and the psychological benefits of entering marriage. Journal of

Health and Social Behavior, 48, 149–163.

Gadalla, T. M. (2008). Gender differences in poverty rates after marital dissolution: A longitudinal study. Journal

of Divorce & Remarriage, 49(3/4), 225–238.

Garbarino, J. (1989). The incidence and prevalence of child maltreatment. In L. Ohlin & M. Tonry (Eds.), Family

violence (Vol. 11, pp. 219–261). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Glenn, N. D. (1997). A Critique of twenty family and marriage and the family textbooks. Family Relations, 46,

197–208.

Goodman, P. S. (2010, May 24). Cuts to child care subsidy thwart more job seekers. New York Times, p. A1.

Gosselin, D. K. (2010). Heavy hands: An introduction to the crimes of family violence (4th ed.). Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Harder, B. (2007, February 19). Spanking: When parents lift their hands. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/feb/19/health/he-spanking19.

Haskins, R. (2009). Moynihan was right: Now what? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social

Science, 621, 281–314.

Hiedemann, B., Suhomlinova, O., & O’Rand, A. M. (1998). Economic independence, economic status, and empty

nest in midlife marital disruption. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 219–231.

Hull, K. E., Meier, A., & Ortyl, T. (2012). The changing landscape of love and marriage. In D. Hartmann & C.

Uggen (Eds.), The contexts reader (2nd ed., pp. 56–63). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

456 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/feb/19/health/he-spanking19

Johnson, M. P. (2006). Conflict and control: Gender symmetry and asymmetry in domestic violence. Violence

Against Women, 12, 1003–1018.

Jose, A., O’Leary, K. D., & Moyer, A. (2010). Does premarital cohabitation predict subsequent marital stability

and marital quality? A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage & Family, 72(1), 105–116.

Kim, J., & Gray, K. A. (2008). Leave or stay? Battered women’s decision after intimate partner violence. Journal

of Interpersonal Violence, 23(10), 1465–1482.

Kneip, T., & Bauer, G. (2009). Did unilateral divorce laws raise divorce rates in Western Europe? Journal of

Marriage & Family, 71(3), 592–607.

Li, J.-C. A. (2010). Briefing paper: The impact of divorce on children’s behavior problems. In B. J. Risman (Ed.),

Families as they really are (pp. 173–177). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Llorente, E. (2009). Strengthening her sisters. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from http://www.aarp.org/giving-

back/volunteering/info-10-2009/strengthening_her_sisters.html.

Martin, K., Vieraitis, L. M., & Britto, S. (2006). Gender equality and women’s absolute status: A test of the

feminist models of rape. Violence Against Women, 12, 321–339.

Moore, D. W. (1994, May). One in seven Americans victim of child abuse. The Gallup Poll Monthly, 18–22.

Moore, K. A., Kinghorn, A., & Bandy, T. (2011). Parental relationship quality and child outcomes across

subgroups. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Morin, R. (2010). The public renders a split verdict on changes in family structure. Washington, DC: Pew

Research Center.

Park, A. (2010). The long-term effects of spanking. Time International (Atlantic Edition), 175(18), 95–95.

Parker-Pope, T. (2010, April 18). Is marriage good for your health? The New York Times Sunday Magazine, p.

MM46.

Patterson, O. (1998). Rituals of blood: Consequences of slavery in two American centuries. Washington, DC:

Civitas/CounterPoint.

Rabin, R. C. (2008, September 15). A consensus about day care: Quality counts. New York Times, p. A1.

Randall, M., & Haskell, L. (1995). Sexual violence in women’s lives: Findings from the Women’s Safety Project,

a community-based survey. Violence Against Women, 1, 6–31.

Regalado, M., Sareen, H., Inkelas, M., Wissow, L. S., & Halfon, N. (2004). Parents’ discipline of young children:

Results from the national survey of early childhood health. Pediatrics, 113, 1952–1958.

Rutter, V. E. (2010). The case for divorce. In B. J. Risman (Ed.), Families as they really are (pp. 159–169). New

York, NY: W. W. Norton.

10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families 457

http://www.aarp.org/giving-back/volunteering/info-10-2009/strengthening_her_sisters.html

Sampson, R. J. (2009). Racial stratification and the durable tangle of neighborhood inequality. The Annals of the

American Academy of Political and Social Science, 621, 260–280.

Schwartz, P. (1983). Length of day-care attendance and attachment behavior in eighteen-month-old infants. Child

Development, 54, 1073–1078.

Teachman, J. (2008). Complex life course patterns and the risk of divorce in second marriages. Journal of

Marriage & Family, 70(2), 294–305.

Theobald, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2011). Why do the crime-reducing effects of marriage vary with age? British

Journal of Criminology, 51(1), 136–158.

Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1998). Prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: Findings

from the national violence against women survey. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.

Trickett, P. K., Noll, J. G., & Putnam, F. W. (2011). The impact of sexual abuse on female development: Lessons

from a multigenerational, longitudinal research study. Development and Psychopathology, 23(2), 453–476.

Truman, J. L. (2011). Criminal victimization, 2010. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Waite, L. J., Luo, Y., & Lewin, A. C. (2009). Marital happiness and marital stability: Consequences for

psychological well-being. Social Science Research, 38(1), 201–212

Wauchope, B., & Straus, M. A. (1990). Physical punishment and physical abuse of American children: Incidence

rates by age, gender, and occupational class. In M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in

American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families (pp. 133–148). New Brunswick, NJ:

Transaction Books.

Wilcox, W. B. (Ed.). (2010). The state of our unions 2010: Marriage in America. Charlottesville, VA: National

Marriage Project.

Willie, C. V., & Reddick, R. J. (2010). A new look at black families (6th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Wright, R. H., Jr., Mindel, C. H., Tran, T. V., & Habenstein, R. W. (Eds.). (2012). Ethnic families in America:

Patterns and variations (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

458 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

10.4 Families in the Future

Learning Objective

1. Understand the implications of social science theory and research for how to address family problems.

As perhaps our most important social institution, the family seems to arouse strong passions from almost

everyone. Sociological theory and research, along with research from the other social sciences, have important

implications for how our society should address the various family issues discussed in this chapter.

One set of implications concerns the many children and families living in poverty. The households in which they

live are mostly headed by women, and the majority of these households are the result of divorce. The programs

and policies outlined in Chapter 2 “Poverty” are certainly relevant for any efforts to help these families. These

efforts include, but are not limited to, increased government financial support, subsidies for child care, vocational

training and financial aid for schooling for women who wish to return to the labor force or to increase their wages,

early childhood visitation and intervention programs, and increases in programs providing nutrition and medical

care to poor women and their children (Cherlin, 2009). In all these efforts, the United States has much to learn

from the nations of Western Europe (see Note 10.21 “Lessons from Other Societies”).

Lessons from Other Societies

Putting Families First: Helping Families in Western Europe

The nations of Western Europe make a much greater effort than the United States to help families with young children. According to sociologist James W. Russell, these nations believe that taking care of their children is a communal responsibility because “society as a whole benefits from having children adequately reared. Children grow up to take over the responsibilities of maintaining the survival of the society. They will also be available to provide needed services to both their own parents and aging adults who did not raise their own children. An aging adult who did not have children may need the services of a younger doctor who was raised by someone else.” In contrast, says Russell, the United States tends to believe that families need to be self-reliant and should not expect very much help from the government. This difference in philosophy leads Western European nations to provide much more support than the United States for families with young children.

This support takes several forms whose nature and extent vary among the Western European nations. Most of the nations, for example, provide at least four months of paid maternity leave after the birth of a child; in contrast, the United States guarantees only three months of unpaid leave, and only for employees who work for companies that employ at least fifty people. Many European nations also provide paid parental leave after the maternity leave benefits expire; the Untied States does not provide this benefit. In Sweden, parents share 450 days of paid leave to care for a new child.

In another striking difference from the United States, all European nations have a family allowance program, which provides cash payments to parents for every child they have after their first child. The intent here is to not only help these families, but also to encourage them to have children to help counter declining birth rates in Europe.

A third very important difference is that European nations provide free or heavily subsidized child care of generally high

quality to enable parents to work outside the home. For example, France provides free child care for children ages 2–6 and pays 75 percent of the cost of child care for children under 2.

In these and other ways, the nations of Western Europe help their families with young children and thus their societies as a whole. The United States has much to learn from their example.

Sources: Russell, 2011; Shahmehri, 2007

Another issue and set of implications from social science research concern family violence. To the extent that

much violence against intimates and children is rooted in the frustration and stress accompanying poverty, efforts

that reduce poverty will also reduce family violence. And to the extent that gender inequality helps explain

violence against women, continuing and strengthening efforts to reduce gender inequality should also reduce

violence against intimates, as most of this violence is directed by men against women. Further, if, as many

scholars believe, the violent nature of masculinity helps account for violence men commit against their wives and

girlfriends, then efforts to change male gender-role socialization should also help.

Turning to child abuse, because so much child abuse remains unknown to child protective authorities, it is difficult

to reduce its seriousness and extent. However, certain steps might still help. Because child abuse seems more

common among poorer families, then efforts that reduce poverty should also reduce child abuse. The home

visitation programs that help poor children also help reduce child abuse. Although, as noted earlier, approval of

spanking is deeply rooted in our culture, a national educational campaign to warn about the dangers of spanking,

including its promotion of children’s misbehavior, may eventually reduce the use of spanking and thus the

incidence of child physical abuse.

Divorce is a final issue for which research by sociologists and other scholars is relevant. Much evidence suggests

that divorce from low-conflict marriages has negative consequences for spouses and children, and some evidence

suggests that these consequences arise not from the divorce itself but rather from the conflict preceding the divorce

and the poverty into which many newly single-parent households are plunged. There is also evidence that spouses

and children fare better after a divorce from a highly contentious marriage. Efforts to help preserve marriages

should certainly continue, but these efforts should proceed cautiously or not proceed at all for the marriages

that are highly contentious. To the extent that marital conflict partly arises from financial difficulties, once again

government efforts that help reduce poverty should also help preserve marriages.

Key Takeaways

• Efforts to help children and families living in poverty or near poverty should be expanded.

• Efforts to help preserve marriages should proceed cautiously or not at all for highly contentious marriages.

For Your Review

1. Why do you think the United States lags behind other democracies in efforts to help families?

460 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

2. What do you think is the single most important policy or action that our government should take to help America’s families?

References

Cherlin, A. J. (2009). The origins of the ambivalent acceptance of divorce. Journal of Marriage & Family, 71(2),

226–229.

Russell, J. W. (2011). Double standard: Social policy in Europe and the United States (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD:

Rowman & Littlefield.

Shahmehri, B. (2007). More than welcome: Families come first in Sweden. In J. H. Skolnick & E. Currie (Eds.),

Crisis in American institutions (13th ed., pp. 204–209). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

10.4 Families in the Future 461

10.5 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. As a social institution, the family is a universal or near-universal phenomenon. Yet historical and cross- cultural records indicate that many types of families and family arrangements exist now and have existed in the past. Although the nuclear family has been the norm in many societies, in practice its use has been less common than many people think. Many societies have favored extended families, and in early times children could expect, because of the death of a parent or births out of wedlock, to live at least some part of their childhood with only one parent.

2. Almost one-third of American children live in one-parent families; this percentage varies by race and ethnicity. Some research finds that parents experience more stress and lower psychological well-being than nonparents.

3. Sociological perspectives on the family fall into the more general functional, conflict, and social interactionist approaches guiding sociological thought. Functional theory emphasizes the several functions that families serve for society, including the socialization of children and the economic and practical support of family members. Conflict theory emphasizes the ways in which nuclear families contribute to ongoing gender, class, and race inequality, while social interactionist approaches examine family communication and interaction to make sense of family life.

4. Scholars continue to debate the consequences of divorce and single-parent households for women, men, and their children. Several studies find that divorce and single parenting in and of themselves do not have the dire consequences for children that many observers assume. The low income of single-parent households, and not the absence of a second parent, seems to account for many of the problems that children in such households do experience. Women and children seem to fare better when a highly contentious marriage ends.

5. Despite ongoing concern over the effect on children of day care instead of full-time care by one parent, recent research finds that children in high-quality day care are not worse off than their stay-at-home counterparts. Some studies find that day-care children are more independent and self-confident than children who stay at home and that they perform better on various tests of cognitive ability.

6. Racial and ethnic diversity marks American family life. Controversy also continues to exist over the high number of fatherless families in the African American community. Many observers blame many of the problems African Americans face on their comparative lack of two-parent households, but other observers say this blame is misplaced.

7. Family violence affects millions of spouses and children yearly. Structural and cultural factors help account for the high amount of intimate violence and child abuse. Despite claims to the contrary, the best evidence indicates that women are much more at risk than men for violence by spouses and partners.

Using What You Know

You’re working for a medium-sized corporation and have become friendly with one of your coworkers, Susan. One day she shows up at work with some bruises on the right side of her face. She looks upset, and when you ask her what

happened, Susan replies that she slipped on the stairs at home and took a nasty fall. You suspect that her husband hit her and that she’s not telling the truth about how she got hurt. What, if anything, do you say or do?

What You Can Do

To help deal with the family problems discussed in this chapter, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer at a day-care center.

2. Volunteer at a battered women’s shelter.

3. Start or join a group on your campus that addresses dating violence.

10.5 End-of-Chapter Material 463

Chapter 11: Schools and Education

Social Problems in the News

“Baltimore Students Lead Rally for Better School Facilities,” the headline said. On a crisp fall day, some 240 students, teachers, and parents held a rally at City Hall in Baltimore, Maryland, to call for massive improvements in the city’s deteriorating schools. According to the news article, students displayed photos of decaying conditions in their schools and “spoke of horrific learning conditions: roaches, rodents, decaying roofs, rotting walls, sewage overflows, and inadequate heating and cooling systems.” A high school senior said, “It’s not that the teachers aren’t the best, because they are, and it’s not that the students are misbehaving. That’s not it. We have buildings that you can’t do anything with.” The president of Baltimore’s City Council agreed. “We owe it to our students to have state-of-the-art schools,” he said. “Our school buildings are conducive to our kids’ learning. If they go into school buildings that don’t have running water, where bathrooms aren’t functioning properly, with outdated furniture and no books in the library, then what do we expect from our kids?”

Source: Burris, 2011

Charles Dickens’s majestic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, begins with this unforgettable passage: “It was the best of

times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,

it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope,

it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to

heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

These words are timeless, and they certainly apply to the US education system today. In many ways it is the best

of systems, but in many ways it is also the worst of systems. It teaches wisdom, but its many problems smack

of foolishness. It fills many people with hope, but it also fills many people with despair. Some students have

everything before them, but many also have nothing before them. In the wealthiest nation on the face of the earth,

students in one of America’s largest cities, Baltimore, attend schools filled with roaches and rodents and reeking of

sewage. They are hardly alone, as students in cities across the nation could easily speak of similar ills. If Dickens

were alive today, he might well look at our schools and conclude that “we were all going direct the other way.”

Education is one of our most important social institutions. Youngsters and adolescents spend most of their

weekday waking hours in school, doing homework, or participating in extracurricular activities, and many then

go on to college. People everywhere care deeply about what happens in our nation’s schools, and issues about the

schools ignite passions across the political spectrum. Yet, as the opening news story about Baltimore’s schools

illustrates, many schools are poorly equipped to prepare their students for the complex needs of today’s world.

This chapter’s discussion of education begins with an overview of education in the United States and then turns to

sociological perspectives on education. The remainder of the chapter discusses education in today’s society. This

discussion highlights education as a source and consequence of various social inequalities and examines several

key issues affecting the nation’s schools and the education of its children.

References

Burris, J. (2011, November 3). Baltimore students lead rally for better school facilities. The Baltimore Sun.

Retrieved from http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-11-03/news/bs-md-ci-rally-facilities-20111103_1_school-

buildings-baltimore-students-city-schools.

Chapter 11: Schools and Education 465

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-11-03/news/bs-md-ci-rally-facilities-20111103_1_school-buildings-baltimore-students-city-schools

11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States

Learning Objectives

1. Explain why compulsory education arose during the nineteenth century.

2. Summarize social class, gender, and racial and ethnic differences in educational attainment.

3. Describe the impact that education has on income.

4. Explain how the US education system ranks internationally.

Education is the social institution through which a society teaches its members the skills, knowledge, norms,

and values they need to learn to become good, productive members of their society. As this definition makes

clear, education is an important part of socialization. Education is both formal and informal. Formal education

is often referred to as schooling, and as this term implies, it occurs in schools under teachers, principals, and

other specially trained professionals. Informal education may occur almost anywhere, but for young children it

has traditionally occurred primarily in the home, with their parents as their instructors. Day care has become an

increasingly popular venue in industrial societies for young children’s instruction, and education from the early

years of life is thus more formal than it used to be.

Education in early America was only rarely formal. During the colonial period, the Puritans in what is now

Massachusetts required parents to teach their children to read and also required larger towns to have an elementary

school, where children learned reading, writing, and religion. In general, though, schooling was not required in

the colonies, and only about 10 percent of colonial children, usually just the wealthiest, went to school, although

others became apprentices (Urban & Wagoner, 2008).

To help unify the nation after the Revolutionary War, textbooks were written to standardize spelling and

pronunciation and to instill patriotism and religious beliefs in students. At the same time, these textbooks included

negative stereotypes of Native Americans and certain immigrant groups. The children going to school continued

primarily to be those from wealthy families. By the mid-1800s, a call for free, compulsory education had begun,

and compulsory education became widespread by the end of the century. This was an important development, as

children from all social classes could now receive a free, formal education. Compulsory education was intended

to further national unity and to teach immigrants “American” values. It also arose because of industrialization, as

an industrial economy demanded reading, writing, and math skills much more than an agricultural economy had.

Free, compulsory education, of course, applied only to primary and secondary schools. Until the mid-1900s, very

few people went to college, and those who did typically came from fairly wealthy families. After World War II,

however, college enrollments soared, and today more people are attending college than ever before, even though

college attendance is still related to social class, as we shall discuss shortly.

An important theme emerges from this brief history: Until very recently in the record of history, formal schooling

was restricted to wealthy males. This means that boys who were not white and rich were excluded from formal

schooling, as were virtually all girls, whose education was supposed to take place informally at home. Today,

as we will see, race, ethnicity, social class, and, to some extent, gender continue to affect both educational

achievement and the amount of learning occurring in schools.

In colonial America, only about 10 percent of children went to school, and these children tended to come from wealthy families. After

the Revolutionary War, new textbooks helped standardize spelling and pronunciation and promote patriotism and religious beliefs,

but these textbooks also included negative stereotypes of Native Americans.

Wikimedia Commons – public domian.

Education in the United States Today

Education in the United States is a massive social institution involving millions of people and billions of dollars.

More than 75 million people, almost one-fourth of the US population, attend school at all levels. This number

includes 40 million in grades pre-K through eighth grade, 16 million in high school, and 20 million in college

(including graduate and professional school). They attend some 132,000 elementary and secondary schools and

about 4,200 two-year and four-year colleges and universities and are taught by about 4.8 million teachers and

professors (US Census Bureau, 2012).

11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States 467

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/c05b51fdb87f2eda3e3bf13b66b8591d.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spinninginthecolonialkitchen.jpg

Correlates of Educational Attainment

About 65 percent of US high school graduates enroll in college the following fall. This is a very high figure by

international standards, as college in many other industrial nations is reserved for the very small percentage of the

population who pass rigorous entrance exams. They are the best of the brightest in their nations, whereas higher

education in the United States is open to all who graduate high school. Even though that is true, our chances

of achieving a college degree are greatly determined at birth, as social class and race and ethnicity substantially

affect who goes to college. They affect whether students drop out of high school, in which case they do not go on

to college; they affect the chances of getting good grades in school and good scores on college entrance exams;

they affect whether a family can afford to send its children to college; and they affect the chances of staying in

college and obtaining a degree versus dropping out. For all these reasons, educational attainment—how far one

gets in school—depends heavily on family income and race/ethnicity (Tavernise, 2012). Family income, in fact,

makes a much larger difference in educational attainment than it did during the 1960s.

Family Income and Race/Ethnicity

Government data readily show the effects of family income and race/ethnicity on educational attainment. Let’s

first look at how race and ethnicity affect the likelihood of dropping out of high school. Figure 11.1 “Race,

Ethnicity, and High School Dropout Rate, Persons Ages 16–24, 2009 (Percentage Not Enrolled in School and

without a High School Degree)” shows the percentage of people ages 16–24 who are not enrolled in school and

who have not received a high school degree. The dropout rate is highest for Latinos and Native Americans and

lowest for Asians and whites.

Figure 11.1 Race, Ethnicity, and High School Dropout Rate, Persons Ages 16–24, 2009 (Percentage Not Enrolled in School and

without a High School Degree)

Source: Aud, S., Hussar, W., Kena, G., Bianco, K., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., et al. (2011). The condition of education 2011. Washington,

DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Now let’s look at how family income affects the likelihood of attending college, a second benchmark of

educational attainment. Figure 11.2 “Family Income and Percentage of High School Graduates Who Attend

468 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/56038d76e82efd36f48e343e1329a885.jpg

College Immediately after Graduation, 2009” shows the relationship between family income and the percentage

of high school graduates who enroll in college immediately following graduation: Students from families in the

highest income bracket are more likely than those in the lowest bracket to attend college. This “income gap” in

college entry has become larger in recent decades (Bailey & Dynarski, 2011).

Figure 11.2 Family Income and Percentage of High School Graduates Who Attend College Immediately after Graduation, 2009

Source: Aud, S., Hussar, W., Kena, G., Bianco, K., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., et al. (2011). The condition of education 2011. Washington, DC: National Center for Education

Statistics.

Finally, let’s examine how race and ethnicity affect the likelihood of obtaining a college degree, a third benchmark

of educational attainment. Figure 11.3 “Race, Ethnicity, and Percentage of Persons Ages 25 or Older with a Four-

Year College Degree, 2010” shows the relationship between race/ethnicity and the percentage of persons 25 or

older who have a bachelor’s or master’s degree. This relationship is quite strong, with African Americans and

Latinos least likely to have a degree, and whites and especially Asians/Pacific Islanders most likely to have a

degree.

Figure 11.3 Race, Ethnicity, and Percentage of Persons Ages 25 or Older with a Four-Year College Degree, 2010

Source: Aud, S., Hussar, W., Kena, G., Bianco, K., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., et al. (2011). The condition of education 2011. Washington, DC: National Center for Education

Statistics.

11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States 469

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/10f20bffa680dc74aed472509daeb1c5.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/6882e21b6f22783d61190b57c486c628.jpg

Explaining the Racial/Ethnic Gap in Educational Attainment

Why do African Americans and Latinos have lower educational attainment? Four factors are commonly cited: (a)

the underfunded and otherwise inadequate schools that children in both groups often attend; (b) the higher poverty

of their families and lower education of their parents that often leave children ill prepared for school even before

they enter kindergarten; (c) racial discrimination; and (d) the fact that African American and Latino families are

especially likely to live in very poor neighborhoods (Ballantine & Hammack, 2012; Yeung & Pfeiffer, 2009).

The last two factors, racial discrimination and residence in high-poverty neighborhoods, need additional

explanation. At least three forms of racial discrimination impair educational attainment (Mickelson, 2003). The

first form involves tracking. As we discuss later, students tracked into vocational or general curricula tend to

learn less and have lower educational attainment than those tracked into a faster-learning, academic curriculum.

Because students of color are more likely to be tracked “down” rather than “up,” their school performance and

educational attainment suffer.

The second form of racial discrimination involves school discipline. As we also discuss later, students of color

are more likely than white students to be suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined for similar types of

misbehavior. Because such discipline again reduces school performance and educational attainment, this form of

discrimination helps explain the lower attainment of African American and Latino students.

The third form involves teachers’ expectations of students. As our later discussion of the symbolic interactionist

perspective on education examines further, teachers’ expectations of students affect how much students learn.

Research finds that teachers have lower expectations for their African American and Latino students, and that

these expectations help to lower how much these students learn.

Turning to residence in high-poverty neighborhoods, it may be apparent that poor neighborhoods have lower

educational attainment because they have inadequate schools, but poor neighborhoods matter for reasons beyond

their schools’ quality (Kirk & Sampson, 2011; Wodtke, Harding, & Elwert, 2011). First, because many adults

in these neighborhoods are high school dropouts and/or unemployed, children in these neighborhoods lack adult

role models for educational attainment. Second, poor neighborhoods tend to be racially and ethnically segregated.

Latino children in these neighborhoods are less likely to speak English well because they lack native English-

speaking friends, and African American children are more likely to speak “black English” than conventional

English; both language problems impede school success.

Third, poor neighborhoods have higher rates of violence and other deviant behaviors than wealthier

neighborhoods. Children in these neighborhoods thus are more likely to experience high levels of stress, to engage

in these behaviors themselves (which reduces their attention and commitment to their schooling), and to be

victims of violence (which increases their stress and can impair their neurological development). Crime in these

neighborhoods also tends to reduce teacher commitment and parental involvement in their children’s schooling.

Finally, poor neighborhoods are more likely to have environmental problems such as air pollution and toxic levels

of lead paint; these problems lead to asthma and other health problems among children (as well as adults), which

impairs the children’s ability to learn and do well in school.

For all these reasons, then, children in poor neighborhoods are at much greater risk for lower educational

470 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

attainment. As a recent study of this risk concluded, “Sustained exposure to disadvantaged

neighborhoods…throughout the entire childhood life course has a devastating impact on the chances of graduating

from high school” (Wodtke et al., 2011, p. 731). If these neighborhoods are not improved, the study continued,

“concentrated neighborhood poverty will likely continue to hamper the development of future generations of

children” (Wodtke et al., 2011, p. 733).

Gender

Gender also affects educational attainment. If we do not take age into account, slightly more men than women

have a college degree: 30.3 percent of men and 29.6 percent of women. This difference reflects the fact that

women were less likely than men in earlier generations to go to college. But today there is a gender difference in

the other direction: Women now earn more than 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, up from just 35 percent in

1960 (see Figure 11.4 “Percentage of All Bachelor’s Degrees Received by Women, 1960–2009”). This difference

reflects the fact that females are more likely than males to graduate high school, to attend college after high school

graduation, and to obtain a degree after starting college (Bailey & Dynarski, 2011).

Figure 11.4 Percentage of All Bachelor’s Degrees Received by Women, 1960–2009

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

Impact of Education on Income

11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States 471

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/c9fe9a52947cec1f5487d22cc83ffced.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/11.1.0.jpg

On the average, college graduates have much higher annual earnings than high school graduates. How much does this consequence

affect why you decided to go to college?

Merrimack College – Commencement 2012 – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Have you ever applied for a job that required a high school degree? Are you going to college in part because

you realize you will need a college degree for a higher-paying job? As these questions imply, the United States

is a credential society (Collins, 1979). This means at least two things. First, a high school or college degree (or

beyond) indicates that a person has acquired the needed knowledge and skills for various jobs. Second, a degree at

some level is a requirement for most jobs. As you know full well, a college degree today is a virtual requirement

for a decent-paying job. The ante has been upped considerably over the years: In earlier generations, a high school

degree, if even that, was all that was needed, if only because so few people graduated from high school to begin

with. With so many people graduating from high school today, a high school degree is not worth as much. Then

too, today’s society increasingly requires skills and knowledge that only a college education brings.

A credential society also means that people with more formal education achieve higher incomes. Annual earnings

are indeed much higher for people with more education (see Figure 11.5 “Educational Attainment and Median

Annual Earnings, Ages 25–34, 2009”). As earlier chapters indicated, gender and race/ethnicity affect the payoff

we get from our education, but education itself still makes a huge difference for our incomes.

Figure 11.5 Educational Attainment and Median Annual Earnings, Ages 25–34, 2009

472 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://www.flickr.com/photos/merrimack/7256193390/

Source: Aud, S., Hussar, W., Kena, G., Bianco, K., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., et al. (2011). The condition of education 2011. Washington,

DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Impact of Education on Mortality

Beyond income, education also affects at what age people tend to die. Simply put, people with higher levels of

education tend to die later in life, and those with lower levels tend to die earlier (Miech, Pampel, Kim, & Rogers,

2011). The reasons for this disparity are complex, but two reasons stand out. First, more highly educated people

are less likely to smoke and engage in other unhealthy activities, and they are more likely to exercise and to engage

in other healthy activities and also to eat healthy diets. Second, they have better access to high-quality health care.

How the US Education System Compares Internationally

The United States has many of the top colleges and universities and secondary schools in the world, and many of

the top professors and teachers. In these respects, the US education system is “the best of systems.” But in other

respects, it is “the worst of systems.” When we compare educational attainment in the United States to that in the

world’s other democracies, the United States lags behind its international peers.

Differences in the educational systems of the world’s democracies make exact comparisons difficult, but one basic

measure of educational attainment is the percentage of a nation’s population that has graduated high school. A

widely cited comparison involves the industrial nations that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development (OECD). Of the twenty-eight nations for which OECD has high school graduation

data, the United States ranks only twenty-first, with a graduation rate of 76 percent (Organisation for Economic

Co-operation and Development, 2011). In contrast, several nations, including Finland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal,

Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have graduation rates of at least 90 percent. If we limit the comparison to

the OECD nations that compose the world’s wealthy democracies (see Chapter 2 “Poverty”) to which the United

States is most appropriately compared, the United States ranks only thirteenth out of sixteen such nations.

OECD also collects and publishes data on proficiency in mathematics, reading, and science among 15-year-olds

in its member nations (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010). In reading and science,

11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States 473

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/5a210506451545f7ae9a3b6ab8a0c9d6.jpg

the United States ranks only at the average for all OECD nations, while the US score for mathematics ranks below

the OECD average. Compared to their counterparts in other industrial nations, then, American 15-year-olds are

only average or below average for these three important areas of study. Taking into account high school graduation

rates and these proficiency rankings, the United States is far from the world leader in the quality of education.

The Note 11.8 “Lessons from Other Societies” box examines what the United States might learn from the sterling

example of Finland’s education system.

Lessons from Other Societies

Successful Schooling in Finland

Finland is widely regarded as having perhaps the top elementary and secondary education system in the world. Its model of education offers several important lessons for US education. As a recent analysis of Finland’s schools put it, “The country’s achievements in education have other nations doing their homework.”

To understand the lessons to be learned from Finland, we should go back several decades to the 1970s, when Finland’s education system was below par, with its students scoring below the international average in mathematics and science. Moreover, urban schools in Finland outranked rural schools, and wealthy students performed much better than low- income students. Today, Finnish students rank at the top in international testing, and low-income students do almost as well as wealthy students.

Finland’s education system ranks so highly today because it took several measures to improve its education system. First, and perhaps most important, Finland raised teachers’ salaries, required all teachers to have a three-year master’s degree, and paid all costs, including a living stipend, for the graduate education needed to achieve this degree. These changes helped to greatly increase the number of teachers, especially the number of highly qualified teachers, and Finland now has more teachers for every 1,000 residents than does the United States. Unlike the United States, teaching is considered a highly prestigious profession in Finland, and the application process to become a teacher is very competitive. The college graduates who apply for one of Finland’s eight graduate programs in teaching typically rank in the top 10 percent of their class, and only 5–15 percent of their applications are accepted. A leading Finnish educator observed, “It’s more difficult getting into teacher education than law or medicine.” In contrast, US students who become teachers tend to have lower SAT scores than those who enter other professions, they only need a four-year degree, and their average salaries are lower than other professionals with a similar level of education.

Second, Finland revamped its curriculum to emphasize critical thinking skills, reduced the importance of scores on standardized tests and then eliminated standardized testing altogether, and eliminated academic tracking before tenth grade. Unlike the United States, Finland no longer ranks students, teachers, or schools according to scores on standardized tests because these tests are no longer given.

Third, Finland built many more schools to enable the average school to have fewer students. Today the typical school has fewer than three hundred students, and class sizes are smaller than those found in the United States.

Fourth, Finland increased funding of its schools so that its schools are now well maintained and well equipped. Whereas many US schools are decrepit, Finnish schools are decidedly in good repair.

Finally, Finland provided free medical and dental care for children and their families and expanded other types of social services, including three years of paid maternity leave and subsidized day care, as the country realized that children’s health and home environment play critical roles in their educational achievement.

These and other changes helped propel Finland’s education system to a leading position among the world’s industrial nations. As the United States ponders how best to improve its own education system, it may have much to learn from Finland’s approach to how children should learn.

Sources: Abrams, 2011; Anderson, 2011; Eggers & Calegari, 2011; Hancock, 2011; Ravitch, 2012; Sahlberg, 2011

474 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Key Takeaways

• Until very recently in the record of history, formal schooling was restricted to wealthy males.

• Students from low-income backgrounds tend to have lower educational attainment than students from wealthier backgrounds.

• African Americans and Latinos tend to have lower educational attainment than non-Latino whites and Asians.

• Gender influences educational attainment in a complex fashion; older women have lower educational attainment than older men, but younger women have greater educational attainment than younger men.

• The United States ranks behind many other industrial nations in the quality of the education its citizens receive.

For Your Review

1. Do you think the government should take steps to try to reduce racial and ethnic differences in education, or do you think it should take a hands-off approach? Explain your answer.

2. Should the government require that children receive a formal education, as it now does, or should it be up to parents to decide whether their children should receive a formal education? Explain your answer.

References

Abrams, S. E. (2011, January 28). The children must play: What the United States could learn from Finland about

education reform. The New Republic. Retrieved from http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/82329/education-reform-

Finland-US.

Anderson, J. (2011, December 13). From Finland, an intriguing school-reform model. New York Times, p. A33.

Bailey, M. J., & Dynarski, S. (2011). Gains and gaps: Changing inequality in US college entry and completion.

Ann Arbor, MI: Population Studies Center.

Ballantine, J. H., & Hammack, F. M. (2012). The sociology of education: A systematic analysis (7th ed.). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Collins, R. (1979). The credential society: An historical sociology of education and stratification. New York, NY:

Academic Press.

Eggers, D., & Calegari, N. C. (2011, May 1). The high cost of low teacher salaries. New York Times, p. WK12.

Hancock, L. (2011, September). Why are Finland’s schools successful? Smithsonian. Retrieved from

11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States 475

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/82329/education-reform-Finland-US

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-

Successful.html?c=y&story=fullstory.

Kirk, D. S., & Sampson, R. J. (2011). Crime and the production of safe schools. In G. J. Duncan & R. J. Murnane

(Eds.), Whither opportunity?: Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances (pp. 397–418). New York,

NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Mickelson, R. A. (2003). When are racial disparities in education the result of racial discrimination? A social

science perspective. Teachers College Record, 105, pp. 1052–1086.

Miech, R., Pampel, F., Kim, J., & Rogers, R. G. (2011). Education and mortality: The role of widening and

narrowing disparities. American Sociological Review, 76, 913–934.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2011). How many students finish secondary

education? Retrieved November 10, 2011, from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/62/3/48630687.pdf.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). PISA 2009 results: What students know and

can do—Student performance in reading, mathematics and science (Vol. 1). Paris, France: Author.

Ravitch, D. (2012, March 8). Schools we can envy. The New York Review of Books. Retrieved from

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/08/schools-we-can-envy/.

Sahlberg, P. (2011). Finnish lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? New York,

NY: Teachers College Press.

Tavernise, S. (2012, February 10). Education gap grows between rich and poor, studies say. New York Times, p.

A1.

Urban, W. J., & Wagoner, J. L., Jr. (2008). American education: A history (4th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government

Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

Wodtke, G. T., Harding, D. J., & Elwert, F. (2011). Neighborhood effects in temporal perspective: The impact

of long-term exposure to concentrated disadvantage on high school graduation. American Sociological Review,

76(5), 713–736.

Yeung, W.-J. J., & Pfeiffer, K. M. (2009). The black-white test score gap and early home environment. Social

Science Research, 38(2), 412–437.

476 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html?c=y&story=fullstory

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/62/3/48630687.pdf

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/08/schools-we-can-envy/

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/e10d3b49f85b34a546f654526b9eb784.jpg

11.2 Sociological Perspectives on Education

Learning Objectives

1. List the major functions of education.

2. Explain the problems that conflict theory sees in education.

3. Describe how symbolic interactionism understands education.

The major sociological perspectives on education fall nicely into the functional, conflict, and symbolic

interactionist approaches (Ballantine & Hammack, 2012). Table 11.1 “Theory Snapshot” summarizes what these

approaches say.

Table 11.1 Theory Snapshot

Theoretical perspective

Major assumptions

Functionalism

Education serves several functions for society. These include (a) socialization, (b) social integration, (c) social placement, and (d) social and cultural innovation. Latent functions include child care, the establishment of peer relationships, and lowering unemployment by keeping high school students out of the full-time labor force. Problems in the educational institution harm society because all these functions cannot be completely fulfilled.

Conflict theory

Education promotes social inequality through the use of tracking and standardized testing and the impact of its “hidden curriculum.” Schools differ widely in their funding and learning conditions, and this type of inequality leads to learning disparities that reinforce social inequality.

Symbolic interactionism

This perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in other school venues. Specific research finds that social interaction in schools affects the development of gender roles and that teachers’ expectations of pupils’ intellectual abilities affect how much pupils learn. Certain educational problems have their basis in social interaction and expectations.

The Functions of Education

Functional theory stresses the functions that education serves in fulfilling a society’s various needs. Perhaps

the most important function of education is socialization. If children are to learn the norms, values, and skills

they need to function in society, then education is a primary vehicle for such learning. Schools teach the three

Rs (reading, ’riting, ’rithmetic), as we all know, but they also teach many of the society’s norms and values.

In the United States, these norms and values include respect for authority, patriotism (remember the Pledge of

Allegiance?), punctuality, and competition (for grades and sports victories).

A second function of education is social integration. For a society to work, functionalists say, people must

subscribe to a common set of beliefs and values. As we saw, the development of such common views was a goal

of the system of free, compulsory education that developed in the nineteenth century. Thousands of immigrant

children in the United States today are learning English, US history, and other subjects that help prepare them for

the workforce and integrate them into American life.

A third function of education is social placement. Beginning in grade school, students are identified by teachers

and other school officials either as bright and motivated or as less bright and even educationally challenged.

Depending on how they are identified, children are taught at the level that is thought to suit them best. In this way,

they are presumably prepared for their later station in life. Whether this process works as well as it should is an

important issue, and we explore it further when we discuss school tracking later in this chapter.

Social and cultural innovation is a fourth function of education. Our scientists cannot make important scientific

discoveries and our artists and thinkers cannot come up with great works of art, poetry, and prose unless they have

first been educated in the many subjects they need to know for their chosen path.

Figure 11.6 The Functions of Education

Schools ideally perform many important functions in modern society. These include socialization, social

integration, social placement, and social and cultural innovation.

Education also involves several latent functions, functions that are by-products of going to school and receiving

an education rather than a direct effect of the education itself. One of these is child care: Once a child starts

kindergarten and then first grade, for several hours a day the child is taken care of for free. The establishment of

peer relationships is another latent function of schooling. Most of us met many of our friends while we were in

school at whatever grade level, and some of those friendships endure the rest of our lives. A final latent function

of education is that it keeps millions of high school students out of the full-time labor force. This fact keeps the

unemployment rate lower than it would be if they were in the labor force.

Because education serves so many manifest and latent functions for society, problems in schooling ultimately

478 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

harm society. For education to serve its many functions, various kinds of reforms are needed to make our schools

and the process of education as effective as possible.

Education and Inequality

Conflict theory does not dispute the functions just described. However, it does give some of them a different slant

by emphasizing how education also perpetuates social inequality (Ballantine & Hammack, 2012). One example of

this process involves the function of social placement. When most schools begin tracking their students in grade

school, the students thought by their teachers to be bright are placed in the faster tracks (especially in reading and

arithmetic), while the slower students are placed in the slower tracks; in high school, three common tracks are the

college track, vocational track, and general track.

Such tracking does have its advantages; it helps ensure that bright students learn as much as their abilities allow

them, and it helps ensure that slower students are not taught over their heads. But conflict theorists say that

tracking also helps perpetuate social inequality by locking students into faster and lower tracks. Worse yet, several

studies show that students’ social class and race and ethnicity affect the track into which they are placed, even

though their intellectual abilities and potential should be the only things that matter: White, middle-class students

are more likely to be tracked “up,” while poorer students and students of color are more likely to be tracked

“down.” Once they are tracked, students learn more if they are tracked up and less if they are tracked down. The

latter tend to lose self-esteem and begin to think they have little academic ability and thus do worse in school

because they were tracked down. In this way, tracking is thought to be good for those tracked up and bad for those

tracked down. Conflict theorists thus say that tracking perpetuates social inequality based on social class and race

and ethnicity (Ansalone, 2010).

Conflict theorists add that standardized tests are culturally biased and thus also help perpetuate social inequality

(Grodsky, Warren, & Felts, 2008). According to this criticism, these tests favor white, middle-class students whose

socioeconomic status and other aspects of their backgrounds have afforded them various experiences that help

them answer questions on the tests.

A third critique of conflict theory involves the quality of schools. As we will see later in this chapter, US schools

differ mightily in their resources, learning conditions, and other aspects, all of which affect how much students

can learn in them. Simply put, schools are unequal, and their very inequality helps perpetuate inequality in the

larger society. Children going to the worst schools in urban areas face many more obstacles to their learning than

those going to well-funded schools in suburban areas. Their lack of learning helps ensure they remain trapped in

poverty and its related problems.

In a fourth critique, conflict theorists say that schooling teaches a hidden curriculum, by which they mean a set

of values and beliefs that support the status quo, including the existing social hierarchy (Booher-Jennings, 2008).

Although no one plots this behind closed doors, our schoolchildren learn patriotic values and respect for authority

from the books they read and from various classroom activities.

A final critique is historical and concerns the rise of free, compulsory education during the nineteenth century

(Cole, 2008). Because compulsory schooling began in part to prevent immigrants’ values from corrupting

“American” values, conflict theorists see its origins as smacking of ethnocentrism (the belief that one’s own group

11.2 Sociological Perspectives on Education 479

is superior to another group). They also criticize its intention to teach workers the skills they needed for the

new industrial economy. Because most workers were very poor in this economy, these critics say, compulsory

education served the interests of the upper/capitalist class much more than it served the interests of workers.

Symbolic Interactionism and School Behavior

Symbolic interactionist studies of education examine social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in

other school venues. These studies help us understand what happens in the schools themselves, but they also help

us understand how what occurs in school is relevant for the larger society. Some studies, for example, show how

children’s playground activities reinforce gender-role socialization. Girls tend to play more cooperative games,

while boys play more competitive sports (Thorne, 1993) (see Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality”).

Applying Social Research

Assessing the Impact of Small Class Size

Do elementary school students fare better if their classes have fewer students rather than more students? It is not easy to answer this important question, because any differences found between students in small classes and those in larger classes might not necessarily reflect class size. Rather, they may reflect other factors. For example, perhaps the most motivated, educated parents ask that their child be placed in a smaller class and that their school goes along with this request. Perhaps teachers with more experience favor smaller classes and are able to have their principals assign them to these classes, while new teachers are assigned larger classes. These and other possibilities mean that any differences found between the two class sizes might reflect the qualities and skills of students and/or teachers in these classes, and not class size itself.

For this reason, the ideal study of class size would involve random assignment of both students and teachers to classes of different size. (Recall that Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems” discusses the benefits of random assignment.) Fortunately, a notable study of this type exists.

The study, named Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio), began in Tennessee in 1985 and involved 79 public schools and 11,600 students and 1,330 teachers who were all randomly assigned to either a smaller class (13–17 students) or a larger class (22–25 students). The random assignment began when the students entered kindergarten and lasted through third grade; in fourth grade, the experiment ended, and all the students were placed into the larger class size. The students are now in their early thirties, and many aspects of their educational and personal lives have been followed since the study began.

Some of the more notable findings of this multiyear study include the following:

• While in grades K–3, students in the smaller classes had higher average scores on standardized tests.

• Students who had been in the smaller classes continued to have higher average test scores in grades 4–7.

• Students who had been in the smaller classes were more likely to complete high school and also to attend college.

• Students who had been in the smaller classes were less likely to be arrested during adolescence.

• Students who had been in the smaller classes were more likely in their twenties to be married and to live in wealthier neighborhoods.

• White girls who had been in the smaller classes were less likely to have a teenage birth than white girls who had been in the larger classes.

Why did small class size have these benefits? Two reasons seem likely. First, in a smaller class, there are fewer students

480 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

to disrupt the class by talking, fighting, or otherwise taking up the teacher’s time. More learning can thus occur in smaller classes. Second, kindergarten teachers are better able to teach noncognitive skills (cooperating, listening, sitting still) in smaller classes, and these skills can have an impact many years later.

Regardless of the reasons, it was the experimental design of Project STAR that enabled its findings to be attributed to class size rather than to other factors. Because small class size does seem to help in many ways, the United States should try to reduce class size in order to improve student performance and later life outcomes.

Sources: Chetty et al., 2011; Schanzenbach, 2006

Research guided by the symbolic interactionist perspective suggests that teachers’ expectations may influence how much their

students learn. When teachers expect little of their students, their students tend to learn less.

ijiwaru jimbo – Pre-school colour pack – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Another body of research shows that teachers’ views about students can affect how much the students learn.

When teachers think students are smart, they tend to spend more time with these students, to call on them, and to

praise them when they give the right answer. Not surprisingly, these students learn more because of their teachers’

behavior. But when teachers think students are less bright, they tend to spend less time with these students and to

act in a way that leads them to learn less. Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson (1968) conducted a classic study

of this phenomenon. They tested a group of students at the beginning of the school year and told their teachers

which students were bright and which were not. They then tested the students again at the end of the school year.

Not surprisingly, the bright students had learned more during the year than the less bright ones. But it turned out

that the researchers had randomly decided which students would be designated bright and less bright. Because

the “bright” students learned more during the school year without actually being brighter at the beginning, their

teachers’ behavior must have been the reason. In fact, their teachers did spend more time with them and praised

11.2 Sociological Perspectives on Education 481

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/11.2.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/saint_george/4815178840/

them more often than was true for the “less bright” students. This process helps us understand why tracking is bad

for the students tracked down.

Other research in the symbolic interactionist tradition focuses on how teachers treat girls and boys. Many studies

find that teachers call on and praise boys more often (Jones & Dindia, 2004). Teachers do not do this consciously,

but their behavior nonetheless sends an implicit message to girls that math and science are not for them and that

they are not suited to do well in these subjects. This body of research has stimulated efforts to educate teachers

about the ways in which they may unwittingly send these messages and about strategies they could use to promote

greater interest and achievement by girls in math and science (Battey, Kafai, Nixon, & Kao, 2007).

Key Takeaways

• According to the functional perspective, education helps socialize children and prepare them for their eventual entrance into the larger society as adults.

• The conflict perspective emphasizes that education reinforces inequality in the larger society.

• The symbolic interactionist perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on school playgrounds, and at other school-related venues. Social interaction contributes to gender-role socialization, and teachers’ expectations may affect their students’ performance.

For Your Review

1. Review how the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspectives understand and explain education. Which of these three approaches do you most prefer? Why?

References

Ansalone, G. (2010). Tracking: Educational differentiation or defective strategy. Educational Research Quarterly,

34(2), 3–17.

Ballantine, J. H., & Hammack, F. M. (2012). The sociology of education: A systematic analysis (7th ed.). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Battey, D., Kafai, Y., Nixon, A. S., & Kao, L. L. (2007). Professional development for teachers on gender equity

in the sciences: Initiating the conversation. Teachers College Record, 109(1), 221–243.

Booher-Jennings, J. (2008). Learning to label: Socialisation, gender, and the hidden curriculum of high-stakes

testing. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29, 149–160.

Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Hilger, N., Saez, E., Schanzenbach, D. W., & Yagan, D. (2011). How does your

482 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from Project STAR. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126,

1593–1660.

Cole, M. (2008). Marxism and educational theory: Origins and issues. New York, NY: Routledge.

Grodsky, E., Warren, J. R., & Felts, E. (2008). Testing and social stratification in American education. Annual

Review of Sociology, 34(1), 385–404.

Jones, S. M., & Dindia, K. (2004). A meta-analystic perspective on sex equity in the classroom. Review of

Educational Research, 74, 443–471.

Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. New York, NY: Holt.

Schanzenbach, D. W. (2006). What have researchers learned from Project STAR? (Harris School Working

Paper—Series 06.06).

Thorne, B. (1993). Gender play: Girls and boys in school. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

11.2 Sociological Perspectives on Education 483

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how schooling in the United States helps perpetuate social inequality.

2. Explain the difference between de jure segregation and de facto segregation.

3. Summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of single-sex education.

4. Describe the extent of school violence and the controversy over zero-tolerance policies.

5. Discuss how and why social inequality in the larger society manifests itself in higher education.

The elementary (K–8) and secondary (9–12) education system today faces many issues and problems of interest

not just to educators and families but also to sociologists and other social scientists. We cannot discuss all these

issues here, but we will highlight some of the most interesting and important.

Schools and Inequality

Earlier we mentioned that schools differ greatly in their funding, their conditions, and other aspects. Noted author

and education critic Jonathan Kozol refers to these differences as “savage inequalities,” to quote the title of one of

his books (Kozol, 1991). Kozol’s concern over inequality in the schools stemmed from his experience as a young

teacher in a public elementary school in a Boston inner-city neighborhood in the 1960s. Kozol was shocked to see

that his school was literally falling apart. The building itself was decrepit, with plaster falling off the walls and

bathrooms and other facilities substandard. Classes were large, and the school was so overcrowded that Kozol’s

fourth-grade class had to meet in an auditorium, which it shared with another class, the school choir, and, for a

time, a group of students practicing for the Christmas play. Kozol’s observations led to the writing of his first

award-winning book, Death at an Early Age (Kozol, 1967).

Kozol (1991) later traveled around the United States and systematically compared public schools in several cities’

inner-city neighborhoods to those in the cities’ suburbs. Everywhere he went, he found great discrepancies in

school spending and in the quality of instruction. In schools in Camden, New Jersey, for example, spending per

pupil was less than half the amount spent in the nearby, much wealthier town of Princeton. Chicago and New York

City schools spent only about half the amount that some of the schools in nearby suburbs spent.

These numbers were reflected in other differences Kozol found when he visited city and suburban schools. In

East St. Louis, Illinois, where most of the residents are poor and almost all are African American, schools had

to shut down once because of sewage backups. The high school’s science labs were thirty to fifty years out of

date when Kozol visited them; the biology lab had no dissecting kits. A history teacher had 110 students but only

twenty-six textbooks, some of which were missing their first one hundred pages. At one of the city’s junior high

schools, many window frames lacked any glass, and the hallways were dark because light bulbs were missing or

not working. Visitors could smell urinals one hundred feet from the bathroom.

Contrast these conditions with those Kozol observed in suburban schools. A high school in a Chicago suburb had

seven gyms and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Students there could take classes in seven foreign languages.

A suburban New Jersey high school offered fourteen AP courses, fencing, golf, ice hockey, and lacrosse, and the

school district there had ten music teachers and an extensive music program.

From his observations, Kozol concluded that the United States is shortchanging its children in poor rural and

urban areas. As we saw in Chapter 2 “Poverty”, poor children start out in life with many strikes against them. The

schools they attend compound their problems and help ensure that the American ideal of equal opportunity for all

remains just that—an ideal—rather than a reality. As Kozol (1991, p. 233) observed, “All our children ought to be

allowed a stake in the enormous richness of America. Whether they were born to poor white Appalachians or to

wealthy Texans, to poor black people in the Bronx or to rich people in Manhasset or Winnetka, they are all quite

wonderful and innocent when they are small. We soil them needlessly.”

Although the book in which Kozol reported these conditions was published more than twenty years ago, ample

evidence (including the news story about Baltimore’s schools that began this chapter) shows these conditions

persist today. A recent news report discussed public schools in Washington, DC. More than 75 percent of the

schools in the city had a leaking roof at the time the report was published, and 87 percent had electrical problems,

some of which involved shocks or sparks. Most of the schools’ cafeterias—85 percent—had health violations,

including peeling paint near food and rodent and roach infestation. Thousands of requests for building repairs,

including 1,100 labeled “urgent” or “dangerous,” had been waiting more than a year to be addressed. More than

one-third of the schools had a mouse infestation, and in one elementary school, there were so many mice that the

students gave them names and drew their pictures. An official with the city’s school system said, “I don’t know

if anybody knows the magnitude of problems at D.C. public schools. It’s mind-boggling” (Keating & Haynes,

2007).

Large funding differences in the nation’s schools also endure. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for example, annual

per-pupil expenditure was $10,878 in 2010; in nearby suburban Lower Merion Township, it was $21,110, or 95

percent higher than Philadelphia’s expenditure (Federal Education Budget Project, 2012).

Teacher salaries are related to these funding differences. Salaries in urban schools in low-income neighborhoods

are markedly lower than those in schools in wealthier neighborhoods (Dillon, 2011). As a result, teachers at the

low-income schools tend to be inexperienced teachers just out of college. All things equal, they are less likely

than their counterparts at wealthier schools to be effective teachers.

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education 485

Jonathan Kozol has written movingly of “savage inequalities” in American schools arising from large differences in their funding and

in the condition of their physical facilities.

Thomas Hawk – El Paso High School – CC BY-NC 2.0; Nitram242 – Detroit School – CC BY 2.0.

People Making a Difference

Teaching Young Students about Science and Conservation

Since 1999, the Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI) has taught more than 40,000 public school students in a low-income San Diego neighborhood about the ocean and the environment. Most of the students are Latino, and a growing number are recent immigrants from Southeast Asia and East Africa. By learning about ocean science, the students also learn something about geology, physics, and other sciences. ODI’s program has grown over the years, and it now services more than 5,000 students annually in ten schools. To accomplish its mission, ODI engages in several kinds of activities.

First, ODI instructors teach hands-on marine science activities to students in grades 3–6. They also consult closely with the schools’ teachers about the science curriculum taught in the schools.

Second, ODI runs an after-school program in which they provide marine science–based lessons as well as academic, social, and college-entry support to approximately sixty students in grades 6–12.

Third, ODI takes about twenty high school students every summer to the Sea of Cortez in Baja California, Mexico, for an intensive five-week research experience at a field research station. Before they do so, they are trained for several weeks in laboratory and field research procedures, and they also learn how to swim and snorkel. After they arrive at the field research station, they divide into three research teams; each team works on a different project under the guidance of ODI instructors and university and government scientists. A recent project, which won an award from the World Wildlife Fund, has focused on reducing the number of sea turtles that are accidentally caught in fishing nets.

The instruction provided by ODI has changed the lives of many students. Perhaps most notably, about 80 percent of the students who have participated in the after-school or summer program have attended a four-year college or university (with almost all declaring a major in one of the sciences), compared to less than one-third of students in their schools who have not participated in these programs. One summer program student, whose parents were deported by the government, recalls the experience fondly: “I have learned to become independent, and I pushed myself to try new things. Now I know I can overcome barriers and take chances…I am prepared to overcome challenges and follow my dreams.”

In 2011, ODI was one of three organizations that received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. Several ODI officials and students traveled to the White House to take part in various events and accept the award from President Obama. As this award attests, the Ocean Discovery Institute is making

486 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/11.3-collage.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/16719305855/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25165196@N08/7420186238/

a striking difference in the lives of low-income San Diego students. For further information, visit http://www.oceandiscoveryinstitute.org. (Full disclosure: The author’s son works for ODI.)

Source: Ocean Discovery Institute, 2011

School Segregation

A related issue to school inequality is school racial segregation. Before 1954, schools in the South were racially

segregated by law (de jure segregation). Communities and states had laws that dictated which schools white

children attended and which schools African American children attended. Schools were either all white or all

African American, and, inevitably, white schools were much better funded than African American schools. Then

in 1954, the US Supreme Court outlawed de jure school segregation in its famous Brown v. Board of Education

decision. Southern school districts fought this decision with legal machinations, and de jure school segregation

did not really end in the South until the civil rights movement won its major victories a decade later.

Meanwhile, northern schools were also segregated; decades after the Brown decision, they have become even

more segregated. School segregation in the North stemmed, both then and now, not from the law but from

neighborhood residential patterns. Because children usually go to schools near their homes, if adjacent

neighborhoods are all white or all African American, then the schools for these neighborhoods will also be all

white or all African American, or mostly so. This type of segregation is called de facto segregation.

Many children today attend schools that are racially segregated because of neighborhood residential patterns.

halfrain – Swings – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Today many children continue to go to schools that are segregated because of neighborhood residential patterns,

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education 487

http://www.oceandiscoveryinstitute.org/

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/11.3.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/halfrain/14182557265/

a situation that Kozol (2005) calls “apartheid schooling.” About 40 percent of African American and Latino

children attend schools that are very segregated (at least 90 percent of their students are of color); this level of

segregation is higher than it was four decades ago. Although such segregation is legal, it still results in schools that

are all African American and/or all Latino and that suffer severely from lack of funding, poor physical facilities,

and poorly paid teachers (Orfield, Siegel-Hawley, & Kucsera, 2011).

During the 1960s and 1970s, states, municipalities, and federal courts tried to reduce de facto segregation by

busing urban African American children to suburban white schools and, less often, by busing white suburban

children to African American urban schools. Busing inflamed passions as perhaps few other issues did during

those decades (Lukas, 1985). White parents opposed it because they did not want their children bused to urban

schools, where, they feared, the children would be unsafe and receive an inferior education. The racial prejudice

that many white parents shared heightened their concerns over these issues. African American parents were more

likely to see the need for busing, but they, too, wondered about its merits, especially because it was their children

who were bused most often and faced racial hostility when they entered formerly all-white schools.

As one possible solution to reduce school segregation, some cities have established magnet schools, schools for

high-achieving students of all races to which the students and their families apply for admission (Vopat, 2011).

Although these schools do help some students whose families are poor and of color, their impact on school

segregation has been minimal because the number of magnet schools is low and because they are open only to the

very best students who, by definition, are also few in number. Some critics also say that magnet schools siphon

needed resources from public school systems and that their reliance on standardized tests makes it difficult for

African American and Latino students to gain admission.

School Choice: Education Vouchers and Charter Schools

Children who attend a public school ordinarily attend the school that is designated for the neighborhood in which

they live, and they and their parents normally have little choice in the matter. One of the most popular but also

controversial components of the school reform movement today is school choice, in which parents and their

children, primarily from low-income families in urban areas, receive public funds to attend a school different

from their neighborhood’s school. School choice has two components. The first component involves education

vouchers, which parents can use as tuition at private or parochial (religious) schools. The second component

involves charter schools, which are public schools (because public funds pay for students’ tuition) built and

operated by for-profit companies. Students normally apply for admission to these schools; sometimes they are

accepted based on their merit and potential, and sometimes they are accepted by lottery. Both components have

strong advocates and fierce critics. We examine each component in turn.

Education Vouchers

Advocates of school choice programs involving education vouchers say they give low-income families an option

for high-quality education they otherwise would be unable to afford. These programs, the advocates add, also help

improve the public schools by forcing them to compete for students with their private and parochial counterparts.

488 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

In order to keep a large number of parents from using vouchers to send their children to the latter schools,

public schools have to upgrade their facilities, improve their instruction, and undertake other steps to make

their brand of education an attractive alternative. In this way, school choice advocates argue, vouchers have

a “competitive impact” that forces public schools to make themselves more attractive to prospective students

(National Conference of State Legislatures, 2011).

Critics of school choice programs say they harm the public schools by decreasing their enrollments and therefore

their funding. Public schools do not have the money now to compete with private and parochial ones, nor will

they have the money to compete with them if vouchers become more widespread. Critics also worry that voucher

programs will lead to a “brain drain” of the most academically motivated children and families from low-income

schools (Crone, 2011).

Because school choice programs and school voucher systems are still relatively new, scholars have not yet

had time to assess whether they improve their students’ academic achievement. Some studies do find small

improvements, but methodological problems make it difficult to reach any firm conclusions at this point (DeLuca

& Dayton, 2009). Although there is also little research on the impact of school choice programs on funding

and other aspects of public school systems, some evidence does indicate a negative impact. In Milwaukee, for

example, enrollment decline from the use of vouchers cost the school system $26 million in state aid during the

1990s, forcing a rise in property taxes to replace the lost funds. Because the students who left the Milwaukee

school system came from most of its 157 public schools, only a few left any one school, diluting the voucher

system’s competitive impact. Thus although school choice programs may give some families alternatives to public

schools, they might not have the competitive impact on public schools that their advocates claim, and they may

cost public school systems state aid (Cooper, 1999).

Charter Schools

About 5,000 charter schools operate across the nation, with about 3 percent of American children attending them.

Charter schools and their proponents claim that students fare better in these schools than in conventional public

schools because of the charter schools’ rigorous teaching methods, strong expectations for good behavior, small

classrooms, and other advantages (National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 2012).

Critics say charter schools incur the same problems that education vouchers incur: They take some of the brightest

students from a city’s conventional public schools and lead to lower funding for these schools (Ravitch, 2010;

Rosenfeld, 2012). Critics also cite research findings that charter schools do not in fact deliver the strong academic

performance claimed by their advocates. For example, a study that compared test scores at charter schools in

sixteen states with those at public schools found that the charter schools did worse overall: 17 percent of charter

schools had better scores than public schools, 46 percent had scores similar to those of public schools, and 37

percent had lower scores (Center for Research on Education Outcomes, 2009).

Even when charter school test scores are higher, there is the methodological problem that students are not

randomly assigned to attend a charter school (Basile, 2010). It is thus possible that the students and parents who

apply to charter schools are more highly motivated than those who do not. If so, the higher test scores found

in some charter schools may reflect the motivation of the students attending these schools, and not necessarily

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education 489

the schools’ teaching methods. It is also true that charter schools do not usually enroll students who know little

English (because their parents are immigrants) and students with disabilities or other problems. All such students

often face difficulties in doing well in school. This is yet another possible reason that a small number of charter

schools outperform public schools. Despite the popularity of charter schools, then, the academic case for them

remains to be proven.

Single-Sex Schools and Classes

Before the late 1960s and early 1970s, many colleges and universities, including several highly selective

campuses, were single-sex institutions. Since that time, almost all the male colleges and many of the female

colleges have gone coed. A few women’s colleges still remain, as their administrators and alumnae say that

women can achieve much more in a women’s college than in a coed institution. The issue of single-sex institutions

has been more muted at the secondary school level, as most public schools have been coeducational since the

advent of free, compulsory education during the nineteenth century. However, several private schools were single-

sex ones from their outset, and many of these remain today. Still, the trend throughout the educational world was

toward coeducation.

Single-sex schools and classes have become more popular for several reasons. The research so far indicates that single-sex education

may be beneficial in certain respects for the students experiencing it.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 3.0.

Since the 1990s, however, some education specialists have argued that single-sex secondary schools, or at least

single-sex classes, might make sense for girls or for boys. In response, single-sex classes and single-sex schools

490 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/11.3.3.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_uniforms_in_England#/media/File:School_uniforms_GBR.jpg

have arisen in at least seventeen US cities. The argument for single-sex learning for girls rests on the same reasons

advanced by advocates for women’s colleges: Girls can do better academically, and perhaps especially in math and

science classes, when they are by themselves. The argument for boys rests on a different set of reasons (National

Association for Single Sex Public Education, 2011). Boys in classes with girls are more likely to act “macho” and

thus to engage in disruptive behavior; in single-sex classes, boys thus behave better and are more committed to

their studies. They also feel freer to exhibit an interest in music, the arts, and other subjects not usually thought

of as “macho” topics. Furthermore, because the best students in coed schools are often girls, many boys tend to

devalue academic success in coed settings and are more likely to value it in single-sex settings. Finally, in a boys-

only setting, teachers can use examples and certain teaching techniques that boys may find especially interesting,

such as the use of snakes to teach biology. To the extent that single-sex education may benefit boys for any of these

reasons, these benefits are often thought to be highest for boys from families living in poverty or near poverty.

What does the research evidence say about single-sex schooling’s benefits? A review of several dozen studies

concluded that the results of single-sex schooling are mixed overall but that there are slightly more favorable

outcomes for single-sex schools compared to coeducational schools (US Department of Education, 2005).

However, the review noted that methodological problems limited the value of the studies it examined. For

example, none of the studies involved random assignment of students to single-sex or coeducational schooling.

Further, all the studies involved high school students and a majority involved students in Catholic schools. This

limited scope prompted the call for additional studies of younger students and those in public schools.

Another review of the research evidence was more critical of single-sex schooling (Halpern et al., 2011). This

review concluded that such schooling does not benefit girls or boys and in fact does them harm by reinforcing

gender-role stereotypes. Boys in all-boy classes become more aggressive, the review said, and girls in all-girl

classes become more feminine. The review also argued that single-sex schooling is based on a faulty, outdated

understanding of how girls and boys learn and function. Drawing on this review and other evidence, two critics

of single-sex education recently concluded, “So there is a veritable mountain of evidence, growing every day, that

the single-sex classroom is not a magic bullet to save American education. And scant evidence that it heightens

the academic achievement of girls and boys” (Barnett & Rivers, 2012).

Children and Our Future

The Importance of Preschool and Summer Learning Programs for Low-Income Children

The first few years of life are absolutely critical for a child’s neurological and cognitive development. What happens, or doesn’t happen, before ages 5 and 6 can have lifelong consequences for a child’s educational attainment, adolescent behavior, and adult employment and family life. However, as this chapter and previous chapters emphasize, low-income children face many kinds of obstacles during this critical phase of their lives. Among other problems, their families are often filled with stressful life events that impair their physical and mental health and neurological development, and their parents read and talk to them much less on the average than wealthier parents do. These difficulties in turn lower their school performance and educational attainment, with negative repercussions continuing into adulthood.

To counteract these problems and enhance low-income children’s ability to do well in school, two types of programs have been repeatedly shown to be very helpful and even essential. The first is preschool, a general term for semiformal early learning programs that take place roughly between ages 3 and 5. As the name of the famous Head Start program implies, preschool is meant to help prepare low-income children for kindergarten and beyond. Depending on the program, preschool involves group instruction and play for children, developmental and health screening, and other components.

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education 491

Many European nations have high-quality preschool programs that are free or heavily subsidized, but these programs are, by comparison, much less prevalent in the United States and often more costly for parents.

Preschool in the United States has been shown to have positive benefits that extend well into adulthood. For example, children who participate in Head Start and certain other programs are more likely years later to graduate high school and attend college. They also tend to have higher salaries in their twenties, and they are less likely to engage in delinquency and crime.

The second program involves summer learning. Educators have discovered that summer is an important time for children’s learning. During the summer, children from middle-class and wealthier families tend to read books, attend summer camp and/or engage in other group activities, and travel with their parents. When they return to school in September, their reading and math skills are higher than when the summer began. In contrast, low-income children are much less likely to have these types of summer experiences, and those who benefitted from school lunch programs during the academic year often go hungry. As a result, their reading and math skills are lower when they return to school than when the summer began.

In response to this discovery, many summer learning programs have been established. They generally last from four to eight weeks and are held at schools, campgrounds, community centers, or other locations. Although these programs are still relatively new and not yet thoroughly studied, a recent review concluded that they “can be effective and are likely to have positive impacts when they engage students in learning activities that are hands-on, enjoyable, and have real-world applications.”

Preschool programs help children in the short and long term, and summer programs appear to have the same potential. Their expansion in the United States would benefit many aspects of American society. Because their economic benefits outweigh their economic costs, they are a “no-brainer” for comprehensive social reform efforts.

Sources: Child Trends, 2011; Downey & Gibbs, 2012; Garces, Thomas, & Currie, 2003; Reynolds, Temple, Ou, Arteaga, & White, 2011; Terzian & Moore, 2009

School Violence

The issue of school violence won major headlines during the 1990s, when many children, teachers, and other

individuals died in the nation’s schools. From 1992 until 1999, 248 students, teachers, and other people died from

violent acts (including suicide) on school property, during travel to and from school, or at a school-related event,

for an average of about thirty-five violent deaths per year (Zuckoff, 1999).

Several of these deaths occurred in mass shootings. In just a few examples, in December 1997, a student in a

Kentucky high school shot and killed three students in a before-school prayer group. In March 1998, two middle

school students in Arkansas pulled a fire alarm to evacuate their school and then shot and killed four students

and one teacher as they emerged. Two months later, an Oregon high school student killed his parents and then

went to his school cafeteria, where he killed two students and wounded twenty-two others. Against this backdrop,

the infamous April 1999 school shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two students

murdered twelve other students and one teacher before killing themselves, seemed like the last straw. Within days,

school after school across the nation installed metal detectors, located police at building entrances and in hallways,

and began questioning or suspending students joking about committing violence. People everywhere wondered

why the schools were becoming so violent and what could be done about it. A newspaper headline summarized

their concern: “fear is spread around nation” (Zuckoff, 1999).

Fortunately, school violence has declined since the 1990s, with fewer students and other people dying in the

nation’s schools or being physically attacked. As this trend indicates, the risk of school violence should not

492 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

be exaggerated: Statistically speaking, schools are very safe, especially in regard to fatal violence. Two kinds

of statistics illustrate this point. First, less than 1 percent of all homicides involving school-aged children take

place in or near school; virtually all children’s homicides occur in or near a child’s home. Second, an average

of seventeen students are killed at school yearly; because about 56 million students attend US elementary and

secondary schools, the chances are less than one in 3 million that a student will be killed at school. The annual rate

of other serious school violence (rape and sexual assault, aggravated assault, and robbery) is only three crimes per

one hundred students; although this is still three too many, it does indicate that 97 percent of students do not suffer

these crimes (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2010).

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed thirteen people at Columbine High School in 1999 before killing themselves.

Their massacre led people across the nation to question why violence was occurring in the schools and to wonder

what could be done to reduce it.

Read more about it at; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eric_harris_dylan_klebold.jpg.

Bullying

Bullying is another problem in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools and is often considered a specific

type of school violence. However, bullying can take many forms, such as taunting, that do not involve the use

or threat of physical violence. As such, we consider bullying here as a separate problem while acknowledging its

close relation to school violence.

First it will be helpful to define bullying. A common definition in the research literature is that bullying involves

“physical and verbal attacks and harassment directed at a victim(s) by one student or a group of students over

an extensive period of time” (Moon, Hwang, & McCluskey, 2011). Another definition is also helpful: “The

use of one’s strength or popularity to injure, threaten or embarrass another person on purpose” (St. George,

2011). As these definitions suggest, bullying can be physical in nature (violence such as shoving and punching),

verbal (teasing, taunting, and name calling), and social (spreading rumors, breaking up friendships, deliberately

excluding someone from an activity). An additional form of bullying that has emerged in the last decade or so is

cyberbullying. As its name implies, cyberbullying involves the use of the Internet, cell phones and smartphones,

and other digital technologies to bully others (e.g., rumors can be spread via Facebook) (US Department of Health

and Human Services, 2012).

Bullying is a serious problem for at least two reasons. First, bullying is a common occurrence. About one-third

of students report being victimized by some form of bullying during the school year; this rate of victimization

is much higher than the 3 percent rate of victimization for school violence mentioned in the previous section

(National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2010).

Second, bullying can have serious consequences (Adams & Lawrence, 2011). Students who are bullied often

experience psychological problems that can last into adulthood; these problems include anxiety, depression,

loneliness, sleeplessness, and suicidal thoughts. Their physical health may also suffer. Their school performance

(grades, attendance, and participation in school activities) may also decline. In addition, bullying victims

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education 493

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eric_harris_dylan_klebold.jpg

sometimes respond by lashing out in violence; many of the mass school shootings of the 1990s were committed

by male students who had been bullied.

A tragic example of bullying’s effects occurred in September 2011, when a 14-year-old boy in western New York,

Jamey Rodemeyer, killed himself after being bullied by classmates because he was gay. Much of the bullying

involved homophobic taunts on a social media site Jamey used, including comments such as “JAMIE IS STUPID,

GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!” and “I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would. So just do it: It

would make everyone WAY more happier!” A week before he died, Jamey wrote on his site, “I always say how

bullied I am, but no one listens. What do I have to do so people will listen to me?” (Tan, 2011).

School Discipline and Racial Discrimination

To reduce school violence and bullying, many school districts have adopted strict policies that specify harsh

punishments. A common policy involves zero-tolerance for weapons; this type of policy calls for automatic

suspension or expulsion of a student who has anything resembling a weapon for any reason. However, this policy

is often applied too rigidly. In one example, a 6–year-old boy in Delaware excitedly took his new camping

utensil—a combination of knife, fork, and spoon—from Cub Scouts to school to use at lunch. He was suspended

for having a knife and ordered to spend forty-five days in reform school. His mother said her son certainly posed

no threat to anyone at school, but school officials replied that their policy had to be strictly enforced because it

is difficult to determine who actually poses a threat from who does not (Urbina, 2009). In another case, a ninth

grader took a knife and cigarette lighter away from a student who had used them to threaten a fellow classmate.

The ninth grader was suspended for the rest of the school year for possessing a weapon, even though he had them

only because he was protecting his classmate. According to a news story about this case, the school’s reaction was

“vigilance to a fault” (Walker, 2010, p. A12).

Zero-tolerance or other very strict policies are also in place in many schools for offenses such as drug use

and possession, fighting, and classroom disruption. However well intended these policies may be, the research

evidence suggests that they are ineffective in deterring the behavior they are meant to prevent, and may even

be counterproductive. As one review of this evidence puts it, “It is not clear that zero tolerance policies are

succeeding in improving school safety. In fact, some evidence…suggests that these policies actually may have an

adverse effect on student academic and behavioral outcomes” (Boccanfuso & Kuhfeld, 2011, p. 1). When students

are suspended, their grades may suffer, and their commitment to schooling may lower; these problems in turn

increase their likelihood of engaging in delinquency. The expelled students find it difficult to get back into a

school and eventually achieve a high school degree. Their behavior, too, may become more unlawful as a result,

and they also are more likely to face unemployment and low-paying jobs. Zero-tolerance school discipline thus

seems to do much more harm than good.

In addition to deterrence, another reason for the adoption of strict discipline policies has been to avoid the racial

discrimination that occurs when school officials have discretion in deciding which students should be suspended

or expelled (Skiba & Rausch, 2006). In school districts with such discretion, African American students with

weapons or “near weapons” (such as a small penknife) are more likely than white students with the same objects

to be punished in this manner. However, a growing body of research finds that African American and Latino

students are still more likely than white students to be suspended or expelled for similar misbehaviors (having a

494 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

weapon, fighting, cursing a teacher, etc.) even in school districts with very strict discipline (Welch & Payne, 2010;

Lewin, 2012). School discipline, then, is often racially discriminatory.

Key Takeaways

• Schools in America are unequal: They differ greatly in the extent of their funding, in the quality of their physical facilities, and in other respects. Jonathan Kozol calls these differences “savage inequalities.”

• Single-sex education at the secondary level has become more popular. Preliminary evidence indicates that this form of education may be beneficial for several reasons, but more evidence on this issue is needed.

• Although school violence has declined since the 1990s, it continues to concern many Americans. Bullying at school is a common problem and can lead to more serious violence by the children who are bullied.

• School choice programs are popular but also controversial. Charter schools on the average do no better than public schools, and sometimes worse.

For Your Review

1. If you were the principal of a middle school, would you favor or oppose single-sex classes? Explain your answer.

2. Do you favor or oppose school vouchers? Why?

References

Adams, F. D., & Lawrence, G. J. (2011). Bullying victims: The effects last into college. American Secondary

Education, 40(1), 4–13.

Barnett, R. C., & Rivers, C. (2012, February 17). Why science doesn’t support single-sex classes. Education

Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/02/17/

21barnett.h31.html?tkn=XNPFPP3DSaPBokSRePilYv9tz%2FsDy4SQ5jGa&cmp=ENL -EU-VIEWS1.

Basile, M. (2010). False impression: How a widely cited study vastly overstates the benefits of charter schools.

New York, NY: Century Foundation.

Boccanfuso, C., & Kuhfeld, M. (2011). Multiple responses, promising results: Evidence-based, nonpunitive

alternatives to zero tolerance. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Center for Research on Education Outcomes. (2009). Multiple choice: Charter school performance in 16 states.

Stanford, CA: Author.

Child Trends. (2011). Research-based responses to key questions about the 2010 Head Start impact study.

Washington, DC: Author.

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education 495

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/02/17/21barnett.h31.html?tkn=XNPFPP3DSaPBokSRePilYv9tz%2FsDy4SQ5jGa&cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS1

Cooper, K. J. (1999, June 25). Under vouchers, status quo rules. The Washington Post, p. A3.

Crone, J. A. (2011). How can we solve our social problems? (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

DeLuca, S., & Dayton, E. (2009). Switching social contexts: The effects of housing mobility and school choice

programs on youth outcomes. Annual Review of Sociology, 35(1), 457–491.

Dillon, S. (2011, December 1). Districts pay less in poor schools, report says. New York Times, p. A29.

Downey, D. B., & Gibbs, B. G. (2012). How schools really matter. In D. Hartmann & C. Uggen (Eds.), The

Contexts Reader (2nd ed., pp. 80–86). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Federal Education Budget Project. (2012). K–12: Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 2, 2012, from

http://febp.newamerica.net/k12/PA.

Garces, E., Thomas, D., & Currie, J. (2003). Longer-term effects of Head Start. Santa Monica, CA: RAND

Corporation.

Halpern, D. F., Eliot, L., Bigler, R. S., Fabes, R. A., Hanish, L. D., Hyde, J., et al. (2011). The pseudoscience of

single-sex schooling. Science, 333, 1706–1707.

Keating, D., & Haynes, V. D. (2007, June 10). Can DC schools be fixed? The Washington Post, p. A1.

Kozol, J. (1967). Death at an early age: The destruction of the hearts and minds of negro children in the Boston

public schools. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities: Children in America’s schools. New York, NY: Crown.

Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America. New York, NY:

Crown.

Lewin, T. (2012, March 6). Black students face more discipline, study suggests. New York Times, p. A11.

Lukas, J. A. (1985). Common ground: A turbulent decade in the lives of three American families. New York, NY:

Knopf.

Moon, B., Hwang, H.-W., & McCluskey, J. D. (2011). Causes of school bullying: Empirical test of a general

theory of crime, differential association theory, and general strain theory. Crime & Delinquency, 57, 849–877.

National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (2012). Why charter schools? Retrieved January 11, 2012, from

http://www.publiccharters.org/About-Charter-Schools/Why-Charter-Schools003F.aspx.

National Association for Single Sex Public Education. (2011). Advantages for boys. Retrieved January 2, 2012,

from http://www.singlesexschools.org/advantages-forboys.htm.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2010). Understanding school violence fact sheet. Washington,

DC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

496 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://febp.newamerica.net/k12/PA

http://www.publiccharters.org/About-Charter-Schools/Why-Charter-Schools003F.aspx

http://www.singlesexschools.org/advantages-forboys.htm

National Conference of State Legislatures. (2011). Publicly funded school voucher programs. Retrieved January

2, 2012, from http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=12942.

Ocean Discovery Institute. (2011). Believe: A PEN in the classroom anthology. San Diego, CA: Author.

Orfield, G., Siegel-Hawley, G., & Kucsera, J. (2011). Divided we fail: Segregated and unequal schools in the

Southland. Los Angeles, CA: Civil Rights Project.

Ravitch, D. (2010, March 8). Why I changed my mnd about school reform. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved

from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704869304575109443305343962.html.

Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., Ou, S.-R., Arteaga, I. A., & White, B. A. B. (2011, July 15). School-based early

childhood education and age-28 well-being: Effects by timing, dosage, and subgroups. Science, 360–364.

Rosenfeld, L. (2012, March 16). How charter schools can hurt. New York Times. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/opinion/how-charter-schools-can-hurt.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y.

Skiba, R. J., & Rausch, M. K. (2006). Zero tolerance, suspension, and expulsion: Questions of equity and

effectiveness. In C. M. Evertson & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management: Research,

practice, and contemporary issues (pp. 1063–1089). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

St. George, D. (2011, September 5). Bullying linked to lower school achievement. The Washington Post.

Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/bullying-linked-to-lower-school-achievement/

2011/09/01/gIQArmQw4J_story.html.

Tan, S. (2011, September 20). Teenager struggled with bullying before taking his life. The Buffalo News. Retrieved

from http://www.buffalonews.com/city/schools/article563538.ece.

Terzian, M., & Moore, K. A. (2009). What works for summer learning programs for low-income children and

youth: Preliminary lessons from experimental evaluations of social interventions. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Urbina, I. (2009, October 11). It’s a fork, it’s a spoon, it’s a…weapon? New York Times, p. A1.

US Department of Education. (2005). Single-sex versus secondary schooling: A systematic review. Washington,

DC: Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.

US Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). What is bullying? Retrieved January 5, 2012, from

http://www.stopbullying.gov/topics/what_is_bullying/index.html.

Vopat, M. C. (2011). Magnet schools, innate talent, and social justice. Theory and Research in Education, 9,

59–72.

Walker, A. (2010, January 23). Vigilance to a fault. The Boston Globe, p. A12.

Welch, K., & Payne, A. A. (2010). Racial threat and punitive school discipline. Social Problems, 57(1), 25–48.

Zuckoff, M. (1999, May 21). Fear is spread around nation. The Boston Globe, p. A1.

11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education 497

http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=12942

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704869304575109443305343962.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/opinion/how-charter-schools-can-hurt.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/bullying-linked-to-lower-school-achievement/2011/09/01/gIQArmQw4J_story.html

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/schools/article563538.ece

http://www.stopbullying.gov/topics/what_is_bullying/index.html

11.4 Issues and Problems in Higher Education

Learning Objectives

1. Explain why certain college students flounder.

2. Describe what is meant by legacy admissions and summarize the criticism of this policy.

3. List any two factors that affect college and university graduation rates.

4. Describe the extent of physical and sexual violence on the nation’s campuses.

The issues and problems discussed so far in this chapter concern elementary and secondary schools in view of

their critical importance for tens of millions of children and for the nation’s social and economic well-being.

However, higher education has its own issues and problems. Once again, we do not have space to discuss all these

matters, but we will examine some of the most interesting and important. (Recall that Chapter 7 “Alcohol and

Other Drugs” discussed alcohol abuse on campus, a very significant higher education problem.)

Cost

Higher education can cost students and their parents tens of thousands of dollars per year. This expense prevents many students from

going to college and puts many students and parents into considerable debt.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/11.4.0.jpg

GotCredit – Student Loans – CC BY 2.0.

Perhaps the most important issue is that higher education, at least at four-year institutions, is quite expensive and

can cost tens of thousands of dollars per year. This figure varies by the type of college or university, as private

institutions cost much more than public institutions (for in-state students). According to the College Board (2012),

only 44 percent of all students attend a four-year institution whose annual tuition and fees amount to less than

$9,000. That means that more than half of students attend an institution whose annual tuition and fees are $9,000

or more; this cost averages more than $28,500 at private colleges and universities and exceeds $36,000 at many of

these institutions. Tuition and fees average $8,244 at public four-year institutions. Room and board expenses for

on-campus students at four-year institutions range from about $8,000 to $14,000, and books and supplies average

at least an additional $1,168 for students who do not have the opportunity to read free or low-cost textbooks such

as this one.

Combining these figures, students at the least expensive four-year institutions might have bills that total $17,000

to $20,000 annually, and those at the most expensive private institutions have bills that exceed $50,000.

Scholarships and other financial aid reduce these costs for many students. Private institutions actually collect only

about 67 percent of their published tuition and fees because of the aid they hand out, and public institutions collect

only about 82 percent (Stripling, 2010). However, many students who receive aid may still have bills totaling

thousands of dollars annually and graduate with huge loans to repay. At two-year public institutions, annual tuition

and fees average almost $3,000; these colleges are more affordable but nonetheless can be very costly for their

students and their families.

In view of all these figures, it should come as no surprise that many students graduate in debt. Of all the college

students who graduated in 2010, roughly two-thirds had to take out loans to pay for their various expenses. These

students graduated with an average debt of $25,250 (Pope, 2011), which can certainly take many years to pay off.

Floundering Students

Although college is often said to be the best time of one’s life, many students have difficulties during their

college years. These students are called floundering students. Homesickness during the first semester on campus

is common, but a number of students have difficulties beyond homesickness. According to psychiatry professor

David Leibow, who has studied troubled students, many floundering students mistakenly believe that they are

the only ones who are floundering, and many fail to tell their parents or friends about their problems (Golden,

2010). The major cause of floundering, says Leibow, is academic difficulties; other causes include homesickness,

relationship problems, family problems including family conflict and the serious illness or death of a family

member, personal illness, and financial difficulties.

An estimated 10 percent of students annually seek psychological counseling on their college campus, primarily

for depression, anxiety, and relationship problems (Epstein, 2010). About one-third of college students overall

have sought counseling by the time they graduate or leave school for other reasons, and 7 percent say they

have considered suicide before or after entering college (Sieben, 2011). Many students who seek counseling are

given medications to treat their symptoms. Leibow says these medications are often helpful but worries that

they are overprescribed. Three reasons underlie his concern. First, although the students given these medications

11.4 Issues and Problems in Higher Education 499

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakerust/16608691510/

may have problems, often the problems are a normal part of growing into adulthood and not serious enough to

justify medication. Second, some of these medications can have serious side effects. Third, students who take

medications may be less motivated to address the underlying reasons for their problems.

Social Class and Race in Admissions

We saw earlier in this chapter that African American, Latino, and low-income students are less likely to attend

college. And when low-income students do attend college, they are much more likely to attend lower-ranking

institutions than very selective campuses. At the very top colleges and universities, 74 percent of new students

come from the wealthiest one-fourth of US households, and only 3 percent come from the poorest one-fourth of

households (Krugman, 2012).

These facts raise important questions about the lack of diversity in college admissions and campus life. Chapter

3 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality” discussed the debate over racially based affirmative action in higher education.

Reflecting this debate, some states have passed laws prohibiting the use of race and ethnicity in admissions to

public colleges and universities. One such state was California, where voters approved this type of prohibition

in 1996. During the first year after this ban took effect, the number of African American and Latino students

admitted to the University of California system dropped by about 25 percent and by 50 percent at the system’s

two most selective campuses in Berkeley and Los Angeles (UCLA). According to the head of the University of

California system, “If we had affirmative action as one of our tools, we’d do somewhat better for Hispanics, and

we’d probably do significantly better for African-Americans” (Pérez-Peña, 2012).

Although colleges and universities are making a greater effort to attract and retain low-income students and students of color, these

students remain greatly underrepresented at institutions of higher education.

Bart Everson – Students – CC BY 2.0.

In three states with bans on affirmative action, California, Florida, and Texas, public universities automatically

500 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/11.4.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/1252393940/

admit the top students in every high school. Because many of their high schools are predominantly African

American or Latino, this strategy has helped counter their bans on affirmative action. However, because many

more high schools in these states are mostly Latino rather than African American, the strategy has proven more

beneficial for Latino admissions than for African American admissions (Pérez-Peña, 2012).

Partly because affirmative action is so controversial, attention has begun to focus on the low numbers of low-

income students at many colleges and universities, and especially at the more selective institutions as ranked

by US News & World Report and other sources. Many education scholars and policymakers feel that increasing

the number of low-income students would not only help these students but also increase campus diversity along

the lines of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity (since students of color are more likely to be from low-

income backgrounds). Efforts to increase the number of low-income students, these experts add, would avoid the

controversy that has surrounded affirmative action.

In response to this new attention to social class, colleges and universities have begun to increase their efforts

to attract and retain low-income students, which a recent news report called “one of the most underrepresented

minority groups at many four-year colleges” (Schmidt, 2010). The dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard

University summarized these efforts as follows: “I honestly cannot think of any admissions person I know who

is not looking—as sort of a major criteria [sic] of how well their year went—at how well they did in attracting

people of different economic backgrounds” (Schmidt, 2010).

As part of their strategy to attract and retain low-income students, Harvard and other selective institutions are

now providing financial aid to cover all or most of the students’ expenses. Despite these efforts, however, the

US higher education system has become more stratified by social class in recent decades: The richest students

now occupy a greater percentage of the enrollment at the most selective institutions than in the past, while the

poorest students occupy a greater percentage of the enrollment at the least selective four-year institutions and at

community colleges (Schmidt, 2010).

Legacy Admissions

At highly selective colleges and universities, the policy of legacy admissions makes it easier for certain wealthy

students to gain admission. Under this policy, students who are daughters or sons (or other relatives) of graduates

of the institution are given preference in admissions. Because their parents are very likely to be wealthy, a legacy

admissions policy in effect amounts to what critics call “affirmative action for the rich” (Kahlenberg, 2010).

According to recent research, being a child of an alumna or alumnus of one of these institutions increases one’s

chances of admission by forty-five percentage points (Kahlenberg, 2011). Thus if a nonlegacy applicant with

certain qualifications would ordinarily have a 40 percent chance of being admitted, a legacy applicant with the

same qualifications would have an 85 percent chance of being admitted. Critics say legacy admissions give an

unfair advantage to wealthy students and use up valuable spots that should go to more qualified students from

more varied socioeconomic backgrounds. As one critic puts it, “It’s fundamentally unfair because it’s a preference

that advantages the already advantaged. It has nothing to do with the individual merit of the applicant” (Lewin,

2010, p. A12).

11.4 Issues and Problems in Higher Education 501

Graduation Rates

For the sake of students and of their colleges and universities, it is important that as many students as possible

go on to earn their diplomas. However, only 57 percent of students at four-year institutions graduate within six

years. This figure varies by type of institution. At the highly selective private institutions, 80–90 percent or more

of students typically graduate within six years, while at many public institutions, the graduate rate is about 50

percent. Academic and financial difficulties and other problems explain why so many students fail to graduate

(Gonzalez, 2010).

The 57 percent overall rate masks a racial/ethnic difference in graduation rates: While 60 percent of white students

graduate within six years, only 49 percent of Latino students and 40 percent of African American students

graduate. At some institutions, the graduation rates of Latino and African American students match those of

whites, thanks in large part to exceptional efforts by these institutions to help students of color. As one expert on

this issue explains, “What colleges do for students of color powerfully impacts the futures of these young people

and that of our nation” (Gonzalez, 2010). Another expert placed this issue into a larger context: “For both moral

and economic reasons, colleges need to ensure that their institutions work better for all the students they serve”

(Stephens, 2010).

In this regard, it is important to note that the graduation rate of low-income students from four-year institutions

is much lower than the graduation rate of wealthier students (Luhby, 2011). In fact, students with high test scores

and low-income parents are less likely to graduate than students with low test scores and high-income parents

(Krugman, 2012).

Low-income students drop out at higher rates because of academic and financial difficulties and family problems.

Their academic and financial difficulties are intertwined. Low-income students often have to work many hours

per week during the academic year to be able to pay their bills. Because their work schedules reduce the time

they have for studying, their grades may suffer. This general problem has been made worse by cutbacks in federal

grants to low-income students that began during the 1980s. These cutbacks forced low-income students to rely

increasingly on loans, which have to be repaid. This fact leads some to work more hours during the academic year

to limit the loans they must take out, and their increased work schedule again may affect their grades.

Low-income students face additional difficulties beyond the financial (Berg, 2010). Their writing and

comprehension skills upon entering college are often weaker than those of wealthier students. If they are first-

generation college students (meaning that neither parent went to college), they often have problems adjusting to

campus life and living amid students from much more advantaged backgrounds.

Campus Violence

Earlier we discussed violence in the elementary and secondary schools. Violence can also happen on college and

university campuses, although shootings are very rare. However, three recent examples illustrate that students and

faculty are not immune from gun violence. In April 2012, a former student lined up and then shot and killed seven

people and wounded three others at Oikos University in Oakland, California. In February 2010, Amy Bishop, a

502 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

biology professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville who had recently been denied tenure, allegedly shot

and killed three faculty at a department meeting and wounded three others. Almost three years earlier, a student at

Virginia Tech went on a shooting rampage and killed thirty-two students and faculty before killing himself.

Other types of violence are more common on the nation’s campuses. Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality” noted that an

estimated 20–30 percent of women students have been raped or sexually assaulted (including attempts), usually by

a male student who was an acquaintance, friend, or intimate partner. Beyond rape and sexual assault, students are

also sometimes assaulted or robbed. Federal victimization data show that about 6 percent of college students are

victims of at least one act of all these types of violence annually (Baum & Klaus, 2005). Because there are about

20 million students in college, this 6 percent figure translates to about 1.2 million annual violent victimizations at

US colleges and universities. It is important to note that the 6 percent rate masks a significant gender difference:

8 percent of male students experience at least one act of violence annually, compared to about 4 percent of female

students. Male students are thus twice as likely as female students to be victimized by violence. For just rape and

sexual assault, though, female students are much more likely than male students to be victimized.

Many colleges and universities have been accused of not taking rape and sexual assault seriously in what one

news report called a “struggle for justice” for campus rape victims (Lipka, 2011; Shapiro, 2010). This criticism

takes two forms. First, campuses ignore many reports of rape and sexual assault altogether. Second, they hand out

weak or no discipline in cases when they do heed reports. One student’s account of her university’s lack of follow-

up to her alleged rape illustrates this criticism. “It was as if they were going above and beyond to ensure nothing

would be done in my case,” the woman later recalled. “I felt extremely disappointed to know that the institution

in charge of ensuring my safety did not recognize the massive distress the sexual assault caused me. Furthermore,

I was disappointed that when I sought justice through their system, I was treated with hostility and disrespect. I

was clearly not believed, and was often blamed for what had happened” (Webley, 2011).

Key Takeaways

• The cost of higher education and other problems make it difficult for low-income students and students of color to enter college and to stay in college once admitted.

• Many college students have academic and personal problems that lead them to flounder and to seek psychological counseling.

• Many campuses continue to lack racial and social class diversity, and affirmative action remains very controversial.

• Physical and sexual violence is a general problem on the nation’s campuses. At least one-fifth of college women are raped or sexually assaulted.

For Your Review

1. If you were the director of admissions at a university, what steps would you take to increase the number of applications from low-income students?

2. Do you think alcohol use is to blame for most campus violence, or are there other important factors at work?

11.4 Issues and Problems in Higher Education 503

Explain your answer.

References

Baum, K., & Klaus, P. (2005). Violent victimization of college students, 1995–2002. Washington, DC: Bureau of

Justice Statistics.

Berg, G. A. (2010). Low-income students and the perpetuation of inequality: Higher education in America.

Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

College Board, The. (2012). What it costs to go to college. Retrieved from http://www.collegeboard.com/student/

pay/add-it-up/4494.html.

Epstein, J. (2010, May 4). Stability in student mental health. Inside Higher Ed. Retrived from

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/2005/2004/counseling.

Golden, S. (2010, September 15). When college is not the best time. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/2009/2015/leibow.

Gonzalez, J. (2010, August 9). Reports highlight disparities in graduation rates among white and minority

students. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Reports-Highlight-

Disparities/123857.

Kahlenberg, R. (2011, January 6). Do legacy preferences count more than race? The Chronicle of Higher

Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/do-legacy-preferences-count-more-than-race/

28294.

Kahlenberg, R. D. (Ed.). (2010). Affirmative action for the rich: Legacy preferences in college admissions. New

York, NY: Century Foundation.

Krugman, P. (2012, January 9). America’s unlevel field. New York Times, p. A19.

Lewin, T. (2010, January 9). Study finds family connections give big advantage in college admissions. New York

Times, p. A12.

Lipka, S. (2011, March 20). Colleges face conflicting pressures in dealing with cases of sexual assault. The

Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Face-Conflicting/126818/.

Luhby, T. (2011, November 28). College graduation rates: Income really matters. CNN Money. Retrieved from

http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/21/news/economy/income_college/index.htm.

Pérez-Peña, R. (2012, April 2). To enroll more minority students, colleges work around the courts. New York

Times, p. A9.

504 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/add-it-up/4494.html

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/2005/2004/counseling

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/2009/2015/leibow

http://chronicle.com/article/Reports-Highlight-Disparities/123857

http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/do-legacy-preferences-count-more-than-race/28294

http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Face-Conflicting/126818/

http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/21/news/economy/income_college/index.htm

Pope, J. (2011, November 3). Average student loan debt: $25,250. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/2011/2003/average-student-debt-2525_n_1073335.html.

Schmidt, P. (2010, September 19). In push for diversity, colleges pay attention to socioeconomic class. The

Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Socioeconomic-Class-Gains/

124446/?key=TjgnJ124441E124444aHZGM124443hiaT124448TZzgHPSRqZR124448jY124443A

YPn124440pbl124449WFQ%124443D%124443D.

Shapiro, J. (2010, February 24). Campus rape victims: A struggle for justice. National Public Radio. Retrieved

from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124001493.

Sieben, L. (2011, March 14). Nearly a third of college students have had mental-health counseling, study

finds. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Nearly-a-Third-of-College/

126726.

Stephens, L. (2010). Reports reveal colleges with the biggest, smallest gaps in minority graduation rates in the

US. Washington, DC: The Education Trust.

Stripling, J. (2010, September 15). Refining aid choices. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/2009/2015/discounting.

Webley, K. (2011, April 18). It’s not just Yale: Are colleges doing enough to combat sexual violence? Time.

Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2065849-2065841,2065800.html.

11.4 Issues and Problems in Higher Education 505

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/2011/2003/average-student-debt-2525_n_1073335.html

http://chronicle.com/article/Socioeconomic-Class-Gains/124446/?key=TjgnJ124441E124444aHZGM124443hiaT124448TZzgHPSRqZR124448jY124443AYPn124440pbl124449WFQ%124443D%124443D

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124001493

http://chronicle.com/article/Nearly-a-Third-of-College/126726

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/2009/2015/discounting

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2065849-2065841,2065800.html

11.5 Improving Schools and Education

Learning Objectives

1. Understand how helpful good schooling can be to improve the lives of low-income children.

2. Discuss the importance of good teachers.

3. List any three strategies that will improve the education of low-income students.

This concluding section focuses mostly on elementary and secondary education, given its critical importance for

young people’s development. As we consider how to improve the nation’s schools, and especially how to improve

outcomes for low-income students and students of color, we need to keep in mind an important consideration:

Good schooling can make an important difference for these students, and good teachers can greatly help low-

income students (Chetty et al., 2011). However, a large body of research demonstrates that students’ family and

neighborhood backgrounds actually matter much more than the quality of schooling for their school performance

(Downey & Gibbs, 2012; Ladd & Fiske, 2011). Good schooling, then, can only go so far in overcoming the many

strikes that low-income students and those of color have against them even before they enter kindergarten and the

problems they continue to experience thereafter. As one education writer observes,

Let’s be realistic: Teachers aren’t miracle workers. There’s only so much they can do to address problems that troubled

students bring to class every day, including neglect, abuse, and unaddressed medical and mental health issues. The obvious and

subtle ways that poverty inhibits a child’s ability to learn—from hearing, visual and dental problems to higher asthma rates to

diminished verbal interaction in the home—have been well-documented.

So let’s seek to improve the state of families. Attacking schools and teachers makes everyone feel like a reformer, but the

problems begin long before a child steps through the schoolhouse door. (Farhi, 2011)

Teachers and School Reform

This understanding of low-income students’ school performance has important implications for school-reform

efforts. For example, if good schooling cannot ordinarily be expected to have a large impact on poor students’

lives, this fact calls into question certain aspects of the “No Child Left Behind” movement of the last decade.

This movement, begun by the federal government, uses students’ scores on standardized tests to assess the

quality of their schools. Perhaps inevitably, the subsequent growth in standardized testing has meant that teachers’

performance ratings have become increasingly tied to their students’ standardized test scores. However, because

students’ test scores reflect their socioeconomic backgrounds and other nonschool factors much more than the

quality of their schooling, these scores are not a good measure of teachers’ performance. As one education

specialist summarizes this situation, “Of all the goals of the education reform movement, none is more elusive

than developing an objective model to assess teachers. Studies have shown that over time, test scores do not

provide a consistent means of separating good from bad instructors. Test scores are an inadequate proxy for quality

because too many factors outside the teachers’ control can influence student performance from year to year—or

even from classroom to classroom during the same year” (Russell, 2011, p. WK12).

The Need for More General Social Reform

The importance of students’ family and neighborhood backgrounds has a significant implication beyond the

issue of teacher assessment: To improve low-income students’ school performance, our society must address the

problems of poverty and racial/ethnic inequality. As two sociologists argue this point, “If we are serious about

improving American children’s school performance, we will need to take a broader view of education policy. In

addition to school reform, we must also aim to improve children’s lives where they spend the vast majority of their

time—with their families and in their neighborhoods” (Downey and Gibbs, 2012, p. 85). Chapter 2 “Poverty” and

Chapter 3 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality” discussed strategies to reduce poverty and racial/ethnic inequality; these

strategies would also help improve the school performance of low-income students and those of color.

A School Reform Agenda

Despite the need to address poverty and racial inequality, it remains true that schools with decaying buildings,

uncommitted teachers, and other problems cannot be expected to produce students with even adequate levels of

academic achievement. It is thus critical, says poverty expert Mark Robert Rank (2004, p. 208), to do everything

possible to provide a quality education to the nation’s poor children: “To deny children the fundamental right

to a decent education is both morally wrong and bad social policy. It flies in the face of the American concept

of equality of opportunity…Countless studies have documented the immediate and lingering effects of disparate

educational outcomes on later life. Improving public education for low-income children is absolutely essential.”

In short, good schools and good teachers do matter. In particular, good elementary- and middle-school teachers

have been shown to have a lifelong impact on their students: students with good teachers are more likely years

later to have lower teenage pregnancy rates and higher college attendance rates, and they are also more likely to

have higher salaries in adulthood (Lowrey, 2012).

Education experts urge several measures to improve the nation’s schools and the education of American children

(Madland & Bunker, 2011; Rokosa, 2011; Rothstein, 2010; Smerdon & Borman, 2009). These measures include

the following:

• Have smaller schools and smaller classrooms.

• Provide more funding for schools, especially those in low-income neighborhoods.

• Repair decaying school buildings.

• Increase teachers’ pay to attract more highly qualified applicants.

• Hold teachers more accountable for their students’ learning, while recognizing the obstacles that

11.5 Improving Schools and Education 507

teachers of low-income students must overcome.

• Expand early childhood (preschool) education.

On the national level, these steps will cost billions of dollars, but this expenditure promises to have a significant

payoff by saving money in the long run and reducing crime, health problems, and other social ills.

As the United States tries to improve its schools, it is also important to attend to the emotional and physical

health needs of low-income children (Lowe, 2011). Because of the many problems these children experience in

their families and neighborhoods, including alcohol and drug abuse, hunger, illness, marital conflict, and violence,

their emotional and physical health may often suffer. They cannot be expected to do well in school unless they

are in good health in both respects. For this reason, many schools are now partnering with community health

organizations and other agencies to address the emotional and physical health needs of schoolchildren, often

by establishing well-staffed and well-equipped health centers inside the schools. Another effort involves recess

(yes, recess!), as evidence indicates that children are healthier and better behaved if they go out for recess for a

sufficient amount of time.

In a related issue, it is also important for the nation to try to improve parenting skills if it hopes to improve the

educational performance and attainment of low-income students (Roksa & Potter, 2011). As Chapter 10 “The

Changing Family” discussed, low-income parents are less likely to read and talk with their young children, and

this problem impairs their children’s cognitive and neurological development. Home visits and other efforts by

professionals to encourage parents of infants and toddlers to engage in these activities regularly hold potential for

improving their children’s ability to learn and do well in school.

School violence and bullying are two other problems that must also be addressed. Several of the steps just outlined

should reduce school violence, but other measures should also help. One example involves antibullying programs,

which include regular parent meetings, strengthened playground supervision, and appropriate discipline when

warranted. Research indicates that these programs reduce bullying by 20–23 percent on the average (Farrington

& Ttofi, 2009). Any reduction in bullying should in turn help reduce the likelihood of school massacres like

Columbine, because, as noted earlier, many of the students committing these massacres had been humiliated and

bullied by other students. More generally, because the roots of school violence are also similar to the roots of

youth violence outside the schools, measures that reduce youth violence should also reduce school violence. As

discussed in previous chapters, such measures include early childhood prevention programs for youths at risk for

developmental and behavioral problems, parenting training programs, and policies that provide income and jobs

for families living in poverty.

At the level of higher education, our discussion highlighted the fact that social inequality in the larger society also

plays out in colleges and universities. The higher dropout rates for low-income students and for students of color

in turn contribute to more social inequality. Colleges and universities need to do everything possible to admit

these students and then to help them once they are admitted, as they face many obstacles and difficulties that white

students from more advantaged backgrounds are much less likely to encounter.

508 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Key Takeaways

• Good schooling can be very helpful for low-income students, but these students’ socioeconomic backgrounds have more impact than schooling on their futures.

• For this reason, more general social reform must accompany effective school reform.

• Several strategies, including smaller classes and better-paid teachers, will help improve the learning of low- income students.

For Your Review

1. Write a short essay in which you outline what a school’s superintendent might do to improve the learning of the school district’s elementary school students.

2. Why do you think the United States has not more vigorously pursued the school reform agenda outlined in this section?

References

Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Hilger, N., Saez, E., Schanzenbach, D. W., & Yagan, D. (2011). How does your

kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from Project STAR. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126,

1593–1660.

Downey, D. B., & Gibbs, B. G. (2012). How schools really matter. In D. Hartmann & C. Uggen (Eds.), The

Contexts Reader (2nd ed., pp. 80–86). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Farhi, P. (2011, May 20). Five myths about America’s schools. The Washington Post. Retrieved from

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/.

Farrington, D. P., & Ttofi, M. M. (2009). Reducing school bullying: Evidence-based implications for policy.

Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, 39, 281–345.

Ladd, H. F., & Fiske, E. B. (2011, December 12). Class matters. Why won’t we admit it? New York Times, p. A23.

Lowe, J. I. (2011, January 13). To boost learning, start with emotional health. Education Week. Retrieved from

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/12/07/13lowe_ep.h31.html.

Lowrey, A. (2012, January 6). Big study links good teachers to lasting gain. New York Times, p. A1.

Madland, D., & Bunker, N. (2011). Middle-class societies invest more in public education: A stronger middle

class is associated with higher levels of spending on education. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.

11.5 Improving Schools and Education 509

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/12/07/13lowe_ep.h31.html

Rank, M. R. (2004). One nation, underprivileged: Why American poverty affects us all. New York, NY: Oxford

University Press.

Rokosa, J. (2011). Fighting the war on poverty with early childhood education. Retrieved January 7, 2012, from

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/10/poverty_early_childhood_education.html.

Roksa, J., & Potter, D. (2011). Parenting and academic achievement: Intergenerational transmission of educational

advantage. Sociology of Education, 84, 299–321.

Rothstein, R. (2010). How to fix our schools. Retrieved January 11, 2012, from http://www.epi.org/publication/

ib286/.

Russell, H. B. (2011, May 1). A new measure for classroom quality. New York Times, p. WK12.

Smerdon, B. A., & Borman, K. M. (Eds.). (2009). Saving America’s high schools. Washington, DC: Urban

Institute Press.

510 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/10/poverty_early_childhood_education.html

http://www.epi.org/publication/ib286/

11.6 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Education is both formal and informal. Formal education occurs in schools under specially trained teachers, while informal education takes place primarily in the home, with parents as instructors.

2. In the early nineteenth century in the United States, a movement for free, compulsory education began. Reasons for interest in such education included the perceived needs to unify the country, to “Americanize” immigrants, and to give members of the working class the skills, knowledge, and discipline they needed to be productive workers.

3. In the United States, social class, race and ethnicity, and gender all affect educational attainment. Poor people end up with less schooling than middle- and upper-class people, and African Americans and Latinos have lower educational attainment than whites and Asian Americans. Although women had less schooling than men in the past, today they are more likely to graduate from high school and to attend college.

4. Education in the United States has a significant impact on two areas. One is income: the higher the education, the higher the income. The second is attitudes: the higher the education, the greater the tolerance for nontraditional behaviors and viewpoints.

5. Sociological perspectives on education fall into the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist approaches discussed in earlier chapters. Functional theory stresses the functions education serves for society, including socialization, social placement, social integration, and social and cultural innovation. Conflict theory stresses that education perpetuates and reinforces existing social inequality for several reasons, including the use of tracking and inequality in schooling between rich and poor communities. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes the social interaction that’s part of schooling and calls attention to the ways in which the treatment of students as smart or dull can affect how much they end up learning.

6. Several issues and problems affect education in the United States today. Many schools are decrepit and lack sufficient books and equipment, and many are also segregated by race and ethnicity. Increasing interest in school choice has led to controversy over whether the government should provide aid to parents to send their children to private and parochial schools. Additional controversy surrounds the issue of single-sex schools for girls. Finally, school violence is an issue of continuing concern; however, the vast majority of schools are very safe for their students, teachers, and other personnel. Bullying is more common, with about one-third of students bullied every year.

7. At the level of higher education, students of color and those from low-income backgrounds are less likely to attend college at all, and if they do attend, they are less likely to graduate.

Using What You Know

You are the principal of a middle school in a poor urban neighborhood. Your classrooms lack basic supplies, your roof often leaks, and an ominous odor often arises from your school’s water system. You have appealed many times to the school district for additional funds to deal with all these problems, but these funds have not been provided. What, if anything, do you do next?

What You Can Do

To help deal with the education problems discussed in this chapter, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer to tutor students at a local school or after-school program.

2. If your college or university has low numbers of low-income students, establish a student group to encourage your school to admit more such students.

3. Start or join a group on your campus to call attention to the need for responsible alcohol use, as drinking is associated with much campus violence.

512 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Chapter 12: Work and the Economy

Social Problems in the News

“White-Collar Workers Join Crowds Straining Food Banks,” the headline said. Amid the nation’s continuing faltering economy, middle-class families across the United States who had lost their jobs were being forced to get free food at food pantries. One woman, who lost her job as a consultant, said her family’s savings had dwindled to less than $200. “Without the network of food pantries around us, I don’t know how we would have eaten,” she said. As more middle-class workers were turning to the food pantries, the pantries’ donations had fallen. As one food pantry official put it, “We’re seeing many faces from the middle class who had been donors who now need support from our food bank. Right now, our donations are softer than we would like them to be.” Meanwhile, a survey of college-educated New York residents found that 30 percent said they had trouble affording food.

Source: Cole, 2012

One of the most momentous events of the twentieth century was the Great Depression, which engulfed the United

States in 1929 and spread to the rest of the world, lasting almost a decade. Millions were thrown out of work, and

bread lines became common. In the United States, a socialist movement gained momentum for a time as many

workers blamed US industry and capitalism for their unemployment.

The Depression involved the failing of the economy. The economy also failed in the United States beginning

in late 2007, when the country entered what has been called the Great Recession. Although the recession has

officially ended, the jobless rate remains much higher than before the recession. The news article that began this

chapter provides just a small illustration of the millions of lives that have been affected.

This chapter examines the many problems related to work and the economy in the United States today. It also

examines the related issues of economic inequality and economic mobility. As we shall see, the United States has

a mediocre record in both these areas when compared to other wealthy democracies.

References

Cole, P. (2012, January 11). White-collar workers join crowd straining food banks. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved

from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/mercedes-owners-ph-d-holders-join-swelling-crowd-

straining-soup-kitchens.html.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/mercedes-owners-ph-d-holders-join-swelling-crowd-straining-soup-kitchens.html

12.1 Overview of the Economy

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the three sectors of the economy.

2. Distinguish the two major economic systems in the world today.

3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of capitalism and socialism.

When we hear the term economy, it is usually in the context of how the economy “is doing”: Is inflation soaring or

under control? Is the economy growing or shrinking? Is unemployment rising, declining, or remaining stable? Are

new college graduates finding jobs easily or not? All these questions concern the economy, but sociologists define

economy more broadly as the social institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of a

society’s goods and services. Defined in this way, the economy touches us all. Keep in mind that the economy

is not the same as government, which is the social institution through which power is distributed and exercised.

Economy and government are social institutions that are certainly intertwined, but conceptually they are distinct.

The economy is composed of three sectors. The primary sector is the part of the economy that takes and uses raw

materials directly from the natural environment. Its activities include agriculture, fishing, forestry, and mining.

The secondary sector of the economy transforms raw materials into finished products and is essentially the

manufacturing industry. Finally, the tertiary sector is the part of the economy that provides services rather than

products; its activities include clerical work, health care, teaching, and information technology services.

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.1.0.jpg

Clerical work and other occupations that provide services rather than products constitute the tertiary sector in the economy.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 2.0.

Societies differ in many ways, but they all have to produce, distribute, and consume goods and services. How

this happens depends on which sectors of the economy are most important. This latter variable in turn depends

heavily on the level of a society’s development. Generally speaking, the less developed a society’s economy, the

more important its primary sector; the more developed a society’s economy, the more important its tertiary sector.

As societies developed economically over the centuries, the primary sector became less important and the tertiary

sector became more important. The primary sector was certainly the only sector in the hunting-and-gathering

societies that existed thousands of years ago, while the tertiary sector dominates much of the economy in today’s

wealthiest democracies.

Types of Economic Systems

The two major economic systems in modern societies are capitalism and socialism. In practice, no one society is

purely capitalist or socialist, so it is helpful to think of capitalism and socialism as lying on opposite ends of a

continuum. Societies’ economies mix elements of both capitalism and socialism but do so in varying degrees, so

that some societies lean toward the capitalist end of the continuum, while other societies lean toward the socialist

end. For example, the United States is a capitalist nation, but the government still regulates many industries

to varying degrees. The industries usually would prefer less regulation, while their critics usually prefer more

regulation. The degree of such regulation was the point of controversy after the failure of banks and other financial

institutions in 2008 and 2009. Let’s see how capitalism and socialism differ.

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned. By means of production,

we mean everything—land, tools, technology, and so forth—that is needed to produce goods and services. As

outlined by famed Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1723–1790), widely considered the founder of modern

economics, the most important goal of capitalism is the pursuit of personal profit (Smith, 1776/1910). As

individuals seek to maximize their own wealth, society as a whole is said to benefit. Goods get produced, services

are rendered, people pay for the goods and services they need and desire, and the economy and society as a whole

prosper.

12.1 Overview of the Economy 515

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Secretary_at_work.jpg

One important hallmark of capitalism is competition for profit. This competition is thought to help ensure the best products at the

lowest prices, as companies will ordinarily try to keep their prices as low as possible to attract buyers and maximize their sales.

Consumerist Dot Com – sale window – CC BY 2.0.

As people pursue personal profit under capitalism, they compete with each other for the greatest profits.

Businesses try to attract more demand for their products in many ways, including lowering prices, creating better

products, and advertising how wonderful their products are. In capitalist theory, such competition helps ensure

the best products at the lowest prices, again benefiting society as a whole. Such competition also helps ensure

that no single party controls an entire market. According to Smith, the competition that characterizes capitalism

should be left to operate on its own, free of government intervention or control. For this reason, capitalism is often

referred to as laissez-faire (French for “leave alone”) capitalism, and terms to describe capitalism include the free-

enterprise system and the free market.

The hallmarks of capitalism, then, are private ownership of the means of production, the pursuit of profit,

competition for profit, and the lack of government intervention in this competition.

Socialism

The features of socialism are the opposite of those just listed for capitalism and were spelled out most famously by

Karl Marx. Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are collectively owned, usually by

the government. Whereas the United States has several airlines that are owned by airline corporations, a socialist

society might have one government-owned airline.

516 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/a.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/consumerist/418216128/

The most important goal of socialism is not the pursuit of personal profit but rather work for the collective

good: The needs of society are considered more important than the needs of the individual. Because of this view,

individuals do not compete with each other for profit; instead they work together for the good of everyone. If

under capitalism the government is supposed to let the economy alone, under socialism the government controls

the economy.

The ideal outcome of socialism, said Marx, would be a truly classless or communist society. In such a society all

members are equal, and stratification does not exist. Obviously Marx’s vision of a communist society was never

fulfilled, and nations that called themselves communist departed drastically from his vision of communism.

Recall that societies can be ranked on a continuum ranging from mostly capitalist to mostly socialist. At one end

of the continuum, we have societies characterized by a relatively free market, and at the other end we have those

characterized by strict government regulation of the economy. Figure 12.1 “Capitalism and Socialism across the

Globe” depicts the nations of the world along this continuum. Capitalist nations are found primarily in North

America and Western Europe but also exist in other parts of the world.

Figure 12.1 Capitalism and Socialism across the Globe

Source: Adapted from The Heritage Foundation. (2010). Distribution of economic freedom. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/

index/pdf/2010/Index2010_map.pdf.

Comparing Capitalism and Socialism

People have debated the relative merits of capitalism and socialism at least since the time of Marx (Bowles, 2012;

Cohen, 2009). Compared to socialism, capitalism has several advantages. It produces greater economic growth

and productivity, at least in part because it provides more incentives (i.e., profit) for economic innovation. It also

is often characterized by greater political freedom in the form of civil rights and liberties. As an economic system,

capitalism seems to lend itself to personal freedom: Because its hallmarks include the private ownership of the

means of production and the individual pursuit of profit, there is much more emphasis in capitalist societies on the

12.1 Overview of the Economy 517

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/0e5f7b517b38a36aecb9f58d9ec4e5a6.jpg

http://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2010/Index2010_map.pdf

needs and desires of the individual and less emphasis on the need for government intervention in economic and

social affairs.

Yet capitalism also has its drawbacks. There is much more economic inequality in capitalism than in socialism.

Although capitalism produces economic growth, not all segments of capitalism share this growth equally, and

there is a much greater difference between the rich and poor than under socialism. People can become very rich

in capitalist nations, but they can also remain quite poor.

Another possible drawback depends on whether you prefer competition or cooperation. It is often said that

important values in the United States include competition and individualism, both of which arguably reflect this

nation’s capitalist system. Children in the United States are raised with more of an individual orientation than

children in socialist societies, who learn that the needs of their society are more important than the needs of the

individual. Whereas US children learn to compete with each other for good grades, success in sports, and other

goals, children in socialist societies learn to cooperate to achieve tasks.

More generally, capitalism is said by its critics to encourage selfish and even greedy behavior: If individuals try

to maximize their profit, they do so at the expense of others. In competition, someone has to lose. A company’s

ultimate aim, and one that is generally lauded, is to maximize its profits by driving another company out of the

market altogether. If so, that company succeeds even if some other party is hurting. The small mom-and-pop

grocery stores, drugstores, and hardware stores are almost a thing of the past, as big-box stores open their doors

and drive their competition out of business. To its critics, then, capitalism encourages harmful behavior, and there

are many losers in capitalism. Yet it is precisely this type of behavior that is taught in business schools.

As a business columnist recently summarized these problems of capitalism,

Why does one have to be a Democrat or a liberal to complain bout the way business gets done? Like most Americans, I am

OK with the notion that free-market capitalism produces winners and losers. What I don’t like is that it also produces liars,

cheaters, swindlers, self-dealing narcissists, overleveraged idiots and reckless egomaniacs out to abuse their economic power

and take unfair advantage of hard-working people.

I don’t complain about fraud, abuse and folly because I am antibusiness or anticapitalist…What free-market capitalism hasn’t

yet figured out is what to do with all its losers. At this point in the economic cycle, they are piling up like used tires: debt-

sacked college kids who can’t get jobs, foreclosed homeowners, failed small-business owners, pink-slipped employees, [and]

millions suddenly ejected from the middle class. (Lewis, 2012, p. C3)

Democratic Socialism

518 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

The economies of Denmark, pictured here, and several other Western European nations feature a combination of capitalism and

socialism that is called democratic socialism. In these economies, the government owns important industries, but private property and

political freedom remain widespread.

bobthemagicdragon – Majestic – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Some nations combine elements of both capitalism and socialism and are called social democracies, while their

combination of capitalism and socialism is called democratic socialism. In these nations, which include Denmark,

Sweden, and several other Western European nations, the government owns several important industries, but

much property remains in private hands, and political freedom is widespread. The governments in these nations

have extensive programs to help the poor and other people in need. Although these nations have high tax rates

to help finance their social programs, their experience indicates it is very possible to combine the best features

of capitalism and socialism while avoiding their faults (Russell, 2011) (see Note 12.10 “Lessons from Other

Societies”).

Lessons from Other Societies

Democratic Socialism in Scandinavia

The five Scandinavian nations, also called the Nordic nations, are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. These nations differ in many ways, but they also share many similarities. In particular, they are all social democracies, as their governments own important industries while their citizens enjoy much political freedom. Each nation has the three branches of government with which most people are familiar—executive, judicial, and legislative—and each nation has a national parliament to which people are elected by proportional representation.

Social democracies like the Scandinavian nations are often called controlled capitalist market economies. The word controlled here conveys the idea that their governments either own industries or heavily regulate industries they do not own. A key feature of these social democracies’ economies is that inequality in wealth and income is not generally tolerated. Employers, employees, and political officials are accustomed to working closely to ensure that poverty and its related problems are addressed as much as possible and in as cooperative a manner as possible.

Underlying this so-called social welfare model is a commitment to universalism. All citizens, regardless of their socioeconomic status or family situation, receive various services, such as child care and universal health care, that are

12.1 Overview of the Economy 519

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.1.2.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobthemagicdragon/9922495114/

free or heavily subsidized. To support this massive provision of benefits, the Scandinavian nations have very high taxes that their citizens generally accept as normal and necessary.

The Scandinavian nations rank at or near the top in international comparisons of health, education, economic well-being, and other measures of quality of life. The Scandinavian experience of social democracy teaches us that it is very possible to have a political and economic model that combines the best features of capitalism and socialism while retaining the political freedom that citizens expect in a democracy.

Sources: Russell, 2011; Sejersted, 2011

The US Labor Force

We now turn from a general discussion of economic systems to some basic facts on the labor force in the

world’s leading capitalist nation, the United States. The civilian labor force in the United States consists of all

noninstitutionalized civilians 16 years of age or older who work for pay or are looking for work. The civilian

labor force (hereafter labor force) consists of about 154 million people, or almost two-thirds of the population,

including about 71 percent of men and 58 percent of women (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012).

Of those who are currently employed, approximately 2.4 million people work in the agricultural sector, and a

much larger number, 138 million, work in nonagricultural industries. Of the latter number, 109 million work in

private industry, 21 million work in government, and almost 9 million are self-employed. Most of the currently

employed work full-time, but more than 26 million work only part-time. Of this number, 69 percent work part-

time for noneconomic reasons; for example, they have childcare or other family obligations, or they are in school.

Another 31 percent work part-time for economic reasons: They are unable to find a full-time job, or they may

have lost a full-time job because of the faltering economy.

Approximately 87 million Americans ages 16 and older are not in the labor force. Of this number, 93 percent

do not desire a job. Most of these individuals are retired, disabled, or taking care of children and/or other family

members. Of the 7 percent who would like a job but are still not in the labor force, most have dropped out of the

labor force (stopped looking for a job) because they have become discouraged after previously looking for work

but not finding a job.

Some 5 percent of currently employed people have two or more jobs at any one time. This percentage translates

to about 7 million individuals. It varies slightly by gender: 5.3 percent of employed women have at least two jobs,

compared to 4.7 percent of employed men.

Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality” noted that women’s labor force participation soared during the last few decades.

This general increase is even steeper for married women with children under 6 years of age: In 2009, almost 62

percent of such women were in the labor force, compared to less than 19 percent in 1960 (US Census Bureau,

2012), a threefold difference (see Figure 12.2 “Labor Force Participation Rate of Married Women with Children

Younger than 6 Years of Age, 1960–2007”).

Figure 12.2 Labor Force Participation Rate of Married Women with Children Younger than 6 Years of Age, 1960–2007

520 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government

Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

Key Takeaways

• The economy is the social institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of a society’s goods and services. It consists of three sectors: the primary sector, the secondary sector, and the tertiary sector.

• The two major economic systems in modern societies are capitalism and socialism. In practice, most societies have economies that mix elements of both systems but that lean toward one end of the capitalism–socialism continuum.

• Social democracies combine elements of both capitalism and socialism. They have achieved high economic growth while maintaining political freedom and personal liberty.

For Your Review

1. In what ways might capitalism be a better economic system than socialism? In what ways might socialism be a better economic system than capitalism?

2. Write a brief essay in which you discuss the values capitalism and socialism seem to develop among the people who live under either type of economic system.

References

Bowles, P. (2012). Capitalism. New York, NY: Longman.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). 2012 employment and earnings online. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved

from http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm.

Cohen, G. A. (2009). Why not socialism? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

12.1 Overview of the Economy 521

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/fc8c58c2842e7f46bcb3724f90542b83.jpg

Lewis, A. (2012, January 14–15). Occupy Mitt Romney! Bangor Daily News, p. C3.

Russell, J. W. (2011). Double standard: Social policy in Europe and the United States (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD:

Rowman & Littlefield.

Sejersted, F. (2011). The age of social democracy: Norway and Sweden in the twentieth century (R. Daly, Trans.).

Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Smith, A. (1910). The wealth of nations. (Original work published 1776). London, United Kingdom: University

Paperbacks.

US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government

Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

522 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.2.0.jpg

12.2 Sociological Perspectives on Work and the Economy

Learning Objectives

1. List any two functions of work and the economy as emphasized by functionalism.

2. Summarize conflict theory’s critique of work and the economy.

3. Explain the overall approach of symbolic interactionism to understanding work and the economy.

The three sociological perspectives examined in earlier chapters continue to offer insights that help us understand

the economy, including the nature of work on which any economy rests. Table 12.1 “Theory Snapshot”

summarizes these insights.

Table 12.1 Theory Snapshot

Theoretical perspective

Major assumptions

Functionalism Work and the economy serve several functions for society. The economy makes society possible by providing the goods and services it needs. Work gives people an income and also provides them some self-fulfillment and part of their identity.

Conflict theory

Control of the economy enables the economic elite to maintain their position at the top of society and to keep those at the bottom in their place. Work is often alienating, and the workplace is often a site for sexual harassment and other problems.

Symbolic interactionism

This perspective focuses on social interaction in the workplace, on how employees respond to problems in their workplaces, and on how they perceive the work they do.

Functionalism

Recall that the functionalist perspective highlights the many functions that social institutions serve for society.

Accordingly, this perspective paints a positive picture of work and the economy by pointing to their many benefits.

The economy’s major function is also an absolutely essential function: the provision of goods and services.

Because the economy provides the goods and services that any society needs, the economy makes a society

possible. As we saw earlier, capitalist and socialist societies provide goods and services in different ways, and

each type of economy has its advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of the relative merits of capitalism and

socialism, however, both a capitalist economy and socialist economy make possible the societies in which they

are found.

Many high school students have summer jobs or after-school jobs. Whether or not they go to college, most people

work for pay once they reach adulthood. Some work full-time until they retire, some alternate full-time work

and part-time work, and some may start out with a job but drop out of the labor force to raise their children.

Regardless of these various work patterns, the most important function that most people derive from working is

their paycheck. Simply put, work provides the income that most people need for food, clothing, shelter, and other

essential needs in today’s society.

But work has important, nonmaterial functions beyond helping us pay the bills. Many people consider their job

part of their overall identity, just as the college students reading this book consider being a student as part of

their current identity. As we enter adulthood, we are not just a spouse, partner, parent, or child of our parents; we

are also an accountant, banker, claims adjuster, day care worker, elementary school teacher, financial consultant,

garage door installer, and so forth. The job we have helps provide us with a sense of who we are, or, to put it

another way, a sense of our identity.

Especially if we enjoy our jobs, work can also give us a sense of self-fulfillment, self-confidence, and self-esteem.

These psychological effects combine to form yet another important function of work.

An important function of work is that it provides a context for coworker friendships. Many people have friends whom they met in

their workplaces or through their work.

Wonderlane – Co-workers laughing at Fat Smitty’s – CC BY 2.0.

A third function is friendships. Many people have friends and acquaintances whom they met at their workplaces

or at least through their work (McGuire, 2007). Coworkers discuss all kinds of topics with each other, including

personal matters, sports, and political affairs, and they often will invite other coworkers over to their homes or go

out with them to a movie or a restaurant. These friendships are yet another benefit that work often provides.

The nonmaterial benefits that work provides for many people are important and should not be discounted.

Although this is speculative, many wealthy people no longer need to work but continue to work because of these

524 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/5778664902/

nonmaterial benefits. National survey data support the importance of work’s nonmaterial benefits in this regard.

In the 2010 General Social Survey (GSS), respondents in the labor force were asked, “If you were to get enough

money to live as comfortably as you would like for the rest of your life, would you continue to work or would you

stop working?” More than two-thirds (68.7 percent) of these respondents replied that they would indeed continue

working.

Conflict Theory

Conflict theory’s views of work and the economy largely derive from the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich

Engels during the nineteenth century. As Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems” discussed, Marx and

Engels sharply criticized capitalism as an economic system that inherently oppresses workers. In their view, the

bourgeoisie, or ruling class, owns the means of production, while the proletariat, or working class, does not

own the means of production. The bourgeoisie uses its wealth, power, and influence to oppress and exploit the

proletariat.

Although today’s conflict theorists are not necessarily Marxists, they nonetheless criticize many aspects of

capitalism, and the earlier discussion of the disadvantages of capitalism reflects their views. They also criticize

how large companies treat their workers. As just one example, they call attention to the fact that many companies

maintain dangerous workplaces that result in injury, illness, and/or death for tens of thousands of workers

annually. We return to this particular problem later in this chapter.

Conflict theorists also point out that the workplace is a setting for sexual harassment, which was discussed in

Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality”. Although work can and does bring the many benefits assumed by functionalist

theory, work can also be a source of great distress for the hundreds of thousands of women and men who are

sexually harassed every year.

Marx also wrote that work in a capitalist society is inherently alienating. This is so, he said, because workers

do not design the products they build, because factory work (which was the dominant mode of production in

Marx’s time) involves boring and repetitive tasks, and because workers are treated by their employers as mere

commodities to be hired and fired at will. Reflecting Marx’s views, conflict theory today also points to the

alienating nature of work.

Following up on this concern, social scientists have tried to determine the extent of worker alienation and job

satisfaction, as well as the correlates of these two attitudes (Mauno, Kinnunen, & Feldt, 2012). They generally

find that American workers like their jobs much more than Marx anticipated but also that the extent to which

they like their jobs depends on the income their jobs bring, the degree of autonomy they enjoy in their jobs, and

other factors. In the 2010 GSS, 88 percent of respondents said they are “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with the

work they do, and only 12 percent said they were dissatisfied. This latter figure is probably much lower than

Marx would have predicted for a capitalist society like the United States. One possible reason for this low amount

of job dissatisfaction, and one that Marx did not foresee, is the number of workplace friendships as described

earlier. Such friendships can lead workers to like their jobs more than they otherwise would and help overcome

the alienation they might feel without the friendships.

12.2 Sociological Perspectives on Work and the Economy 525

Symbolic Interactionism

Recall that symbolic interactionism focuses on the interaction of individuals and on how they interpret their

interaction. In line with this “micro” focus, many scholars have generated rich descriptions of how certain

workplaces’ behaviors and understandings are “negotiated” and of how certain kinds of workers view aspects

of their work and interpret the meaning of their work. Numerous studies of this type exist of police officers,

prostitutes, attorneys, nurses and physicians, teachers, and a variety of other occupations. Most of these studies

are based on intensive interviews of people in these occupations. Taken together, they provide a sensitive portrait

of why people enter these various jobs and careers, what they like and dislike about their jobs, how they interact

with other people in their workplaces, and a host of other issues.

Studies of police officers’ behavior and perceptions provide an excellent example of the symbolic interactionist understanding of

work. According to Jonathan Rubinstein, an important goal of officers is to maintain the respect of other officers.

West Midlands Police – Day 4 – PCSOs on Patrol in Birmingham – CC BY-SA 2.0.

A classic study of the workplace grounded in the symbolic interactionist tradition was sociologist Joan Emerson’s

(1970) study of gynecological exams. At the time Emerson wrote her study, most gynecologists were men.

Because they are necessarily viewing and touching their women patients’ genitals, they have to ensure their

patients do not think their doctor is behaving in a sexual manner. For this to happen, Emerson wrote, (male)

gynecologists take pains to appear as medical professionals rather than as men interested in having sex or aroused

by what they were seeing and feeling. In this way, they “define the situation” as a professional encounter rather

than as a sexual encounter.

Male gynecologists use several strategies to appear as professionals, according to Emerson. For example, they

have a (female) nurse present during the exam to help the patient feel comfortable. They also certainly avoid

saying anything that might suggest they are sexually aroused. More generally, gynecologists and nurses always

526 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.2.1-1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/westmidlandspolice/6634887781/

act in a nonchalant, matter-of-fact manner, which sends the patient an implicit message: “In the medical world the

pelvic area is like any other part of the body; its private and sexual connotations are left behind when you enter the

hospital” (Emerson, 1970, p. 78). In all these ways, gynecological exams are defined only as medical encounters,

and patients are helped to feel as comfortable as possible under rather uncomfortable circumstances.

In another classic study grounded in the symbolic interactionist tradition, Jonathan Rubinstein (1993) spent a year

riding around and otherwise interacting with police officers in Philadelphia. He later wrote compellingly about

police officers’ constant fear for their safety, about how they try to control suspects and other threatening people

without drawing their guns, about how they interact with each other and with their superiors, and many other

matters. In one passage, he wrote about how officers (he interviewed policemen) try to win and keep the respect

of other officers: “A patrolman must learn to avoid any appearance or incompetency if he hopes to maintain the

respect of his colleagues. Every man must go to considerable lengths to cover up any weakness or error that

might reflect poorly on his competence” (Rubinstein, 1993, p. 105). Thus officers learn to record dispatchers’

information promptly and accurately, and they avoid remarks that question the competence of other officers.

Key Takeaways

• Functionalism emphasizes the importance of the economy for any society, and the income and self- fulfillment that work often provides.

• Conflict theory highlights the control of the economy by the economic elite, the alienation of work, and various problems in the workplace.

• Symbolic interactionism focuses on interaction in the workplace and how workers perceive many aspects of their work and workplace interaction.

For Your Review

1. Which of the three major sociological approaches to understanding work and the economy do you most prefer? Why?

2. Write a brief essay in which you use a symbolic interactionist approach to understand some aspect of a job you have held or hold now.

References

Emerson, J. P. (1970). Behavior in private places: Sustaining definitions of reality in gynecological examinations.

In H. P. Dreitzel (Ed.), Recent sociology (Vol. 2, pp. 74–97). New York, NY: Collier.

Mauno, S., Kinnunen, U., & Feldt, T. (2012). Work-family culture and job satisfaction: Does gender and parenting

status alter the relationship? Community, Work & Family, 15(1), 101–129.

12.2 Sociological Perspectives on Work and the Economy 527

McGuire, G. M. (2007). Intimate work: A typology of the social support that workers provide to their network

members. Work and Occupations, 34, 125–147.

Rubinstein, J. (1993). City police. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

528 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy

Learning Objectives

1. Outline recent trends in jobs and wages.

2. Discuss the effects of unemployment.

3. Summarize the problems associated with increasing economic inequality.

The economy and the quality and quantity of work certainly affect the lives of all Americans. At the same time,

work and the economy give rise to many kinds of problems that also affect millions of Americans. This section

examines several of these problems.

The Loss of Jobs and Wages

Because the American economy greatly weakened as the nation went into a deep recession in late 2007, it should

come as no surprise that millions of jobs have been lost during the past half-decade and that wages have declined

for many Americans. Yet long before the recession began, certain ominous trends in the American economy were

evident. These trends involved a general loss of jobs in many sectors of the American economy and stagnating

wages.

These trends partly reflected the fact that the United States has joined other industrial nations in moving into

a postindustrial economy. In a postindustrial economy, information technology and service jobs replace the

machines and manufacturing jobs that are hallmarks of an industrial economy. If physical prowess and skill

with one’s hands were prerequisites for many industrial jobs, mental prowess and communication skills are

prerequisites for postindustrial jobs.

This move to a postindustrial economy has been a mixed blessing for many Americans. The information age

has obvious benefits too numerous to mention, but there has also been a cost to the many workers whom

postindustrialization and the globalization of the economy have left behind. Since the 1980s, many manufacturing

companies moved their plants from US cities to sites in the developing world in Asia and elsewhere, a problem

called capital flight. Along with the faltering economy, these trends have helped fuel a loss of 5.5 million

manufacturing jobs from the American economy since 2000 (Hall, 2011).

A related problem is outsourcing, in which US companies hire workers overseas for customer care, billing

services, and other jobs that Americans used to do. China, India, and the Philippines, which have skilled

workforces relatively fluent in English, are the primary nations to which US companies outsource their work.

According to projections, some 3.4 million jobs will have been lost by 2015 because of outsourcing (Levine,

2012). Many call centers employ workers in India, and when you call up a computer company or some other

business for technical help, you might very well talk with an Indian. Because these call centers have cost

Americans jobs and also because Americans and Indians often have trouble understanding each other’s accents,

outsourcing has been very controversial since it became popular in the early 2000s.

Many American jobs have been lost because of outsourcing to other countries.

Paul Keller – wanted – CC BY 2.0.

All these problems reflect a more general shift in the United States from goods-producing jobs to service jobs.

Although some of these service jobs, such as many in the financial and computer industries, are high paying,

many are in low-wage occupations, such as restaurant and clerical work, that pay less than the goods-producing

jobs they replaced. Partly as a result, the average hourly wage (in 2009 dollars) in the United States for workers

(excluding managers and supervisors) rose by only one dollar from $17.46 in 1979 to $18.63 in 2009. This

change represented an increase of just 0.2 percent per year during that three-decade span, as workers’ wages have

essentially stagnated during the last three decades (Economic Policy Institute, 2012).

Wage changes in recent years also depend on what social class someone is in. While the average compensation

of chief executive officers (CEOs) of large corporations grew by 167 percent from 1989 to 2007, the average

compensation of the typical worker grew by only 10 percent (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009). Another way

of understanding this disparity is perhaps more striking. In 1965, the average compensation of CEOs was twenty-

four times greater than that of the typical worker; in 2009, their compensation was 185 times greater than that of

the typical worker (Economic Policy Institute, 2012). These figures reflect growing economic inequality in the

United States, a problem we further examine later in this chapter.

530 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulk/66164294/

The Decline of Labor Unions

One of the most important developments accompanying industrialization in the nineteenth century was the rise of

labor unions and their conflict with management over wages and working conditions (Dubofsky & Dulles, 2010).

The pay that workers received was quite low, and the conditions in which they worked were often miserable. The

typical employee worked at least ten hours a day for six or seven days a week, with almost no overtime pay and

no paid vacations or holidays. To improve wages and working conditions, many labor unions were founded after

the Civil War, only to meet determined opposition from companies, the government, and the courts. Companies

told each other which workers were suspected of being union members, and these workers were then prevented

from getting jobs. Strikers were often arrested for violating laws prohibiting strikes. When juries began finding

them not guilty, employers turned to asking judges for injunctions that prohibited strikes. Workers who then went

on strike were held in contempt of court by the judge as juries were kept out of the process.

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 531

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.3.1.jpg

From the 1870s through the 1930s, labor unions fought companies over issues such as low wages and substandard

working conditions.

DonkeyHotey – Together We Bargain – CC BY 2.0.

Labor strife also marked the Great Depression, when masses of people blamed business leaders for their economic

plight. Huge sit-ins and other labor protests occurred at auto plants in Detroit. In response, the Congress passed

several laws that gave workers a minimum wage, the right to join unions, a maximum-hour workweek, and other

rights that Americans now take for granted.

Today labor unions have lost some of their influence, especially as postindustrialization has supplanted the

industrial economy and as the United States has lost much of its manufacturing base. Four decades ago, about

one-fourth of all private-sector nonagricultural workers belonged to labor unions. By 1985 this figure had dropped

to 14.6 percent, and today it stands at only 7.2 percent (Hirsch & Macpherson, 2011). In response, labor unions

have intensified their efforts to increase their membership, only to find that US labor laws are filled with loopholes

that allow companies to prevent their workers from forming a union. For example, after a company’s workers

vote to join a union, companies can appeal the vote, and it can take several years for courts to order the company

to recognize the union. In the meantime, the low wages, substandard working conditions, and other factors that

motivated workers to want to join a union are allowed to continue.

Just as the growth of unions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries helped to raise workers’

wages, the decline of unions has lowered wages. Two reasons explain this decline (Mishel et al., 2009).

First, union workers earn about 14 percent more than nonunion workers (controlling for experience, education,

occupation, and other factors), a phenomenon known as the union wage premium. Because fewer workers are

now in unions than four decades ago, they are less likely to benefit from this premium. Second, as unions have

declined, there has been less pressure on nonunion employers to raise their wages to match union wages.

Because the union wage premium is greater for African Americans and Latinos than for whites, the wage decline

caused by the decline of unions has probably been steeper for those two groups than for whites. It is also true that

union workers are more likely than nonunion workers to be covered by employer-paid health insurance and also

to have lower health premiums and deductibles. The decline of unions has thus meant that the average worker

today is less likely to have employer-paid health insurance and, if they do, more likely to have higher premiums

and deductibles.

Unemployment

Unemployment is a fact of life. There will always be people laid off or fired, who voluntarily quit their jobs,

or who just graduated school and are still looking for work. But most unemployed people are involuntarily

unemployed, and for them the financial and psychological consequences can be devastating, as we saw in the

news story that began this chapter.

Unemployment rates rise and fall with the economy, and the national unemployment rate was as high as 10.2

percent in October 2009 amid the Great Recession that began almost two years earlier. It was still 8.3 percent

in February 2012, amounting to almost 13 million people. But whether unemployment is high or low, it always

532 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/5526657833/

varies by race and ethnicity, with African American and Latino unemployment rates much higher than the white

rate (see Figure 12.3 “Race, Ethnicity, and Unemployment Rate, February 2012”). Unemployment is also higher

for younger people than for older people. In February 2012, 23.8 percent of all teenagers in the labor force (aged

16–19) were unemployed, a figure three times higher than that for adults. The unemployment rate for African

Americans in this age group was a very high 34.7 percent, twice as high as the 21.3 percent figure for whites in

this age group (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012).

Figure 12.3 Race, Ethnicity, and Unemployment Rate, February 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012). Employment & earnings online. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm.

Unemployment figures are misleading in an important respect, as they do not include people who are

underemployed. Underemployment includes the unemployed and also two other types of people: (a) those

who are working part-time but who want to work full-time—the so-called marginally attached, and (b) those

who have stopped looking for work because they have not been able to find a job. Many economists think

that underemployment provides a more accurate measure than unemployment of the number of people with

employment problems.

For example, in December 2011, when the unemployment rate was 8.5 percent and 13 million people were

officially unemployed, the underemployment rate was 15.2 percent, equal to 23.8 million people (Shierholz,

2012). These figures are almost twice as high as the official unemployment figures. Reflecting the racial/ethnic

disparity in unemployment, 24.4 percent of African American workers and 22.3 percent of Latino workers

were underemployed, compared to only 12.5 percent of white workers. Reflecting on the great amount of

underemployment during the Great Recession, one economist commented, “When you combine the long-term

unemployed with those who are dropping out and those who are working part time because they can’t find

anything else, it is just far beyond anything we’ve seen in the job market since the 1930s” (Herbert, 2010, p. A25).

We have just seen that unemployment rises when the economy falters and that race and ethnicity affect the

probability of being unemployed. These two facts provide evidence supporting the sociological imagination (see

Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”). As C. Wright Mills (1959) emphasized in his original discussion

of this concept, unemployment is best viewed more as a public issue than as a personal trouble. When so

many people are unemployed during an economic recession and when there is such striking evidence of higher

unemployment rates among the persons of color who have the least opportunity for the education and training

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 533

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/34f39364d01763086fa6e6bc241dbde9.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.3.2.jpg

needed to obtain and keep a job, it is evident that high unemployment rates reflect a public issue rather than just a

collection of public troubles.

Several kinds of problems make it difficult for people of color to be hired into jobs and thus contribute to the

racial/ethnic disparity in unemployment. The Para 12.142 box discusses these problems.

Applying Social Research

Race, Ethnicity, and Employment

As the text discusses, people of color are more likely than whites to be unemployed or underemployed. While a relative lack of education helps explain these higher rates for people of color, other kinds of problems are also apparent.

One problem is racial discrimination on the part of employers, regardless of how conscious employers are of their discriminatory behavior. Chapter 4 “Gender Inequality” recounted a study by sociologist Devah Pager (2003), who had young white and African American men apply independently in person for various jobs in Milwaukee. These men wore the same type of clothing and reported similar levels of education and other qualifications. Some said they had a criminal record, while others said they had not committed any crimes. In striking evidence of racial discrimination in hiring, African American applicants without a criminal record were hired at the same low rate as white applicants with a criminal record.

Pager and sociologists Bruce Western and Bart Bonikowski also investigated racial discrimination in another field experiment in New York City (Pager, Bonikowski, & Western, 2009). They had white, African American, and Latino “testers,” all of them “well-spoken, clean-cut young men” (p. 781), apply in person to low-level service jobs (e.g., retail sales and delivery drivers) requiring no more than a high school education; all the testers had similar (hypothetical) qualifications. Almost one-third (31 percent) of white testers received a call back or job offer, compared to only 25.2 percent of Latino testers and 15.2 percent of African American testers. The researchers concluded that their findings “add to a large research program demonstrating the continuing contribution of discrimination to racial inequality in the post- civil rights era” (p. 794).

Other kinds of evidence also reveal racial discrimination in hiring. Two scholars sent job applications in response to help-wanted ads in Boston and Chicago (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2003). They randomly assigned the applications to feature either a “white-sounding” name (e.g., Emily or Greg) or an “African American–sounding” name (e.g., Jamal and Lakisha). White names received 50 percent more callbacks than African American names for job interviews.

Racial differences in access to the informal networks that are often so important in finding a job also contribute to the racial/ethnic disparity in employment. In a study using data from a nationwide survey of a random sample of Americans, sociologist Steve McDonald and colleagues found that people of color and women are less likely than white males to receive informal word of vacant, high-level supervisory positions (McDonald, Nan, & Ao, 2009).

As these studies indicate, research by sociologists and other social scientists reveals that race and ethnicity continue to make a difference in employment prospects for Americans. This body of research reveals clear evidence of discrimination, conscious or unconscious, in hiring and also of racial/ethnic differences in access to the informal networks that are often so important for hiring. By uncovering this evidence, these studies underscore the need to address discrimination, access to informal networks, and other factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in employment.

The Impact of Unemployment

Although the news article that began this chapter gave us a moving account of unemployed people at food banks,

survey data also provide harsh evidence of the social and psychological effects of being unemployed. In July

2010, the Pew Research Center issued a report based on a survey of 810 adults who were currently unemployed or

534 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

had been unemployed since the Great Recession began in December 2007 and 1,093 people who had never been

unemployed during the recession (Morin & Kochhar, 2010). The report’s title, Lost Income, Lost Friends—and

Loss of Self-Respect, summarized its major findings.

Of those who had been unemployed for at least six months (long-term unemployment), 44 percent said that

the recession had caused “major changes” in their lives, versus only 20 percent of those who had never been

unemployed. More than half of the long-term unemployed said their family income had declined, and more than

40 percent said that their family relations had been strained and that they had lost contact with close friends. In

another finding, 38 percent said they had “lost some self-respect” from being unemployed. One-third said they

were finding it difficult to pay their rent or mortgage, compared to only 16 percent of those who had never been

unemployed during the recession. Half had borrowed money from family or friends to pay bills, versus only 18

percent of the never unemployed. Of all the people who had been unemployed, almost half had experienced sleep

difficulties, and 5 percent had experienced drug or alcohol problems. All these numbers paint a distressing picture

of the social and psychological impact of unemployment during the Great Recession that began in late 2007.

Unemployment lines were all too common in recent years. Long-term unemployment often causes various social and psychological

difficulties.

Rawle C. Jackman – The line of hope… – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Unemployment also has a significant impact on children whose parent or parents are unemployed. The Note 12.21

“Children and Our Future” box discusses this impact.

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 535

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjackman/6476854213/

Children and Our Future

The Hidden Casualties of Unemployment

As unemployment soared in the wake of the Great Recession that began in 2007, many more children lived in a household where a parent had become unemployed. By early 2010, 11 percent of American children, or 8.1 million children overall, had an unemployed parent. Just slightly more than two years earlier, this number had been much smaller, 4.8 million. In just over two years, then, the number of children with an unemployed parent grew by two-thirds.

After their parents became unemployed, these children began to suffer various psychological effects. One news report summarized this psychological impact as follows: “For many families across the country, the greatest damage inflicted by this recession has not necessarily been financial, but emotional and psychological. Children, especially, have become hidden casualties, often absorbing more than their parents are fully aware of. Several academic studies have linked parental job loss—especially that of fathers—to adverse impacts in areas like school performance and self-esteem.”

The emotional and psychological effects for children occur for at least two reasons. First, unemployed parents tend to experience extra stress and to become withdrawn. Second, married parents and unmarried partners often experience interpersonal conflict when one of them becomes unemployed. Both of these consequences of unemployment in turn affect children in a household where at least one parent is unemployed.

Children have suffered in other ways from the rise in unemployment. More children have become homeless as their households fell into poverty. In addition, children of an unemployed parent are more likely to repeat a grade or, if they are adolescents, to drop out of school. Child abuse has probably also increased in families where a parent became unemployed.

In view of all these consequences for the children of the unemployed, the United States should do everything possible to put parents and other adults back to work and to help the children of unemployed parents deal with the devastating effects of the Great Recession.

Sources: Lovell & Isaacs, 2010; Luo, 2009

Corporations

One of the most important but controversial features of modern capitalism is the corporation, a formal

organization that has a legal existence, including the right to sign contracts, that is separate from that of its

members.

536 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Corporations such as Exxon dominate the US economy. They employ thousands of workers, and their assets total many trillions of

dollars.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 2.5.

Adam Smith, the founder of capitalism, envisioned that individuals would own the means of production and

compete for profit, and this is the model the United States followed in its early stage of industrialization. After

the Civil War, however, corporations quickly replaced individuals and their families as the owners of the means

of production and as the competitors for profit. As corporations grew following the Civil War, they quickly tried

to control their markets by, for example, buying up competitors and driving others out of business. To do so, they

engaged in bribery, kickbacks, and complex financial schemes of dubious ethics. They also established factories

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 537

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/1d46cc1ef2d19a64415ed0b29316140d.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1251_Avenue_of_the_Americas.JPG

and other workplaces with squalid conditions. Their shady financial practices won their chief executives the name

“robber barons” and led the federal government to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 designed to prohibit

restraint of trade that raised prices (Hillstrom & Hillstrom, 2005).

More than a century later, corporations have increased in both number and size. Although several million US

corporations exist, most are fairly small. Each of the largest five hundred, however, has an annual revenue

exceeding $4.3 billion (2011 data) and employs thousands of workers. Their total assets run into the trillions of

dollars (Fortune, 2011). It is no exaggeration to say they control the nation’s economy, as together they produce

most of the US private sector output, employ millions of people, and have revenues equal to most of the US

gross domestic product. In many ways, the size and influence of corporations stifle the competition that is one

of the hallmarks of capitalism. For example, several markets, including that for breakfast cereals, are controlled

by four or fewer corporations. This control reduces competition because it reduces the number of products and

competitors, and it thus raises prices to the public (Parenti, 2011).

The last few decades have seen the proliferation and rise of the multinational corporation, a corporation with

headquarters in one nation but with factories and other operations in many other nations (Wettstein, 2009).

Multinational corporations centered in the United States and their foreign affiliates have more than $17 trillion in

assets and employ more than 31 million people (US Census Bureau, 2012). The assets of the largest multinational

corporations exceed those of many of the world’s nations. Often their foreign operations are in poor nations,

whose low wages make them attractive sites for multinational corporation expansion. Many multinational

employees in these nations work in sweatshops at very low pay and amid substandard living conditions. Critics

of this practice say multinationals not only mistreat workers in poor nations but also exploit these nations’

natural resources. In contrast, defenders of the practice say multinationals are bringing jobs to poor nations and

helping them achieve economic growth. As this debate illustrates, the dominance of multinational corporations

will certainly continue to spark controversy.

As we first discussed in Chapter 8 “Crime and Criminal Justice”, another controversial aspect of corporations

is the white-collar crime in which they engage (Rosoff, Pontell, & Tillman, 2010). Price fixing by corporations

costs the US public some $60 billion annually (Simon, 2008). Workplace-related illnesses and injuries that could

have been prevented if companies had safe workplaces kill about 50,000 workers each year (American Federation

of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, 2011). An estimated 10,000 US residents die annually from

unsafe products, including contaminated food (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2010; Young, 2010). All

in all, corporate lawbreaking and neglect probably result in almost 100,000 deaths annually and cost the public

more than $400 billion (Barkan, 2012).

In sum, corporations are the dominant actors in today’s economy. They provide most of our products and many

of our services and employ millions of people. It is impossible to imagine a modern industrial system without

corporations. Yet they often stifle competition, break the law, and, according to their critics, exploit people and

natural resources in developing nations.

Economic Inequality

In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement gave national attention to economic inequality by emphasizing the

538 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

differences between the “1%” and the “99%.” Proclaiming “We are the 99%,” they decried the concentration of

wealth in the richest of the rich and the growing inequality of the last few decades. (See Note 12.24 “People

Making a Difference”.) The issue of economic inequality merits further attention here.

People Making a Difference

Occupy Wall Street

Before 2011, economic inequality in the United States certainly existed and in fact had increased greatly since the 1970s. However, although economic inequality was a topic of concern to social scientists, it was not a topic of concern to the general news media. Because the news media generally ignored economic inequality, it was also not a topic of concern to the general public.

That all changed beginning on September 17, 2011, when hundreds of people calling themselves “Occupy Wall Street” marched through the financial district in New York City before dozens encamped overnight and for weeks to come. Occupy Wall Street took these actions to protest the role of major banks and corporations in the economic collapse of 2007 and 2008 and to call attention to their dominance over the political process. Within weeks, similar Occupy encampments had spread to more than one hundred cities in the United States and hundreds more across the globe. “We are the 99%,” they said again and again, as “occupy” became a verb heard repeatedly throughout the United States.

By winter, almost all Occupy encampments had ended either because of legal crackdowns or because of the weather conditions. By that time, however, the Occupy protesters had won news media attention everywhere. In a December 2011 poll by the Pew Research Center, 44 percent of Americans supported the Occupy Wall Street movement, while 35 percent opposed it. Almost half (48 percent) said they agreed with the concerns raised by the movement, compared to 30 percent who said they disagreed with these concerns. In the same poll, 61 percent said the US economic system “unfairly favors the wealthy,” while 36 percent said it was fair to all Americans. In a related area, 77 percent said “there is too much power in the hands of a few rich people and corporations.” In all these items, there was a notable difference by political party preference. For example, 91 percent of Democrats agreed that a few rich people and corporations have too much power, compared to 80 percent of Independents and only 53 percent of Republicans.

Regardless of these political differences, Occupy Wall Street succeeded in bringing economic inequality and related issues into the national limelight. In just a few short months in 2011, it made a momentous difference.

Sources: Pew Research Center, 2011; vanden Heuvel, 2012

Let’s start by defining economic inequality, which refers to the extent of the economic difference between the rich

and the poor. Because most societies are stratified, there will always be some people who are richer or poorer than

others, but the key question is how much richer or poorer they are. When the gap between them is large, we say

that much economic inequality exists; when the gap between them is small, we say that relatively little economic

inequality exists.

Considered in this light, the United States has a very large degree of economic inequality. A common way to

examine inequality is to rank the nation’s families by income from lowest to highest and then to divide this

distribution into fifths. Thus we have the poorest fifth of the nation’s families (or the 20 percent of families with

the lowest family incomes), a second fifth with somewhat higher incomes, and so on until we reach the richest

fifth of families, or the 20 percent with the highest incomes. We then can see what percentage each fifth has of

the nation’s entire income. Figure 12.4 “Share of National Income Going to Income Fifths, 2010” shows such

a calculation for the United States. The poorest fifth enjoys only 3.3 percent of the nation’s income, while the

richest fifth enjoys 50.2 percent. Another way of saying this is that the richest 20 percent of the population have

as much income as the remaining 80 percent of the population.

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 539

Figure 12.4 Share of National Income Going to Income Fifths, 2010

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

This degree of inequality is the largest in the industrialized world. Figure 12.5 “Income Inequality around

the World” compares the inequality among several industrialized nations by dividing the median income of

households in the ninetieth percentile (meaning they have more income than 90 percent of all households) by the

median income of households in the tenth percentile (meaning they have more income than only 10 percent of all

households); the higher this resulting ninetieth percentile/tenth percentile ratio, the greater a nation’s inequality.

The ratio for the United States far exceeds that for any other nation.

Figure 12.5 Income Inequality around the World

Ratio of median income of richest 10 percent in each nation to that of poorest 10 percent.

Source: Data from Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.

The Role of Tax Policy

Economic inequality in the United States has increased during the last three decades. The loss of manufacturing

540 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/2fdcd2523d8957e01d65f67626675937.jpg

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/3237d7e4736ed6d152e8752200ce6acc.jpg

jobs and unions accounts for some of this increase. However, a primary reason for the rising inequality has been

tax policy. More specifically, the federal government has implemented steep cuts in the highest tax rates for

income from salaries and wages and especially in tax rates for income from dividends and capital gains (Hacker

& Pierson, 2011). This latter cut is especially important because dividends and capital gains account for a much

larger share of the income of wealthy families than the income of ordinary families. To be more specific, dividends

and capital gains account for only 0.7 percent of the income of the bottom four-fifths of the nation’s families, but

for 18.8 percent of the income of the top fifth, 38.2 percent of the top 1 percent, and a striking 51.9 percent of

the top 0.1 percent (Hungerford, 2011). In a related statistic, three-fourths of all capital gains are received by the

top 1 percent (Krugman, 2012). Relative to its national wealth, the United States is the lowest-taxed industrial

democracy in the world (Leonhardt, 2012).

Tax rates for the very wealthy have declined dramatically since the 1970s. This decline has helped fuel a rise in economic inequality.

Martin Haesemeyer – The Internal Revenue Service – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Keep this context in mind as we note that tax cuts in 2003 lowered the tax rate for dividends and capital gains

from 28 percent to 15 percent. Meanwhile, the top tax rate for income from salaries and wages is 35 percent.

Thus many very wealthy families and individuals pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than many

middle- and upper-middle-class families do because so much of the wealthy families’ income is from dividends

and capital gains. In fact, the four hundred wealthiest families and individuals in the country pay only about 18

percent of their income in federal tax (Krugman, 2012). As the director of Citizens for Tax Justice explained,

“The low taxes on capital gains and dividends are why people who make a ton of money, which is largely

from investment income, do awfully well. The Warren Buffetts, the hedge fund managers—they pay really low

tax rates” (Confessore, Kocieniewski, & Parker, 2011, p. A1). This fact prompts a critical question from Paul

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 541

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.3.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/haesemeyer/239085459/

Krugman, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics: “Is there a good reason why the rich should bear a startlingly

light tax burden?” His answer: “Such low taxes on the very rich are indefensible” (Krugman, 2012, p. A27).

The lowering of tax rates has helped make the nation’s wealthiest families even wealthier. After adjusting for

inflation, their after-tax income grew by a much greater amount than that for the poorest families from 1979 to

2007. Income grew by only 18 percent for the poorest fifth but by 65 percent for the wealthiest fifth (excluding

the top 1 percent), and it also grew by a whopping 275 percent for families in the top 1 percent (Congressional

Budget Office, 2011). As a result, economic inequality increased. Figure 12.6 “Growth of Economic Inequality in

the United States (Percentage Share of Total National Income)” shows that wealthiest 1 percent now have a much

larger share of the nation’s total posttax income than they did in 1979, while the poorest fifth have a lower share.

As the saying goes, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.

Figure 12.6 Growth of Economic Inequality in the United States (Percentage Share of Total National Income)

Source: Economic Policy Institute. (2011). Share of total income by income fifths and a breakdown of the top 20%. The State of

working America. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://stateofworkingamerica.org/charts/household-

income-shares-1979-2007.

The Impact of Economic Inequality

Why should we care if economic inequality has increased and if the United States has the highest degree of

inequality of all industrial democracies? One answer is that it is a matter of fairness. The United States is not only

the wealthiest nation in the world; it is also a nation that historically has stressed that everyone is created equal and

that everyone has an equal opportunity to pursue the “American dream” by becoming economically successful.

Against this backdrop, a high degree of economic inequality is simply “un-American” and unfair.

Beyond this rather philosophical critique are more practical considerations. First, a high degree of economic

inequality is strongly associated with a high degree of poverty and near poverty: If the rich are getting richer, there

is normally less wealth to “go around,” and the poor get poorer. For the same reason, high economic inequality is

also associated with a shrinking of the middle class. In the United States, as both poverty (and near poverty) and

wealth have increased, the size of the middle class has reduced, as the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

has emphasized (Krueger, 2012).

542 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/ea00ddd3d8f6e50e8b1a3171df60d285.jpg

http://stateofworkingamerica.org/charts/household-income-shares-1979-2007

Second, a high degree of economic inequality is also associated with low economic mobility (the movement of

people up or down the socioeconomic ladder) (Krueger, 2012). As noted earlier, the United States is the most

economically unequal of all industrial democracies. It also has lower economic mobility: Americans born into

poverty or near poverty are less likely than their counterparts in other democracies to be able to move up the

socioeconomic ladder (DeParle, 2012).

Next, high economic inequality may slow economic growth. This possible effect occurs for at least three reasons

(Krueger, 2012). First, the wealthy tend to save their money rather than spend it. Second, a shrinking middle class

means there is less spending by the middle class to stimulate the economy. Third, workers’ morale is likely to be

lower in a society with higher economic inequality, and their lower morale decreases their productivity. As the

chair of the Council of Economic Advisers has stated, “The evidence suggests that a growing middle class is good

for the economy, and that a more fair distribution of income would hasten economic growth. Businesses would

benefit from restoring more fairness to the economy by having more middle class customers, more stable markets,

and improved employee morale and productivity” (Krueger, 2012).

Finally, many social scientists consider nations with high degrees of economic inequality to be “unhealthy

societies,” to quote the title of a book on this issue (Wilkinson, 1996). Economic inequality is thought to

undermine social cohesion and increase polarization, and also to cause other problems (Barash, 2012; Wilkinson

& Pickett, 2011). Among the world’s industrial nations, higher degrees of economic inequality are associated

with worse physical and mental health, lower life expectancy, and higher rates of violent crime. High economic

inequality, then, is a matter not only of fairness but also of life and death.

Tax Evasion

Another significant problem in the American economy is tax evasion. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

periodically estimates the amount of tax evasion and derives a figure it calls the tax gap: the difference between

what Americans owe in federal taxes and what they actually pay. Much of the annual tax gap results from the

failure of professionals such as physicians and attorneys to report self-employment income and from the claiming

of false deductions by wealthy individuals and families (Braithwaite, 2009).

In January 2012, the IRS released its estimate of the tax gap for 2006. The initial tax gap was $450 billion. After

payment of late taxes and certain enforcement efforts, this gap was reduced to $385 billion, still an astronomical

figure; tax evasion by corporations amounted for about $70 billion of this amount. The total tax gap is about

twenty times greater than the annual economic loss from property crimes such as burglary and motor vehicle theft.

In 2006, the federal budget deficit was $248 billion. If everyone had paid the taxes they owed, there would have

been no deficit at all, and the federal government in fact would have had a surplus of $137 billion (Pizzigati,

2012).

Despite the huge problem of tax evasion, budget cuts in 2011 weakened the ability of the IRS to enforce the tax

code. In 2012, the IRS had 3,000 fewer employees working in enforcement than it had in 2010 (Pizzigati, 2012).

Crime in the Workplace

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 543

Employee theft costs about $19.5 billion annually. Workers’ dissatisfaction with various aspects of their jobs is a

major reason for this form of theft.

A. Golden – the US$ 3 TRILLION HEIST – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

An unfortunate fact about work in the United States is crime in the workplace, which is the last problem in work

and the economy that we will examine. Two major types of such crime exist: employee theft and workplace

violence.

544 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.3.4.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eyewash/3002055918/

Employee Theft

Employee theft takes two forms: pilferage and embezzlement. Pilferage involves the stealing of goods, while

embezzlement involves the stealing of money in its various dimensions (cash, electronic transactions, etc.).

Whichever form it takes, employee theft is so common that is has been called a “widespread, pervasive, and costly

form of crime” (Langton, Piquero, & Hollinger, 2006, p. 539). It is estimated that about 75 percent of employees

steal at least once from their employers and that the annual amount of employee theft is $19.5 billion (National

Retail Federation, 2007).

Employee theft occurs for many reasons, but a common reason is worker dissatisfaction with various aspects

of their job. They may think their wages or salaries are too low, they may feel they have been treated unfairly

by their employer, and so forth. As the estimates of the amount of employee theft suggest, this form of theft

is not condemned by many people, and, indeed, many workplaces have informal norms that approve of certain

forms of theft—for example, it is OK to steal inexpensive objects such as (depending on the workplace) utensils,

food, pencils and pens, or toilet paper. Not surprisingly, embezzlement is often more costly to an employer than

pilferage; although it can involve just a few dollars from a cash register, it can also involve hundreds of thousands

or millions of dollars acquired through more sophisticated means.

When we think of employee theft, we probably usually think of theft by blue-collar or lower white-collar

employees. However, physicians, attorneys, and other professionals also steal from their patients/clients or from

the government, even if their form of theft is often much more complex and sophisticated than what the term

“employee theft” may usually imply. Attorneys may bill their clients for work that was never done, and physicians

may bill Medicare or private insurance for patients they never saw or for procedures that were never performed.

We call this form of “employee” theft professional fraud. Fraud by physicians and other health-care professionals

(including nursing homes and medical testing laboratories) is thought to amount to $100 billion every year (Rosoff

et al., 2010), a figure that far exceeds the $19.5 billion in “conventional” employee theft and the similar figure

lost to property crime (robbery, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft).

Workplace Violence

In January 2012, a lumber company employee in North Carolina entered the company’s warehouse armed with

a twelve-gauge shotgun. He shot and killed three coworkers and critically wounded another coworker. He then

returned home, shot himself in the head, and later died at a hospital. A news report described the gunman as a

“disgruntled” employee (Muskal, 2012).

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 545

About five hundred homicides occur at workplaces every year. The majority of these homicides result from robberies, not from the

actions of disgruntled workers.

Pixabay – CC0 Public Domain.

Many people die or are injured by acts of violence at their workplaces every year in the United States. In 2008,

517 people were slain at their workplaces, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. As disturbing as this

number was, it represented a sharp drop from the numbers that prevailed a decade earlier, when 1,080 workplace

homicides occurred in 1994. From 2003 through 2008, an average of 497 workplace homicides occurred every

year (Needleman, 2010).

In terms of who is involved and the reasons for their involvement, three kinds of workplace homicides are the

most common. The first and by far the most common type is homicide as the result of robbery. This category

includes the many store clerks, gas station attendants, taxi drivers, and other employees who are slain during a

robbery, as well as police who are killed as they try to stop a robbery or apprehend the offender. The second

category is homicide committed as an act of domestic violence; in this type, the offender, almost always a man,

seeks out his wife or girlfriend (or ex-wife or ex-girlfriend) at her workplace and kills her. The third category

involves disgruntled workers, such as the North Carolina lumber employee just discussed, who kill one or more

people at their workplace whom they blame for problems the killers have been having. Although this type of

homicide is the type that the phrase “workplace violence” or “workplace killings” usually brings to mind, it is

actually the least common of the three types listed here (Fox, 2010).

Key Takeaways

• The move to a postindustrial economy has resulted in a loss of jobs and wages in the United States, thanks

546 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.3.5.jpg

https://pixabay.com/en/crime-blood-offence-misstep-268902/

in part to capital flight and outsourcing.

• Unemployment soared after the Great Recession that began in late 2007. Joblessness has significant consequences for the financial and psychological well-being of the millions of people who are unemployed.

• Economic inequality has greatly increased since the 1970s, thanks in large part to changes in the tax code that favored the wealthy.

• Corporations often engage in white-collar crime that costs hundreds of billions of dollars annually and results in tens of thousands of deaths.

For Your Review

1. Write a brief essay in which you discuss the benefits and disadvantages of corporations in modern society.

2. Write a brief essay in which you summarize the problems associated with increasing economic inequality.

3. Fewer workers belong to labor unions now than just a few decades ago. Do you think this is a good development or a bad development? Explain your answer.

4. Think of a job you now have or your most recent job if you are currently not employed. On a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), how satisfied are you (were you) with your job? Explain why you have (had) this level of satisfaction.

References

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. (2011). Death on the job: The toll of

neglect. Washington, DC: Author.

Barash, D. (2012, January 13). The wanton wages of income inequality. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/the-wages-of-inequality/

43020?sid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en.

Barkan, S. E. (2012). Criminology: A sociological understanding (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2003). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A

field experiment on labor market discrimination (Working Paper No. 9873). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of

Economic Research. Retrieved from http://papers.nber.org/papers/w9873.pdf.

Braithwaite, V. (2009). Tax evasion. In M. Tonry (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of crime and public policy (pp.

381–405). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). 2012 employment and earnings online. Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor

Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm.

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 547

http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/the-wages-of-inequality/43020?sid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

http://papers.nber.org/papers/w9873.pdf

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/124xx/doc12485/WebSummary.pdf

Confessore, N., Kocieniewski, D., & Parker, A. (2011, January 18). Romney shares some tax data; critics pounce.

New York Times, p. A1.

Congressional Budget Office. (2011). Trends in the distribution of household income between 1979 and 2007.

Retrieved from http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/124xx/doc12485/WebSummary.pdf.

DeParle, J. (2012, January 5). Harder for Americans to rise from lower rungs. New York Times, p. A1.

Dubofsky, M., & Dulles, F. R. (2010). Labor in America: A history (8th ed.). Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson.

Economic Policy Institute. (2012). The state of working America. Retrieved January 17, 2012, from

http://stateofworkingamerica.org.

Fortune. (2011). Fortune 500. Retrieved January 14, 2012, from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/

fortune500/2011/full_list.

Fox, J. A. (2010). Workplace homicide: What is the risk? Retrieved from http://boston.com/community/blogs/

crime_punishment/2010/08/workplace_homicide_the_risks.html.

Hacker, J. S., & Pierson, P. (2011). Winner-take-all politics: How Washington made the rich richer—and turned

its back on the middle class. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Hall, D. (2011, November 3). As the manufacturing sector goes, so goes America? Retrieved January 16, 2012,

from http://www.epi.org/blog/manufacturing-sector-american-economy.

Herbert, B. (2010, August 10). The horror show. New York Times, p. A25.

Hillstrom, K., & Hillstrom, L. C. (Eds.). (2005). The industrial revolution in America. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-

CLIO.

Hirsch, B., & Macpherson, D. (2011). Union membership and coverage database from the CPS. Retrieved from

http://unionstats.com.

Hungerford, T. L. (2011). Changes in the distribution of income among tax filers between 1996 and 2006: The

role of labor income, capital income, and tax policy. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.

Krueger, A. B. (2012). The rise and consequences of inequality in the United States. Retrieved January 19, 2012,

from http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2012/01/pdf/krueger.pdf.

Krugman, P. (2012, January 20). Taxes at the top. New York Times, p. A27.

Langton, L., Piquero, N. L., & Hollinger, R. C. (2006). An empirical test of the relationship between employee

theft and low self-control. Deviant Behavior, 27, 537–565.

Leonhardt, D. (2012, January 20). Why taxes aren’t as high as they seem. New York Times, p. A15.

Levine, L. (2012). Offshoring (or offshore outsourcing) and job loss among US workers (CRS Report RL32292).

548 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://stateofworkingamerica.org/

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/full_list

http://boston.com/community/blogs/crime_punishment/2010/08/workplace_homicide_the_risks.html

http://www.epi.org/blog/manufacturing-sector-american-economy

http://unionstats.com/

http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2012/01/pdf/krueger.pdf

Retrieved January 17, 2012, from http://forbes.house.gov/UploadedFiles/CRS_-

_Offshoring_and_Job_Loss_Among_U_S__Workers.pdf.

Lovell, P., & Isaacs, J. B. (2010). Families of the recession: Unemployed parents & their children. Washington,

DC: Brookings Institution.

Luo, M. (2009, November 12). Job woes exacting a toll on family life. New York Times, p. A1.

McDonald, S., Nan, L., & Ao, D. (2009). Networks of opportunity: Gender, race, and job leads. Social Problems,

56(3), 385–402.

Mills, C. W. (1959). The sociological imagination. London, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.

Morin, R., & Kochhar, R. (2010). Lost income, lost friends—and loss of self-respect: The impact of long-term

unemployment. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

Muskal, M. (2012). Man Shoots 4 Co-Workers, Killing 3, Authorities Say. Los Angeles times, January 12, A12.

National Retail Federation. (2007, June 11). Retail losses hit $41.6 billion last year, according to national

retail security survey [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.nrf.com/

modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=318.

Needleman, S. E. (2010, August 10). When violence strikes the workplace. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved

from http://online.wsj.com/article/

SB10001424052748704164904575421560153438240.html?mod=googlenews_wsj.

Pager, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal record. American Journal of Sociology, 108, 937–975.

Pager, D., Bonikowski, B., & Western, B. (2009). Discrimination in a low-wage labor market: A field experiment.

American Sociological Review, 74(5), 777–799.

Parenti, M. (2011). Democracy for the few (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Pizzigati, S. (2012). Law and order 24/7, except at tax time. Retrieved January 14, 2012, from

http://toomuchonline.org/tax-gap-law-and-order.

Rosoff, S. M., Pontell, H. N., & Tillman, R. (2010). Profit without honor: White collar crime and the looting of

America (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Shierholz, H. (2012, January 6). A solid step in the right direction for the labor market. Retrieved January 17,

2012, from http://www.epi.org/publication/december-2011-jobs-picture.

Simon, D. R. (2008). Elite deviance (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government

Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

12.3 Problems in Work and the Economy 549

http://forbes.house.gov/UploadedFiles/CRS_-_Offshoring_and_Job_Loss_Among_U_S__Workers.pdf

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=318

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704164904575421560153438240.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://toomuchonline.org/tax-gap-law-and-order

http://www.epi.org/publication/december-2011-jobs-picture

http://www.thenation.com/blog/165883/occupy-effect?rel=emailNation

US Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2010, April 15). 2010 annual report to the president and the

Congress. Washington, DC: Author.

vanden Heuvel, K. (2012, January 26) The occupy effect. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/

blog/165883/occupy-effect?rel=emailNation.

Wettstein, F. (2009). Multinational corporations and global justice: Human rights obligations of a quasi-

governmental institution. Stanford, CA: Stanford Business Books.

Wilkinson, R. G. (1996). Unhealthy societies: The afflictions of inequality. New York, NY: Routledge.

Wilkinson, R., & Pickett, K. (2011). The spirit level: Why greater equality makes societies stronger. New York,

NY: Bloomsbury Press.

Young, S. (2010, April 15). E. coli cases down in 2009, CDC says. CNN Health. Retrieved from

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-15/health/foodborne.illness.cdc_1_foodnet-cases-of-e-coli-hemolytic-uremic-

syndrome?_s= PM:HEALTH.

550 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-15/health/foodborne.illness.cdc_1_foodnet-cases-of-e-coli-hemolytic-uremic-syndrome?_s=PM:HEALTH

12.4 Improving Work and the Economy

Learning Objective

1. Understand several types of social reform for improving work and the economy.

This chapter has discussed problems related to work and the economy. Critics of capitalism say many of these

and other problems arise from the nature of capitalism. According to this way of thinking, capitalism as an

economic system emphasizes competition and thus a “winner takes all” mentality. In this kind of system, there

are many losers, and there is also unbridled greed for ever greater wealth. Further, because there is relatively

little government regulation in the free-market system that is a hallmark of capitalism, large corporations are

left relatively free to engage in behavior that advances their profits but that also stifles competition, harms the

environment, and causes other social ills. Regardless of the merits of this general critique, capitalism is not about

to disappear. Any improvement in work and the economy, then, must stem from social reforms based on sound

social research. This chapter’s discussion points to several important problems that must be addressed.

One problem is racial and ethnic discrimination in hiring and employment. Several kinds of studies, but especially

field experiments involving job applicants who are similar except for their race and ethnicity, provide powerful

evidence of continuing discrimination despite federal and state laws banning it. This evidence certainly suggests

the need for stronger enforcement of existing laws against racial and ethnic bias in employment and for public

education campaigns to alert workers to signs of this type of discrimination.

A second problem concerns worker morale. Economic inequality and a faltering economy continue to threaten

to undermine worker morale and hence worker productivity. Individual employers can do little about these two

fundamental problems in the larger economy, but they can do something about worker morale. In this regard,

this chapter discussed the importance of coworker friendships for workers’ satisfaction with their jobs and for

their more general individual well-being. In view of this importance, employers and employees alike should make

special efforts to promote coworker friendships. Because work is such an important part of most people’s lives,

these efforts should prove beneficial for many reasons. Employers should also take other measures to improve

worker morale, including improvements in wages and working conditions.

A third problem is unemployment. Sociologists, psychologists, and other scholars have documented the social

and emotional consequences of unemployment. The effects of unemployment go far beyond the loss of money.

Revealed by much research, these consequences sometimes seem forgotten in national debates over whether

to extend unemployment insurance benefits. But unemployment does have a human face, and it is essential to

provide monetary benefits and other kinds of help for the unemployed.

A fourth problem is corporate misbehavior. As this chapter discussed, corporations are essential to the US

economy but also cause great harm. It is not an exaggeration to say that corporate crime is rampant and that it

goes largely unpunished. Stricter federal and state oversight of and sanctions against corporate misbehavior are

needed.

A fifth problem is economic inequality. The degree of inequality has grown during the past few decades, thanks

in large part to changes in the tax codes that greatly favored the wealthy. Restoring tax rates to their standards

before the 1980s would help to lessen economic inequality and thus help lessen the problems arising from this

type of inequality. In a related area, although the official federal tax rate for corporate profits is 35 percent,

many corporations pay a much lower percentage than this because of various loopholes and shelters in the

federal tax code. From 2009 to 2011, 280 corporations paid an average of only 18.5 percent of their profits

in federal taxes, and 30 of these corporations paid no federal tax during this period (Kocieniewski, 2011). The

corporations’ effective tax rate was lower than that of corporations in many other democracies. For the ten-year

period beginning 2002, General Electric paid only 2.3 percent of its profits in federal taxes (Eichler, 2012). Ending

the loopholes and shelters that corporations enjoy will help greatly to increase federal revenue. As the advocacy

group Citizens for Tax Justice observes, “Closing the loopholes will have real benefits, including a fairer tax

system, reduced federal budget deficits and more resources to improve our roads, bridges and schools—things

that are really important for economic development here in the United States” (Kocieniewski, 2011, p. B1).

More generally, it is worth noting a recommendation of many observers concerning the federal government’s

role in the economy. These observers say the government must take a more active role in improving the national

infrastructure, job training, and research and development, and in more generally providing incentives for large

corporations to invest their resources in job creation. In this regard, they cite the recent experience of Germany,

which has recovered faster than the United States from the worldwide recession (Jacobs, 2012).

To improve the economy and create many jobs, many observers say the federal government needs to follow the example of Western

Europe by expanding its role in the economy.

Diego Cambiaso – White House – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Germany had this success, these observers say, because it undertook several labor market policies. In particular,

552 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/12.4.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/djc/15870725062/

Germany provided more generous unemployment benefits than found in the United States (including

unemployment compensation in return for working shorter hours, which avoided layoffs), and it provided

businesses incentives for employment training and subsidies and incentives to hire the unemployed. Other nations

have also eased the effects of the recession because their governments have played this type of active role, one

that is much more active than found in the United States. The experience of Germany and of several other nations

strongly suggests that “government policy and investment can play a vital role in providing incentives for the

private sector,” as one journalist put it (Zakaria, 2012). If so, the US federal government would do well to follow

the example of Germany and other nations.

In this regard, a comprehensive approach involving job-creation funding is essential (Fieldhouse and Thiess,

2011). This approach would involve federal funding and/or budgetary policy reform in the following areas: (1)

funding for the renovation of schools, improvement in transportation, and improvements in other components

of the national infrastructure; (2) funding for the hiring of thousands of teachers, child care workers, and

community service workers; and (3) expansion of unemployment insurance benefits, both to help the families of

the unemployed and to give them money that they will spend to help stimulate the economy.

Taken together, these measures promise to create millions of jobs. Because these jobs would stimulate the

economy and increase tax revenue, these measures would help to pay for themselves. Additional funding for these

measures would come from raising tax rates on the very wealthy, as discussed earlier, and from other types of tax

reform, including ending tax loopholes for the oil and gas industry and implementing a “financial speculation tax”

(Fieldhouse & Thiess, 2011). This last type of tax reform would involve a small tax on all stock transactions, with

a 0.5 percent tax raising about $80 billion annually (Bivens, 2011).

More generally, recall that the social democracies of Scandinavia have combined democratic freedom and

economic prosperity. Although there are certainly no signs that the United States is about to follow their example,

our nation also has much to learn from these societies as it considers how best to rebuild its economy and to help

the millions of people who are unemployed or underemployed.

Key Takeaways

• Certain social reforms are necessary to improve aspects of work and the economy.

• Returning tax codes to their rates before the 1980s will help lessen economic inequality.

• Stricter federal and state oversight of corporate behavior is needed to help address corporate crime.

• A greater investment of federal funding in job creation and the raising of taxes for the very wealthy is necessary to create jobs while stimulating the economy.

For Your Review

1. Write a brief essay that summarizes any three strategies for improving work and the economy.

2. To what extent, if any, do you think capitalism is to blame for the problems in work and the economy

12.4 Improving Work and the Economy 553

discussed in this chapter? Explain your answer.

References

Bivens, J. (2011). Truly shared sacrifice includes Wall Street. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org/blog/shared-

sacrifice-wall-street-financial-speculation-tax.

Eichler, A. (2012, February 27). General Electric tax rate 2.3 percent over decade, report finds. The Huffington

Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/general-electric-tax-rate_n_1305196.html.

Fieldhouse, A., & Thiess, R. (2011). The Restore the American Dream for the 99% Act: An analysis of job-

creation provisions. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.

Jacobs, E. (2012). Growth through innovation: Lessons for the United States from the German labor market

miracle. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Kocieniewski, D. (2011, November 3). Biggest public firms paid little US tax, study says. New York Times, p. B1.

Zakaria, F. (2012, January 18). The economic lessons the rest of the world could teach us. The Washington Post.

Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-economic-lessons-the-rest-of-the-world-could-

teach-us/2012/01/18/gIQAfSuG9P_story.html.

554 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.epi.org/blog/shared-sacrifice-wall-street-financial-speculation-tax

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/general-electric-tax-rate_n_1305196.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-economic-lessons-the-rest-of-the-world-could-teach-us/2012/01/18/gIQAfSuG9P_story.html

12.5 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. Capitalism and socialism are the two primary types of economic systems in the world today. Capitalism involves private ownership, the pursuit of profit, and competition for profit, while socialism involves the collective ownership of goods and resources and efforts for the common good. Several nations practice democratic socialism, which is meant to combine the best of capitalism and socialism.

2. According to functionalism, the economy makes society possible by providing essential goods and services, while work gives people income and self-fulfillment. According to conflict theory, work is alienating, and the economic elite uses its control of the economy to maintain their elite position. Symbolic interactionism focuses on social interaction in the workplace and on how they perceive the work they do.

3. Problems in work and the economy include the following: (a) the loss of jobs and wages; (b) the decline of labor unions; (c) unemployment; (d) corporate misbehavior; (e) rising economic inequality; (f) tax evasion; and (g) workplace crime.

4. Social reforms based on sound social science research are needed to improve work and the economy. Two important reforms would involve stricter enforcement of laws against racial discrimination in hiring and employment and of penalties for corporate crime.

Using What You Know

You graduated from college a year ago and have begun working in sales for an electronics company. You’ve become good friends with a coworker, with whom you often “hang out” at bars and the occasional party. However, one day you notice this coworker pocketing a smartphone, and you realize that a theft is occurring. What, if anything, do you do? Explain your answer.

What You Can Do

To help deal with the work and economy problems discussed in this chapter, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Start or join a group that tries to educate the public about economic inequality.

2. Assist a local labor union in its efforts to have safer workplaces.

Chapter 13: Health and Health Care

Social Problems in the News

“More Columbus Kids Living in Poverty,” the headline said. New data from the Ohio Department of Education showed that three-fourths of schoolchildren in Columbus, Ohio, live in poverty or near poverty and qualify for federally subsidized school lunch. Ten years earlier, only about 58 percent of Columbus children qualified. According to the news report, “Childhood poverty directly impacts children’s health. Children living in poverty are less likely to receive needed medical care, more likely to have health problems such as asthma, more likely to be overweight, among other health problems.”

Source: Lietz, 2012

A sociological approach emphasizes that our social class, race and ethnicity, and gender, among other aspects of our social

backgrounds, influence our levels of health and illness.

U.S. Army Garrison Japan – Arnn students celebrate diversity; weeklong recognition – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

This news story reminds us that social class is linked to health and illness, and it illustrates just one of the many

ways in which health and health care are urgent problems in our society. Accordingly, this chapter examines these

problems. Its discussion is based on the common sociological view that health and illness are not just medical

problems but social problems.

Unlike physicians, sociologists and other public health scholars do not try to understand why any one person

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.0.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/usagj/18179933775/

becomes ill. Instead, they typically examine rates of illness to explain why people from certain social backgrounds

are more likely than those from others to become sick. Here, as we will see, our social backgrounds—our social

class, race and ethnicity, and gender—make a critical difference.

The fact that our social backgrounds affect our health may be difficult for many of us to accept. We all know

someone who has died from a serious illness or currently suffers from one. There is always a medical cause of

this person’s illness, and physicians do their best to try to cure it and prevent it from recurring. Sometimes they

succeed; sometimes they fail. Whether someone suffers a serious illness is often simply a matter of bad luck or

bad genes: We can do everything right and still become ill. In saying that our social backgrounds affect our health,

sociologists do not deny any of these possibilities. They simply remind us that our social backgrounds also play

an important role (Cockerham, 2012).

With this basic understanding in mind, we now turn to sociological perspectives on health and health care.

References

Cockerham, W. C. (2012). Medical sociology (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lietz, J. (2012, January 17). More Columbus kids living in poverty. Examiner.com. Retrieved from

http://www.examiner.com/children-s-health-in-columbus/more-columbus-kids-living-poverty.

Chapter 13: Health and Health Care 557

http://www.examiner.com/children-s-health-in-columbus/more-columbus-kids-living-poverty

13.5 Improving Health and Health Care

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how the United States could improve the quality of health and health care.

2. List strategies that will improve global health.

The US health-care system, despite the recent health-care reform legislation and medical advances that used to be

only a dream, still has a long way to go before affordable and high-quality health care is available to all. With the

health of so many people at stake, the United States needs to make every effort to achieve this essential goal. How

might we achieve this goal?

We have seen throughout this chapter that social class, race and ethnicity, and gender all play a profound role

in the quality of health and health care. People from low-income backgrounds have higher rates of physical and

mental illness because of the stress and other factors associated with living with little money and also because

of their lack of access to adequate health care. Partly because they tend to be poorer and partly because of the

discrimination they experience in their daily lives and in the health-care system, people of color also have higher

rates of physical and mental illness. Findings on gender are more complex, but women have higher rates than men

of nonfatal physical illness and of depression and other mental illness, and they experience lower quality of health

care for certain conditions.

To improve health and health care in the United States, then, the importance of social class, race and ethnicity,

and gender must be addressed. Efforts, as outlined in earlier chapters, that reduce poverty and racial/ethnic and

gender inequality should also improve the physical and mental health of those currently at risk because of their

low incomes, race or ethnicity, and/or gender, as public health experts recognize (Bradley & Taylor, 2011). At the

same time, special efforts must be made to ensure that these millions of individuals receive the best health care

possible within the existing system of social inequality.

Canada and other wealthy nations have national health-care systems that provide models for the United States to follow.

Samuel Auguste – Au Canada – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In this regard, the national health-care and health insurance systems of Canada, the United Kingdom, and

many other Western nations provide models for the United States. As discussed in this chapter, these nations

provide better health care to their citizens in many ways and at a lower cost than that incurred under the US

model of private insurance. Their models are not perfect, but a government-funded and government-run single-

payer system—or “Medicare for all,” as it has been called—shows great promise for improving the health and

health care of all Americans. We in effect have single-payer—that is, government-funded—systems for police,

firefighters, education, public libraries, and even the postal service, proponents of national health insurance

say, and they add that Medicare, a government-funded program, is largely successful (Kristof, 2009). The US

government also runs a preventive care and hospital system for military veterans through the Department of

Veterans Affairs (VA); this system has been called “one of the best-performing and most cost-effective elements

in the American medical establishment” (Kristof, 2009, p. A31). According to a study by the Rand Corporation,

“If other health care providers followed the V.A.’s lead, it would be a major step toward improving the quality of

care across the U.S. health care system” (Kristof, 2009, p. A31).

These models all indicate that national health insurance and the single-payer system for health care found in many

other democracies could also succeed in the United States. As one single-payer proponent observed, “A public

role in health care shouldn’t be any scarier or more repugnant than a public fire department” (Kristof, 2009, p.

A31). (The Note 13.28 “People Making a Difference” box highlights a national physicians group that advocates

for a single-payer system.)

13.5 Improving Health and Health Care 559

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.5.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/checksam/9188135742/

People Making a Difference

Physicians in Favor of National Health Insurance

Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is a national organization of some 18,000 physicians who support a single-payer system of national health insurance in the United States. They advocate for this goal through the PNHP’s website and through a variety of advocacy efforts. These efforts include writing articles for medical and public health journal; writing op-ed columns for newspapers; and making educational materials available to members of the public who wish to contact their members of Congress. PNHP members also appear on local and national television news shows and coordinate and speak at public health forums. PNHP has local chapters and allied groups in more than forty states and the District of Columbia.

According to PNHP, a single-payer system would greatly reduce the billing, paperwork, and other administrative costs of the private insurance model that now dominates the US health care system. These costs, PNHP says, account for one- third of US health expenditures; if the United States were to adopt a national single-payer system, administrative costs would be reduced by $400 billion. PNHP also emphasizes that more than 50 million Americans are now uninsured and many others are underinsured. A national single-payer system would cover virtually the entire population.

An important reason for the high administrative costs of US health care, PNHP explains, is the fact that private insurance companies are for-profit companies. Because their goal is to make a profit, they advertise and engage in various marketing activities, and their CEOs and other executives receive extremely high salaries and other compensation. A single-payer system would eliminate all these problems.

By calling attention to the many problems in the current US health model and by advocating for a national single- payer system, Physicians for a National Health Program is helping to make a difference. For more information, visit http://www.pnhp.org.

Short of adopting national health insurance, other efforts to improve health and health care are certainly essential.

One such effort would include an expansion of measures that fall broadly into what the field of public health calls

preventive care. This approach recognizes that the best approach to health and health care is to prevent illness and

disease before they begin. One facet of this approach focuses on the unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles, including

lack of exercise, obesity, and smoking, characteristic of millions of Americans. Although the United States has

public education campaigns and other initiatives on these risk factors, more could still be done. Another facet of

this approach focuses on early childhood in general but especially on early childhood among low-income families.

As this chapter has emphasized beginning with the Note 13.1 “Social Problems in the News” story, many health

problems begin very early in childhood and even in the womb. Home visitation and nutrition assistance programs

must be expanded across the country to address these problems.

Another effort must focus on the high cost of health care. We saw earlier that the US fee-for-service model, in

which hospitals and physicians largely set the prices for their services, contributes greatly to the high cost of health

care in the United States. Related to this model, physicians are paid for each patient they see, rather than receiving

a set salary, as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and most other occupations that service large numbers of

people receive. Yet there are some outstanding hospitals, such as the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the Cleveland

Clinic in Ohio, where physicians do work on salary rather than charging for each patient or for each surgery; costs

per patient at these hospitals tend to be lower (Gawande, Berwick, Fisher, & McClellan, 2009). Moving toward

this model would help lower health-care costs. The greater use of electronic systems for patient records and billing

and for communication among physicians would also reduce costs. So would the elimination of many diagnostic

tests and medical procedures and surgeries that research has shown to be unnecessary and that may cost at least

$200 billion annually (Weinberger, 2011).

560 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.pnhp.org/

Another strategy that would reduce health care costs would be the adoption of “integrated care,” also called

“high touch medicine” (Emanuel, 2011). In this model, teams of health care professionals (nurses, pharmacists,

physicians) coordinate care for the chronically ill patients (10 percent of the population) who account for two-

thirds of all health care costs. This integrated care involves extensive communication among the members of

a patient’s team with the patient and any caregivers, home visits by nurses to check on the patient, and other

components. The goal is to help the patients take better care of themselves so that they do not become sicker and

need (additional) hospital or emergency room care. Because hospital and emergency room care is so expensive,

the prevention of hospital and emergency room visits through integrated care yields a significant savings in health

care costs. If integrated care became the norm around the country, it is estimated that its adoption would save

more than $80 billion annually.

It is also essential to reduce medical errors in hospitals and to raise the rate of hand washing. Many hospitals have

adopted strict protocols, such as frequent washing of hands and the use of checklists before surgeries, to reduce

infection and errors, but many hospitals have also failed to adopt these protocols. Their failure to do so is a hidden

national scandal that kills thousands of people annually.

What can be done to improve world health? Because the poorest nations have the poorest health, it is essential that

the wealthy nations provide them the money, equipment, and other resources they need to improve their health

and health care. The residents of these nations also need to be given the resources they need to undertake proper

sanitation and other good health practices. In this regard, organizations like the World Health Organization have

been instrumental in documenting the dire status of health in the poor nations and in promoting efforts to help

them, and groups like Doctors Without Borders have been instrumental in bringing health-care professionals and

medical care to poor nations. Ultimately, however, these nations’ poor health is just one of the consequences of the

global inequality examined in Chapter 2 “Poverty”. Until these nations’ economic circumstances and high rates

of illiteracy improve dramatically, their health status will remain a serious problem.

Key Takeaways

• Effective health care reform must address social class, racial and ethnic, and gender inequalities in health and health care.

• National health insurance involving a single-payer system would improve many aspects of health and health care in the United States.

• In the absence of national health insurance, several types of changes could still help to reduce health care costs.

For Your Review

1. Do you favor or oppose national health insurance for the United States? Explain your answer.

2. Why do you think the United States remains the only industrial nation without national health insurance?

13.5 Improving Health and Health Care 561

References

Bradley, E. H., & Taylor, L. (2011, December 9). To fix health, help the poor. New York Times, p. A39.

Emanuel, E. J. (2011, November 16). Saving by the bundle. New York Times. Retrieved from

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/2011/2016/saving-by-the-bundle.

Gawande, A., Berwick, D., Fisher, E., & McClellan, M. (2009, August 13). 10 steps to better health care. New

York Times, p. A27.

Kristof, N. D. (2009, September 3). Health care that works. New York Times, p. A31.

Weinberger, S. (2011, June 9). Pointless tests drive medical costs skyward: Doctors have to grapple with

diagnostic overkill. Philly.com. Retrieved from http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-09/news/29638875_1_ct-scan-

testing-health-care-system.

562 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/2011/2016/saving-by-the-bundle

http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-09/news/29638875_1_ct-scan-testing-health-care-system

13.6 End-of-Chapter Material

Summary

1. A sociological approach emphasizes the relationship between health, medicine, and society. In particular, our social backgrounds influence our health and access to health care.

2. Sociological perspectives on health and illness fall into the functional, conflict, and interactionist approaches encountered in previous chapters. The functional view emphasizes the importance of health for a society’s stability and the roles that people play when they are sick. The conflict view stresses inequality in the quality of health and health-care delivery and efforts by physicians to monopolize the practice of medicine to increase their profits. According to the interactionist view, health and illness are social constructions subject to people’s and society’s interpretations. The interactionist view also studies how medical professionals and patients interact and the way professionals manage understandings of such interaction.

3. Health and the quality of health care differ widely around the world and reflect global inequality. The earth’s poorest nations have extremely high rates of infant mortality and life-threatening diseases such as AIDS and very low life expectancy.

4. The United States lags behind most other industrial nations in important health indicators such as infant mortality and life expectancy. Moreover, serious disparities exist within the United States in the social distribution of health, as evidenced by the study of social epidemiology.

5. Social class, race and ethnicity, and gender all affect the quality of health. The health of poor people is worse than that of the nonpoor. African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans all fare worse than whites on many health indicators, in large part because of their poverty and history of discrimination. Women fare worse than men on several heath indicators, but men have lower life expectancies because of their higher rates of certain life-threatening illnesses.

6. Health care in the United States today faces several problems. The United States is alone among the world’s industrial nations in not offering universal national health insurance; its absence is thought to help account for the country’s low ranking in the industrial world on major health indicators. Managed care has also come under criticism for restricting coverage of important medical procedures and prescription medicines. Racial and gender bias in health care is another problem that has adverse effects on the nation’s health. Other quality-of-care problems include tired physicians, a lack of emergency room physicians, and numerous mistakes made in hospitals.

Using What You Know

You have been working for two months as a volunteer in a hospital in or near your hometown. Your duties include bringing food to patients, talking with them, and otherwise helping them to feel comfortable. However, you have noticed that many of the physicians and nurses you have seen coming into patients’ rooms do not wash their hands, and you doubt that they washed their hands immediately before entering the rooms. What, if anything, do you do? Explain your answer.

What You Can Do

To help deal with the health and health-care problems discussed in this chapter, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer at a local hospital or health clinic.

2. Start a group on your campus to advocate for national health insurance, or join an existing group in the nearby community.

3. Volunteer for a local agency that tries to address the health-care needs of low-income children and their families.

564 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

13.1 Sociological Perspectives on Health and Health Care

Learning Objective

1. List the assumptions of the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspectives on health and medicine.

Before discussing these perspectives, we must first define three key concepts—health, medicine, and health

care—that lie at the heart of their explanations and of this chapter’s discussion. Health refers to the extent of a

person’s physical, mental, and social well-being. As this definition suggests, health is a multidimensional concept.

Although the three dimensions of health just listed often affect each other, it is possible for someone to be in good

physical health and poor mental health, or vice versa. Medicine refers to the social institution that seeks to prevent,

diagnose, and treat illness and to promote health in its various dimensions. This social institution in the United

States is vast, to put it mildly, and involves more than 11 million people (physicians, nurses, dentists, therapists,

medical records technicians, and many other occupations). Finally, health care refers to the provision of medical

services to prevent, diagnose, and treat health problems.

With these definitions in mind, we now turn to sociological explanations of health and health care. As usual, the

major sociological perspectives that we have discussed throughout this book offer different types of explanations,

but together they provide us with a more comprehensive understanding than any one approach can do by itself.

Table 13.1 “Theory Snapshot” summarizes what they say.

Table 13.1 Theory Snapshot

Theoretical perspective

Major assumptions

Functionalism

Good health and effective medical care are essential for the smooth functioning of society. Patients must perform the “sick role” in order to be perceived as legitimately ill and to be exempt from their normal obligations. The physician-patient relationship is hierarchical: The physician provides instructions, and the patient needs to follow them.

Conflict theory

Social inequality characterizes the quality of health and the quality of health care. People from disadvantaged social backgrounds are more likely to become ill and to receive inadequate health care. Partly to increase their incomes, physicians have tried to control the practice of medicine and to define social problems as medical problems.

Symbolic interactionism

Health and illness are social constructions: Physical and mental conditions have little or no objective reality but instead are considered healthy or ill conditions only if they are defined as such by a society. Physicians “manage the situation” to display their authority and medical knowledge.

The Functionalist Approach

As conceived by Talcott Parsons (1951), the functionalist perspective emphasizes that good health and effective

medical care are essential for a society’s ability to function. Ill health impairs our ability to perform our roles in

society, and if too many people are unhealthy, society’s functioning and stability suffer. This was especially true

for premature death, said Parsons, because it prevents individuals from fully carrying out all their social roles and

thus represents a “poor return” to society for the various costs of pregnancy, birth, child care, and socialization of

the individual who ends up dying early. Poor medical care is likewise dysfunctional for society, as people who are

ill face greater difficulty in becoming healthy and people who are healthy are more likely to become ill.

For a person to be considered legitimately sick, said Parsons, several expectations must be met. He referred to

these expectations as the sick role. First, sick people should not be perceived as having caused their own health

problem. If we eat high-fat food, become obese, and have a heart attack, we evoke less sympathy than if we had

practiced good nutrition and maintained a proper weight. If someone is driving drunk and smashes into a tree,

there is much less sympathy than if the driver had been sober and skidded off the road in icy weather.

Second, sick people must want to get well. If they do not want to get well or, worse yet, are perceived as faking

their illness or malingering after becoming healthier, they are no longer considered legitimately ill by the people

who know them or, more generally, by society itself.

Third, sick people are expected to have their illness confirmed by a physician or other health-care professional

and to follow the professional’s instructions in order to become well. If a sick person fails to do so, she or he again

loses the right to perform the sick role.

Talcott Parsons wrote that for a person to be perceived as legitimately ill, several expectations, called the sick role, must be met. These

expectations include the perception that the person did not cause her or his own health problem.

566 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.1.0.jpg

Nathalie Babineau-Griffith – grand-maman’s blanket – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

If all these expectations are met, said Parsons, sick people are treated as sick by their family, their friends, and

other people they know, and they become exempt from their normal obligations to all these people. Sometimes

they are even told to stay in bed when they want to remain active.

Physicians also have a role to perform, said Parsons. First and foremost, they have to diagnose the person’s illness,

decide how to treat it, and help the person become well. To do so, they need the cooperation of the patient, who

must answer the physician’s questions accurately and follow the physician’s instructions. Parsons thus viewed the

physician-patient relationship as hierarchical: the physician gives the orders (or, more accurately, provides advice

and instructions), and the patient follows them.

Parsons was certainly right in emphasizing the importance of individuals’ good health for society’s health, but his

perspective has been criticized for several reasons. First, his idea of the sick role applies more to acute (short-

term) illness than to chronic (long-term) illness. Although much of his discussion implies a person temporarily

enters a sick role and leaves it soon after following adequate medical care, people with chronic illnesses can be

locked into a sick role for a very long time or even permanently. Second, Parsons’s discussion ignores the fact,

mentioned earlier, that our social backgrounds affect the likelihood of becoming ill and the quality of medical care

we receive. Third, Parsons wrote approvingly of the hierarchy implicit in the physician-patient relationship. Many

experts say today that patients need to reduce this hierarchy by asking more questions of their physicians and by

taking a more active role in maintaining their health. To the extent that physicians do not always provide the best

medical care, the hierarchy that Parsons favored is at least partly to blame.

The Conflict Approach

The conflict approach emphasizes inequality in the quality of health and of health-care delivery (Weitz, 2013). As

noted earlier, the quality of health and health care differs greatly around the world and within the United States.

Society’s inequities along social class, race and ethnicity, and gender lines are reproduced in our health and health

care. People from disadvantaged social backgrounds are more likely to become ill, and once they do become ill,

inadequate health care makes it more difficult for them to become well. As we will see, the evidence of disparities

in health and health care is vast and dramatic.

The conflict approach also critiques efforts by physicians over the decades to control the practice of medicine

and to define various social problems as medical ones. Physicians’ motivation for doing so has been both good

and bad. On the good side, they have believed they are the most qualified professionals to diagnose problems

and to treat people who have these problems. On the negative side, they have also recognized that their financial

status will improve if they succeed in characterizing social problems as medical problems and in monopolizing

the treatment of these problems. Once these problems become “medicalized,” their possible social roots and thus

potential solutions are neglected.

Several examples illustrate conflict theory’s criticism. Alternative medicine is becoming increasingly popular, but

so has criticism of it by the medical establishment. Physicians may honestly feel that medical alternatives are

inadequate, ineffective, or even dangerous, but they also recognize that the use of these alternatives is financially

13.1 Sociological Perspectives on Health and Health Care 567

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melodramababs/3722236413/

harmful to their own practices. Eating disorders also illustrate conflict theory’s criticism. Many of the women and

girls who have eating disorders receive help from a physician, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or another health-

care professional. Although this care is often very helpful, the definition of eating disorders as a medical problem

nonetheless provides a good source of income for the professionals who treat it and obscures its cultural roots in

society’s standard of beauty for women (Whitehead & Kurz, 2008).

Obstetrical care provides another example. In most of human history, midwives or their equivalent were the

people who helped pregnant women deliver their babies. In the nineteenth century, physicians claimed they were

better trained than midwives and won legislation giving them authority to deliver babies. They may have honestly

felt that midwives were inadequately trained, but they also fully recognized that obstetrical care would be quite

lucrative (Ehrenreich & English, 2005).

According to conflict theory, physicians have often sought to define various social problems as medical problems. An example is the

development of the diagnosis of ADHD, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

birgerking – What I Really Do… ADD/ADHD – CC BY 2.0.

In a final example, many hyperactive children are now diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit/hyperactivity

disorder. A generation or more ago, they would have been considered merely as overly active. After Ritalin, a drug

that reduces hyperactivity, was developed, their behavior came to be considered a medical problem and the ADHD

diagnosis was increasingly applied, and tens of thousands of children went to physicians’ offices and were given

Ritalin or similar drugs. The definition of their behavior as a medical problem was very lucrative for physicians

and for the company that developed Ritalin, and it also obscured the possible roots of their behavior in inadequate

parenting, stultifying schools, or even gender socialization, as most hyperactive kids are boys (Conrad, 2008; Rao

& Seaton, 2010).

568 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.1.1.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/birgerking/6934654844/

Critics say the conflict approach’s assessment of health and medicine is overly harsh and its criticism of

physicians’ motivation far too cynical. Scientific medicine has greatly improved the health of people around the

world. Although physicians are certainly motivated, as many people are, by economic considerations, their efforts

to extend their scope into previously nonmedical areas also stem from honest beliefs that people’s health and

lives will improve if these efforts succeed. Certainly there is some truth in this criticism of the conflict approach,

but the evidence of inequality in health and medicine and of the negative aspects of the medical establishment’s

motivation for extending its reach remains compelling.

The Symbolic Interactionist Approach

The symbolic interactionist approach emphasizes that health and illness are social constructions. This means that

various physical and mental conditions have little or no objective reality but instead are considered healthy or ill

conditions only if they are defined as such by a society and its members (Buckser, 2009; Lorber & Moore, 2002).

The ADHD example just discussed also illustrates symbolic interactionist theory’s concerns, as a behavior that

was not previously considered an illness came to be defined as one after the development of Ritalin. In another

example first discussed in Chapter 7 “Alcohol and Other Drugs”, in the late 1800s opium use was quite common

in the United States, as opium derivatives were included in all sorts of over-the-counter products. Opium use was

considered neither a major health nor legal problem. That changed by the end of the century, as prejudice against

Chinese Americans led to the banning of the opium dens (similar to today’s bars) they frequented, and calls for

the banning of opium led to federal legislation early in the twentieth century that banned most opium products

except by prescription (Musto, 2002).

In a more current example, an attempt to redefine obesity is now under way in the United States. Obesity is

a known health risk, but a “fat pride” or “fat acceptance” movement composed mainly of heavy individuals

is arguing that obesity’s health risks are exaggerated and calling attention to society’s discrimination against

overweight people. Although such discrimination is certainly unfortunate, critics say the movement is going too

far in trying to minimize obesity’s risks (Diamond, 2011).

The symbolic interactionist approach has also provided important studies of the interaction between patients and

health-care professionals. Consciously or not, physicians “manage the situation” to display their authority and

medical knowledge. Patients usually have to wait a long time for the physician to show up, and the physician

is often in a white lab coat; the physician is also often addressed as “Doctor,” while patients are often called by

their first name. Physicians typically use complex medical terms to describe a patient’s illness instead of the more

simple terms used by laypeople and the patients themselves.

Management of the situation is perhaps especially important during a gynecological exam, as first discussed

in Chapter 12 “Work and the Economy”. When the physician is a man, this situation is fraught with potential

embarrassment and uneasiness because a man is examining and touching a woman’s genital area. Under these

circumstances, the physician must act in a purely professional manner. He must indicate no personal interest in

the woman’s body and must instead treat the exam no differently from any other type of exam. To further “desex”

the situation and reduce any potential uneasiness, a female nurse is often present during the exam.

Critics fault the symbolic interactionist approach for implying that no illnesses have objective reality. Many

13.1 Sociological Perspectives on Health and Health Care 569

serious health conditions do exist and put people at risk for their health regardless of what they or their society

thinks. Critics also say the approach neglects the effects of social inequality for health and illness. Despite these

possible faults, the symbolic interactionist approach reminds us that health and illness do have a subjective as well

as an objective reality.

Key Takeaways

• A sociological understanding emphasizes the influence of people’s social backgrounds on the quality of their health and health care. A society’s culture and social structure also affect health and health care.

• The functionalist approach emphasizes that good health and effective health care are essential for a society’s ability to function, and it views the physician-patient relationship as hierarchical.

• The conflict approach emphasizes inequality in the quality of health and in the quality of health care.

• The interactionist approach emphasizes that health and illness are social constructions; physical and mental conditions have little or no objective reality but instead are considered healthy or ill conditions only if they are defined as such by a society and its members.

For Your Review

1. Which approach—functionalist, conflict, or symbolic interactionist—do you most favor regarding how you understand health and health care? Explain your answer.

2. Think of the last time you visited a physician or another health-care professional. In what ways did this person come across as an authority figure possessing medical knowledge? In formulating your answer, think about the person’s clothing, body position and body language, and other aspects of nonverbal communication.

References

Buckser, A. (2009). Institutions, agency, and illness in the making of Tourette syndrome. Human Organization,

68(3), 293–306.

Conrad, P. (2008). The medicalization of society: On the transformation of human conditions into treatable

disorders. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Diamond, A. (2011). Acceptance of fat as the norm is a cause for concern. Nursing Standard, 25(38), 28–28.

Lorber, J., & Moore, L. J. (2002). Gender and the social construction of illness (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman

& Littlefield.

Musto, D. F. (Ed.). (2002). Drugs in America: A documentary history. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Parsons, T. (1951). The social system. New York, NY: Free Press.

570 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Rao, A., & Seaton, M. (2010). The way of boys: Promoting the social and emotional development of young boys.

New York, NY: Harper Paperbacks.

Weitz, R. (2013). The sociology of health, illness, and health care: A critical approach (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks,

CA: Wadsworth.

Whitehead, K., & Kurz, T. (2008). Saints, sinners and standards of femininity: Discursive constructions of

anorexia nervosa and obesity in women’s magazines. Journal of Gender Studies, 17, 345–358.

13.1 Sociological Perspectives on Health and Health Care 571

13.2 Global Aspects of Health and Health Care

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how the nations of the world differ in important indicators of health and illness.

2. Explain the health-care model found in industrial nations other than the United States.

As we have seen in previous chapters, understanding what happens in other societies helps us to understand what

happens in our own society. This section’s discussion of health and health care across the globe, then, helps shed

some light on what is good and bad about US health and medicine.

International Disparities in Health and Illness

The nations of the world differ dramatically in the quality of their health and health care. The poorest nations

suffer terribly. Their people suffer from poor nutrition, unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, rampant disease, and

inadequate health care. One disease they suffer from is AIDS. Some 34 million people worldwide have HIV/

AIDS, and two-thirds of these live in sub-Saharan Africa. Almost two million people, most of them from this

region, died in 2010 from HIV/AIDS (World Health Organization, 2011). All these health problems produce high

rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality and high death rates. For all these reasons, people in the poorest

nations have shorter life spans than those in the richest nations.

A few health indicators should indicate the depth of the problem. Figure 13.1 “Infant Mortality for Low-

Income, Lower-Middle-Income, Higher-Middle-Income, and High-Income Nations, 2010” compares an important

indicator, infant mortality (number of deaths before age 1 per 1,000 live births) for nations grouped into four

income categories. The striking contrast between the two groups provides dramatic evidence of the health

problems poor nations face. When, as Figure 13.1 “Infant Mortality for Low-Income, Lower-Middle-Income,

Higher-Middle-Income, and High-Income Nations, 2010” indicates, 70 children in the poorest nations die before

their first birthday for every 1,000 live births (equivalent to 7 out of 100), the poor nations have serious problems

indeed.

Figure 13.1 Infant Mortality for Low-Income, Lower-Middle-Income, Higher-Middle-Income, and High-Income Nations, 2010

Source: Data from World Bank. (2012). World databank. Retrieved from http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do?Step=1&id=4.

Figure 13.2 “Percentage of Population with Access to Adequate Sanitation Facilities, 2008” shows how the world

differs in access to adequate sanitation facilities (i.e., the removal of human waste from the physical environment,

as by toilets). Whereas this percentage is at least 98 percent in the wealthy nations of North America, Western

Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, it is less than 33 percent in many poor nations in Africa and Asia.

Figure 13.2 Percentage of Population with Access to Adequate Sanitation Facilities, 2008

Source: Adapted from World Bank. (2010). Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access). Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org.

13.2 Global Aspects of Health and Health Care 573

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/5dd76e2ccefe48aac0eb1af746a8e8fb.jpg

http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do?Step=1&id=4

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/0442274ec01afd5abea6f9c3719b2231.jpg

http://www.worldbank.org/

Two-thirds of the 33 million people worldwide who have HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. This terrible fact illustrates just one

of the many health problems that people in poor nations suffer.

khym – AIDS Orphans and their Guardians in Sophia Village near Nairobi, Kenya – CC BY 2.0.

Life expectancy is another important measure of a nation’s health and is very relevant for understanding

worldwide disparities in health and health care. Figure 13.3 “Average Life Expectancy across the Globe (Years)”

illustrates these disparities. Not surprisingly, the global differences in this map are similar to those for adequate

sanitation in the map depicted in Figure 13.2 “Percentage of Population with Access to Adequate Sanitation

Facilities, 2008”. North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand have much longer life

expectancies (75 years and higher) than Africa and Asia, where some nations have expectancies below 50 years.

The society we live in can affect our life span by more than a quarter of a century.

Figure 13.3 Average Life Expectancy across the Globe (Years)

574 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/5695f5441ec16188309043ee7cab5df3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/khym54/144915009

Source: Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Life_Expectancy_2011_Estimates_CIA_World_Factbook.png.

Health Care in Industrial Nations

Industrial nations throughout the world, with the notable exception of the United States, provide their citizens

with some form of national health care and national health insurance (Russell, 2011). Although their health-

care systems differ in several respects, their governments pay all or most of the costs for health care, drugs, and

other health needs. In Denmark, for example, the government provides free medical care and hospitalization for

the entire population and pays for some medications and some dental care. In France, the government pays for

some of the medical, hospitalization, and medication costs for most people and all these expenses for the poor,

unemployed, and children under the age of 10. In Great Britain, the National Health Service pays most medical

costs for the population, including medical care, hospitalization, prescriptions, dental care, and eyeglasses. In

Canada, the National Health Insurance system also pays for most medical costs. Patients do not even receive bills

from their physicians, who instead are paid by the government.

Although these national health insurance programs are not perfect—for example, people sometimes must wait

for elective surgery and some other procedures—they are commonly credited with reducing infant mortality,

extending life expectancy, and, more generally, for enabling their citizenries to have relatively good health. Their

populations are generally healthier than Americans, even though health-care spending is much higher per capita

in the United States than in these other nations. In all these respects, these national health insurance systems offer

several advantages over the health-care model found in the United States (Reid, 2010) (see Note 13.11 “Lessons

from Other Societies”).

Lessons from Other Societies

National Health Care in Wealthy Democracies

As the text discusses, industrial nations other than the United States provide free or low-cost health care to their citizens in what is known as national (or universal) health insurance and national health care. Although the United States spends

13.2 Global Aspects of Health and Health Care 575

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/6cfe960198d1847d9ee58385dfb17513.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Life_Expectancy_2011_Estimates_CIA_World_Factbook.png

more per capita than these nations on health care, it generally ranks much lower than they do on important health indicators. Of twenty-four wealthy democracies from North America, Western Europe, and certain other parts of the world (Australia, Japan, New Zealand; the exact number of nations varies slightly by indicator), the United States has the lowest life expectancy, the highest infant mortality, and the highest rates of obesity, adult diabetes, and HIV and AIDS. It ranks only twenty-first in mortality from heart disease and only tenth in breast cancer mortality rate. The United States also ranks twenty-second for annual doctor consultations per capita and among the highest for hospital admissions for various conditions, such as respiratory disease, that are avoidable with adequate primary and outpatient care. According to policy analyst Lawrence Mishel and colleagues, the conclusion from these international comparisons is inescapable: “Although the United States spends more on health care than other countries with similar per capita income and populations, it has worse health outcomes, on average…Compared to the United States, other countries are more committed to the health and well-being of their citizens through more-universal coverage and more-comprehensive health care systems.”

Because of Canada’s proximity, many studies compare health and health-care indicators between the United States and Canada. A recent review summarized the evidence: “Although studies’ findings go in both directions, the bulk of the research finds higher quality of care in Canada.”

Surveys of random samples of citizens in several nations provide additional evidence of the advantages of the type of health care found outside the United States and the disadvantages of the US system. In surveys in 2007 of US residents and those of six other nations (Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), Americans ranked highest in the percentage uninsured (16 percent in the United States compared to 0–2 percent elsewhere), highest in the percentage that did not receive needed medical care during the last year because of costs, and highest by far in the percentage that had “serious problems” in paying medical bills in the past year.

A fair conclusion from all the evidence is that US health lags behind that found in other wealthy nations because the latter provide free or low-cost national health care to their citizens and the United States does not. If so, the United States has much to learn from their example. Because the health-care reform achieved in the United States in 2009 and 2010 did not include a national health-care model, the United States will likely continue to lag behind other democracies in the quality of health and health care. At the same time, the cost of health care will certainly continue to be much higher in the United States than in other Western nations, in part because the United States uses a fee-for-service model in which many physicians are paid for every procedure they do rather than the set salary that some other nations feature.

Sources: Docteur & Berenson, 2009; Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2011; Schoen et al., 2007

Key Takeaways

• The world’s nations differ dramatically in the quality of their health and health care. People in poor nations suffer from many health problems, and poor nations have very high rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality.

• Except for the United States, industrial nations have national health-care systems and national health insurance. Their health-care models help their citizens to have relatively good health at affordable levels.

For Your Review

1. What do you think should be done to help improve the health of poor nations? What role should the United States play in any efforts in this regard?

2. Do you think the United States should move toward the national health insurance model found in other

576 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Western nations? Why or why not?

References

Docteur, E., & Berenson, R. A. (2009). How does the quality of US health care compare internationally?

Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.

Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2011). Health at a glance 2011: OECD indicators.

Paris, France: Author.

Reid, T. R. (2010). The healing of America: A global quest for better, cheaper, and fairer health care. New York,

NY: Penguin Press.

Russell, J. W. (2011). Double standard: Social policy in Europe and the United States (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD:

Rowman & Littlefield.

Schoen, C., Osborn, R., Doty, M. M., Bishop, M., Peugh, J., & Murukutla, N. (2007). Toward higher-performance

health systems: Adults’ health care experiences in seven countries, 2007. Health Affairs 26(6), w717–w734.

World Health Organization. (2011). Global response: Epidemic update and health sector progress towards

universal access. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/hiv/en/index.html.

13.2 Global Aspects of Health and Health Care 577

http://www.who.int/hiv/en/index.html

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how and why social class, race and ethnicity, and gender affect physical health and health care in the United States.

2. Summarize the differences that social class, race and ethnicity, and gender make for mental health.

When we examine health and health care in the United States, there is both good news and bad news. The

good news is considerable. Health has improved steadily over the last century, thanks in large part to better

public sanitation and the discovery of antibiotics. Illnesses and diseases such as pneumonia and polio that used

to kill or debilitate people are either unknown today or treatable by modern drugs. Other medical discoveries and

advances have also reduced the extent and seriousness of major illnesses, including many types of cancer, and

have prolonged our lives.

Cigarette smoking in the United States has declined considerably since the 1960s.

Xava du – smoke souls – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Because of these and other factors, the US average life expectancy climbed from about 47 years in 1900 to about

78 years in 2010. Similarly, infant mortality dropped dramatically in the last half-century from 29.2 infant deaths

per 1,000 live births in 1950 to only 6.75 in 2007 (see Figure 13.4 “Infant Deaths per 1,000 Live Births, United

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.3.0.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7933170@N03/2400164671/

States, 1950–2007”). Cigarette smoking declined from 51 percent for males and 34 percent for females in 1965

to 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively, in 2009 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011). In another area,

various policies during the past three decades have dramatically reduced levels of lead in young children’s blood:

88 percent of children had unsafe levels in the mid-1970s, compared to less than 2 percent three decades later

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007).

Figure 13.4 Infant Deaths per 1,000 Live Births, United States, 1950–2007

Source: Data from National Center for Health Statistics. (2011). Health, United States, 2010. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Poor Status of American Health

Unfortunately, the bad news is also considerable. Despite all the gains just mentioned, the United States lags

behind most other wealthy democracies in several health indicators, as we have seen, even though it is the

wealthiest nation in the world. Moreover, 14.5 percent of US households and almost 49 million Americans are

“food insecure” (lacking sufficient money for adequate food and nutrition) at least part of the year; more than

one-fifth of all children live in such households (Coleman-Jensen, Nord, Andrews, & Carlson, 2011). More than

8 percent of all infants are born at low birth weight (under 5.5 pounds), putting them at risk for long-term health

problems; this figure has risen steadily since the late 1980s and is higher than the 1970 rate (National Center for

Health Statistics, 2011). In other areas, childhood rates of obesity, asthma, and some other chronic conditions are

on the rise, with about one-third of children considered obese or overweight (Van Cleave, Gortmaker, & Perrin,

2010). Clearly the United States still has a long way to go in improving the nation’s health.

There is also bad news in the social distribution of health. Health problems in the United States are more

often found among the poor, among people from certain racial and ethnic backgrounds, and, depending on

the problem, among women or men. Social epidemiology refers to the study of how health and illness vary

by sociodemographic characteristics, with such variations called health disparities. When we examine social

epidemiology in the United States, we see that many health disparities exist. In this way, health and illness both

reflect and reinforce society’s social inequalities. We now turn to the most important health disparities, starting

with physical health and then mental health.

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 579

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/c7a13962fbbd2f4b1a29c48a5df22c05.jpg

Health Disparities: Physical Health

Social Class

Not only do the poor have less money, but they also have much worse health, as the news story that began this

chapter illustrated. There is growing recognition in the government and in medical and academic communities

that social class makes a huge difference when it comes to health and illness (Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, 2011).

Many types of health indicators illustrate the social class–health link in the United States. In an annual survey

conducted by the government, people are asked to indicate the quality of their health. As Figure 13.5 “Family

Income and Self-Reported Health (Percentage of People 18 or Over Saying Health Is Only Fair or Poor), 2009”

shows, poor people are much more likely than those with higher incomes to say their health is only fair or poor.

These self-reports of health are subjective indicators, and it is possible that not everyone interprets “fair” or “poor”

health in the same way. But objective indicators of actual health also indicate a strong social class–health link

(National Center for Health Statistics, 2011).

Figure 13.5 Family Income and Self-Reported Health (Percentage of People 18 or Over Saying Health Is Only Fair or Poor), 2009

Source: Data from National Center for Health Statistics. (2011). Health, United States, 2010. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention.

Children and Our Future

The Poor Health of Poor Children

When we consider health disparities, some of the most unsettling evidence involves children. As a recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concluded, “The data illustrate a consistent and striking pattern of incremental improvements in health with increasing levels of family income and educational attainment: As family income and levels of education rise, health improves. In almost every state, shortfalls in health are greatest among children in the poorest or least educated households, but even middle-class children are less healthy than children with greater advantages.”

580 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/8a0aeb7e60ab27ff46f94d4d8dc7a0ff.jpg

Some government data illustrate the difference that poverty makes for the nation’s children:

• Children of poor mothers are more than twice as likely as children born to wealthier mothers to be born with low birth weight.

• By the age of 9 months, poor children are already more likely to exhibit poor health and lower cognitive and socioemotional development.

• By age 3, poor children are two-thirds more likely to have asthma than children whose families’ incomes are more than 150 percent of the poverty line.

• Based on their parents’ reports, poor children are almost five times more likely (33 percent compared to 7 percent) to be in less than very good health (i.e., their parents rated their children’s health as poor, fair, or good rather than as very good or excellent).

In these and other ways, children in low-income families are more likely than children in wealthier families to have more health problems, many of which last into adolescence and adulthood. Poor children’s poor health thus makes a critical difference throughout their lives. As sociologist Steven A. Haas and colleagues observe, “A growing body of work demonstrates that those who experience poor health early in life go on to complete less schooling, hold less prestigious jobs, and earn less than their healthier childhood peers.”

One reason for the poor health of poor children is that their families are more likely to experience many kinds of stress (see Chapter 2 “Poverty”). Another reason is that their families are more likely to experience food insecurity and, if they are urban, to live in neighborhoods with higher levels of lead and pollution. Low-income children also tend to watch television more often than wealthier children and for this and other reasons to be less physically active; their relative lack of physical activity is yet another reason for their worse health. Finally, their parents are much more likely than wealthier parents to smoke cigarettes; the secondhand smoke they inhale impairs their health.

The clear evidence of poverty’s effects on the health of poor children underscores the need of the United States to do everything possible to minimize these effects. Any money spent to reduce these effects will pay for itself many times over throughout these children’s lifetimes: They will have fewer health problems as they grow up, costing the United States much less in health care, and be better able to do well in school and to have higher incomes as adults. In both the short run and long run, then, improving the health of poor children will also improve the economic and social health of the whole nation.

Sources: Haas, Glymour, & Berkman, 2011; Kaplan, 2009; Murphey, Mackintosh, & McCoy-Roth, 2011; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2008

For example, poor adults are also at much greater risk for many health problems, including heart disease, diabetes,

arthritis, and some types of cancer. Rates of high blood pressure, serious heart conditions, and diabetes are at least

twice as high for middle-aged adults with family incomes below the poverty level than for those with incomes at

least twice the poverty level. All these social class differences in health contribute to a striking difference in life

expectancy, with Americans whose family incomes are more than four times the federal poverty level expected to

live 6.5 years longer than those living in poverty (Kaplan, 2009).

Several reasons account for the social class–health link (Pampel, Krueger, & Denney, 2010). One reason is stress,

which, as Chapter 2 “Poverty” explained, is higher for people with low incomes because of unemployment,

problems in paying for the necessities of life, and a sense of little control over what happens to them. Stress in

turn damages health because it impairs the immune system and other bodily processes.

A second reason is that poor people live in conditions, including crowded, dilapidated housing with poor

sanitation, that are bad for their health and especially that of their children. Although these conditions have

improved markedly in the United States over the last few decades, they continue for many of the poor.

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 581

Another reason for the poor’s worse health is their lack of access to adequate health care. As is well known,

many poor people lack medical insurance and in other respects have inadequate health care. These problems make

it more likely they will become ill in the first place and more difficult for them to become well because they

cannot afford to visit a physician or to receive other health care. Still, social class disparities in health exist even

in countries that provide free national health care, a fact that underscores the importance of the other reasons

discussed here for the social class–health link (Elo, 2009).

Many people who are poor or near poor lack medical insurance and in other ways have inadequate health care. These problems make

it more likely they will become ill and, once ill, less likely they will become well.

Truthout.org – Money Behind Health Care – CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

A fourth reason is a lack of education, which, in ways not yet well understood, leads poor people to be unaware or

582 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.3.1.png

https://www.flickr.com/photos/truthout/4171223392/

unconcerned about risk factors for health and to have a fatalistic attitude that promotes unhealthy behaviors and

reluctance to heed medical advice (Elo, 2009). In one study of whether smokers quit smoking after a heart attack,

only 10 percent of heart attack patients without a high school degree quit smoking, compared to almost 90 percent

of those with a college degree (Wray, Herzog, Willis, & Wallace, 1998).

A final reason for the poor health of poor people is unhealthy lifestyles, as just implied. Although it might sound

like a stereotype, poor people are more likely to smoke, to eat high-fat food, to avoid exercise, to be overweight,

and, more generally, not to do what they need to do (or to do what they should not be doing) to be healthy

(Pampel et al., 2010). Scholars continue to debate whether unhealthy lifestyles are more important in explaining

poor people’s poor health than the other factors just discussed. Regardless of the proper mix of reasons, the fact

remains that the poor have worse health.

Race and Ethnicity

Health differences also exist when we examine the effects of race and ethnicity, and they are literally a matter of

life and death. We can see this when we compare life expectancies for whites and African Americans born in 2006

(Table 13.2 “US Life Expectancy at Birth for People Born in 2007”). When we do not take gender into account,

African Americans can expect to live about five fewer years than whites. Among men, they can expect to live

almost six fewer years, and among women, four fewer years.

Table 13.2 US Life Expectancy at Birth for People Born in 2007

Both sexes 73.6

Men 70.0African American

Women 76.8

Both sexes 78.4

Men 75.9White

Women 80.8

Source: Data from National Center for Health Statistics. (2011). Health, United States, 2010. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention.

At the beginning of the life course, infant mortality also varies by race and ethnicity (Table 13.3 “Mother’s

Race/Ethnicity and US Infant Mortality, 2006 (Number of Infant Deaths per 1,000 Live Births)”), with African

American infants more than twice as likely as white infants to die before their first birthday. Infant mortality

among Native Americans is almost 1.5 times the white rate, while that for Latinos is about the same (although

the Puerto Rican rate is also higher, at 8.0), and Asians a bit lower. In a related indicator, maternal mortality

(from complications of pregnancy or childbirth) stands at 8.1 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births for

non-Latina white women, 7.2 for Latina women, and a troubling 23.8 for African American women. Maternal

mortality for African American women is thus about three times greater than that for the other two groups.

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 583

Table 13.3 Mother’s Race/Ethnicity and US Infant Mortality, 2006 (Number of Infant Deaths per 1,000 Live Births)

African American 12.9

Asian or Pacific Islander 4.5

Latina 5.4

Central and South American 4.5

Cuban 5.1

Mexican 5.3

Puerto Rican 8.0

Native American 8.3

White 5.6

Source: Data from National Center for Health Statistics. (2011). Health, United States, 2010. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention.

In other indicators, African Americans are more likely than whites to die from heart disease, although the white

rate of such deaths is higher than the rates of Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans. African Americans are also

more likely than whites to be overweight and to suffer from asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, and several

types of cancer. Latinos and Native Americans have higher rates than whites of several illnesses and conditions,

including diabetes.

Commenting on all these disparities in health, a former head of the US Department of Health and Human Services

said a decade ago, “We have been—and remain—two nations: one majority, one minority—separated by the

quality of our health” (Penn et al., 2000, p. 102). The examples just discussed certainly indicate that her statement

is still true today.

Why do such large racial and ethnic disparities in health exist? To a large degree, they reflect the high poverty

rates for African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans compared to those for whites. In addition, inadequate

medical care is perhaps a special problem for people of color, thanks to unconscious racial bias among health-care

professionals that affects the quality of care that people of color receive (see discussion later in this chapter).

An additional reason for racial disparities in health is diet. Many of the foods that have long been part of African

American culture are high in fat. Partly as a result, African Americans are much more likely than whites to have

heart disease and high blood pressure and to die from these conditions (Parra-Medina et al., 2010). In contrast,

first-generation Latinos tend to have diets consisting of beans, grains, and other low-fat foods, preventing health

problems stemming from their poverty from being even worse. But as the years go by and they adopt the typical

American’s eating habits, their diets tend to worsen, and their health worsens as well (Pérez-Escamilla, 2009).

In a significant finding, African Americans tend to have worse health than whites even among those with the same

incomes. Several reasons explain this racial gap. One is the extra stress that African Americans of all incomes face

because they live in a society that is still racially prejudiced and discriminatory (Bratter & Gorman, 2011). In this

regard, studies find that African Americans and Latinos who have experienced the most racial discrimination in

584 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

their daily lives tend to have worse physical health (Lee & Ferraro, 2009). Some middle-class African Americans

may also have grown up in poor families and incurred health problems in childhood that continue to affect them.

As a former US surgeon general once explained, “You’re never dealing with a person just today. You’re dealing

with everything they’ve been exposed to throughout their lives. Does it ever end? Our hypothesis is that it never

ends” (Meckler, 1998, p. 4A).

African Americans have worse health than whites, even when people with the same incomes are compared. One reason for this racial

gap is the continuing racial discrimination that African Americans experience and the stress that accompanies this experience.

Pixabay – CC0 Public Domain.

To some degree, racial differences in health may also have a biological basis. For example, African American

men appear to have higher levels of a certain growth protein that may promote prostate cancer; African American

smokers may absorb more nicotine than white smokers; and differences in the ways African Americans’ blood

vessels react may render them more susceptible to hypertension and heart disease (Meckler, 1998; Ricker & Bird,

2005). Because alleged biological differences have been used as the basis for racism, and because race is best

thought of as a social construction rather than a biological concept (see Chapter 3 “Racial and Ethnic Inequality”),

we must be very careful in acknowledging such differences (Frank, 2007). However, if they do indeed exist, they

may help explain at least some of the racial gap in health.

A final factor contributing to racial differences in health is physical location: poor people of color are more likely

to live in urban areas and in other locations that are unhealthy places because of air and water pollution, hazardous

waste, and other environmental problems (Walker, 2011). This problem is termed environmental racism (Michney,

2011). One example of this problem is found in the so-called Cancer Alley on a long stretch of the Mississippi

River in Louisiana populated mostly by African Americans; 80 percent of these residents live within three miles

of a polluting industrial facility (Cernansky, 2011).

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 585

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.3.2.jpg

https://pixabay.com/en/doctor-patient-hospital-child-899037/

Gender

The evidence on gender and health is both complex and fascinating. Women outlive men by more than six years,

and, as Table 13.2 “US Life Expectancy at Birth for People Born in 2007” showed, the gender difference in

longevity persists across racial categories. At the same time, women have worse health than men in many areas.

For example, they are more likely to suffer from migraine headaches, osteoporosis, and immune diseases such

as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Women thus have more health problems than men do even though they outlive

men—a situation commonly known as the morbidity paradox (Gorman & Read, 2006). Why, then, do women

outlive men? Conversely, why do men die earlier than women? The obvious answer is that men have more life-

threatening diseases, such as heart disease and emphysema, than women, but that raises the question of why this

is so.

Several reasons explain the gender gap in longevity. One might be biological, as women’s estrogen and other sex-

linked biological differences may make them less susceptible to heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses,

even as they render them more vulnerable to some of the health problems already listed (Kuller, 2010). A second

reason is that men lead more unhealthy lifestyles than women because of differences in gender socialization.

For example, men are more likely than women to smoke, to drink heavily, and to drive recklessly. All such

behaviors make men more vulnerable than women to life-threatening illnesses and injuries. Men are also more

likely than women to hold jobs in workplaces filled with environmental and safety hazards that kill thousands of

people—most of them men—annually.

A final reason is men’s reluctance to discuss and seek help for their medical problems, owing to their masculine

socialization into being “strong, silent types.” Just as men do not like to ask for directions, as the common wisdom

goes, so do they not like to ask for medical help. As one physician put it, “I’ve often said men don’t come in for

checkups because they have a big S tattooed on their chests; they think they’re Superman” (Guttman, 1999, p. 10).

Studies find that men are less likely than women to tell anyone when they have a health problem and to seek

help from a health-care professional (Emmers-Sommer et al., 2009). When both sexes do visit a physician, men

ask fewer questions than women do. In one study, the average man asked no more than two questions, while the

average woman asked at least six. Because patients who ask more questions get more information and recover

their health more quickly, men’s silence in the exam room may contribute to their shorter longevity (Foreman,

1999). Interestingly, the development of erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra may have helped improve men’s

health, as men have had to see a physician to obtain prescriptions for these drugs when otherwise they would not

have seen a physician (Guttman, 1999).

We have just discussed why men die sooner than women, which is one of the two gender differences that constitute

the morbidity paradox. The other gender difference concerns why women have more nonfatal health problems

than men. Several reasons explain this difference (Read & Gorman, 2010).

586 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Women more than men tend to have more health problems that are not life threatening. Two reasons for this gender difference are

gender inequality in the larger society and the stress accompanying women’s traditional caregiving role in the family.

Francisco Osorio – CL Society 287: Waiting for a doctor – CC BY 2.0.

One reason arises from the fact that women outlive men. Because women are thus more likely than men to be in

their senior years, they are also more likely to develop the many health problems associated with old age. This

suggests that studies that control for age (by comparing older women with older men, middle-aged women with

middle-aged men, and so forth) should report fewer gender differences in health than those that do not control for

age, and this is indeed true.

However, women still tend to have worse health than men even when age is taken into account. Medical

sociologists attribute this gender difference to the gender inequality in the larger society (Read & Gorman, 2010).

For example, women are poorer overall than men, as they are more likely to work only part-time and in low-

paying jobs even if they work full time. As discussed earlier in this chapter, poverty is a risk factor for health

problems. Women’s worse health, then, is partly due to their greater likelihood of living in poverty or near poverty.

Because of their gender, women also are more likely than men to experience stressful events in their everyday

lives, such as caring for a child or an aging parent. Their increased stress impairs the immune systems and thus

worsens their health. It also is an important cause of their greater likelihood of depression and the various physical

health problems (weakened immune systems, higher blood pressure, lack of exercise) that depression often causes.

Finally, women experience discrimination in their everyday lives because of our society’s sexism, and (as is also

true for people of color) this discrimination is thought to produce stress and thus poorer physical health (Landry

& Mercurio, 2009).

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 587

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.3.3.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/francisco_osorio/8228710532/

Health Disparities: Mental Health

Health consists of mental well-being as well as physical well-being, and people can suffer mental health problems

in addition to physical health problems. Scholars disagree over whether mental illness is real or, instead, a social

construction. The predominant view in psychiatry, of course, is that people do have actual problems in their mental

and emotional functioning and that these problems are best characterized as mental illnesses or mental disorders

and should be treated by medical professionals (McNally, 2011). But other scholars say mental illness is a social

construction or a “myth” (Szasz, 2010). In their view, all kinds of people sometimes act oddly, but only a few

are labeled as mentally ill. If someone says she or he hears the voice of an angel, we ordinarily attribute their

perceptions to their religious views and consider them religious, not mentally ill. But if someone instead insists

that men from Mars have been in touch, we are more apt to think there is something mentally wrong with that

person. Mental illness thus is not real but rather is the reaction of others to problems they perceive in someone’s

behavior.

This intellectual debate notwithstanding, many people do suffer serious mental and emotional problems, such

as severe mood swings and depression, that interfere with their everyday functioning and social interaction.

Sociologists and other researchers have investigated the social epidemiology of these problems. Several

generalizations seem warranted from their research regarding disparities in mental health (Cockerham, 2011).

Social Class

First, social class affects the incidence of mental illness. To be more specific, poor people exhibit more mental

health problems than richer people: They are more likely to suffer from schizophrenia, serious depression, and

other problems. A major reason for this link is the stress of living in poverty and the many living conditions

associated with it. One interesting causal question here is whether poverty leads to mental illness or mental illness

leads to poverty. Although there is evidence of both causal paths, most scholars believe that poverty contributes

to mental illness more than the reverse (Warren, 2009).

588 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Women are more likely than men to be seriously depressed. Sociologists attribute this gender difference partly to gender socialization

that leads women to keep problems inside themselves while encouraging men to express their problems outwardly.

Jessica B – Week Five – Face of depression… – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Race and Ethnicity

Second, there is no clear connection between race/ethnicity and mental illness, as evidence on this issue is mixed:

Although many studies find higher rates of mental disorder among people of color, some studies find similar rates

to whites’ rates (Mossakowski, 2008). These mixed results are somewhat surprising because several racial/ethnic

groups are poorer than whites and more likely to experience everyday discrimination, and for these reasons should

exhibit more frequent symptoms of mental and emotional problems. Despite the mixed results, a fair conclusion

from the most recent research is that African Americans and Latinos are more likely than whites to exhibit signs

of mental distress (Jang, Chiriboga, Kim, & Phillips, 2008; Mossakowski, 2008).

Gender

Third, gender is related to mental illness but in complex ways, as the nature of this relationship depends on the

type of mental disorder. Women have higher rates of manic-depressive disorders than men and are more likely to

be seriously depressed, but men have higher rates of antisocial personality disorders that lead them to be a threat

to others (Kort-Butler, 2009). Although some medical researchers trace these differences to sex-linked biological

differences, sociologists attribute them to differences in gender socialization that lead women to keep problems

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 589

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2016/02/13.3.4.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jessia-hime/3038466793/

inside themselves while encouraging men to express their problems outwardly, as through violence. To the extent

that women have higher levels of depression and other mental health problems, the factors that account for their

poorer physical health, including their higher rates of poverty and stress and rates of everyday discrimination, are

thought to also account for their poorer mental health (Read & Gorman, 2010).

Key Takeaways

• Social class, race and ethnicity, and gender all influence the quality of health in the United States. Health problems are more common among people from low-income backgrounds and among people of color. Women are more likely than men to have health problems that are not life threatening.

• Although debate continues over whether mental illness is a social construction, many people do suffer mental health problems. The social epidemiology for mental health and illness resembles that for physical health and illness, with social class, race/ethnicity, and gender disparities existing.

• The private insurance model in the United States incurs huge administrative costs and results in more than 50 million people lacking health insurance.

For Your Review

1. In thinking about the health problems of individuals from low-income backgrounds, some people blame lack of access to adequate health care for these problems, while other people blame unhealthy lifestyles practiced by low-income individuals. Where do you stand on this debate? Explain your answer.

2. Write a brief essay in which you present a sociological explanation of the higher rate of depression found among women than among men.

References

Bratter, J. L., & Gorman, B. K. (2011). Is discrimination an equal opportunity risk? Racial experiences,

socioeconomic status, and health status among black and white adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52,

365–382.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Interpreting and managing blood lead levels <10 μg/dL in

children and reducing childhood exposures to lead: Recommendations of CDC’s advisory committee on childhood

lead poisoning prevention. MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 56(RR-8), 1–16.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). CDC health disparities and inequalities report—United

States, 2011. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 60, 1–114.

Cernansky, R. (2011, February 8). Cancer alley: Big industry & bigger illness along Mississippi River. Retrieved

from http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/cancer-alley-big-industry-bigger-illness-along-

mississippi-river.html.

590 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/cancer-alley-big-industry-bigger-illness-along-mississippi-river.html

Cockerham, W. C. (2011). Sociology of mental disorder (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Coleman-Jensen, A., Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Carlson, S. (2011). Household food security in the United States

in 2010. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture.

Elo, I. T. (2009). Social class differentials in health and mortality: Patterns and explanations in comparative

perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 553–572.

Emmers-Sommer, T. M., Nebel, S., Allison, M.-L., Cannella, M. L., Cartmill, D., Ewing, S., et al. (2009). Patient-

provider communication about sexual health: The relationship with gender, age, gender-stereotypical beliefs, and

perceptions of communication inappropriateness. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 60, 9–10.

Foreman, J. (1999, June 14). A vist most men would rather not make. The Boston Globe, p. C1.

Frank, R. (2007). What to make of it? The (Re)emergence of a biological conceptualization of race in health

disparities research. Social Science & Medicine, 64(10), 1977–1983.

Gorman, B. K., & Read, J. G. (2006). Gender disparities in adult health: An examination of three measures of

morbidity. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47(2), 95–110.

Guttman, M. (1999, June 11–13). Why more men are finally going to the doctor. USA Weekend, p. 10.

Haas, S. A., Glymour, M., & Berkman, L. F. (2011). Childhood health and labor market inequality over the life

course. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52, 298–313.

Jang, Y., Chiriboga, D. A., Kim, G., & Phillips, K. (2008). Depressive symptoms in four racial and ethnic groups:

The survey of older Floridians (SOF). Research on Aging, 30(4), 488–502.

Kaplan, G. A. (2009). The poor pay more: Poverty’s high cost to health. Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson

Foundation.

Kort-Butler, L. A. (2009). Coping styles and sex differences in depressive symptoms and delinquent behavior.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(1), 122–136.

Kuller, L. H. (2010). Cardiovascular disease is preventable among women. Expert Review of Cardiovascular

Therapy, 8(2), 175–187.

Landry, L. J., & Mercurio, A. E. (2009). Discrimination and women’s mental health: The mediating role of

control. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 61, 3–4.

Lee, M.-A., & Ferraro, K. F. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health among Puerto Rican and Mexican

Americans: Buffering effect of the lazo matrimonial? Social Science & Medicine, 68, 1966–1974.

McNally, R. J. (2011). What is mental illness? Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

Meckler, L. (1998, November 27). Health gap between races persists. Ocala Star-Banner, p. 4A.

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 591

Michney, T. M. (2011). White civic visions versus black suburban aspirations: Cleveland’s Garden Valley urban

renewal project. Journal of Planning History, 10(4), 282–309.

Mossakowski, K. N. (2008). Dissecting the influence of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on mental health

in young adulthood. Research on Aging, 30(6), 649–671.

Murphey, D., Mackintosh, B., & McCoy-Roth, M. (2011). Early childhood policy focus: Health eating and

physical activity. Early Childhood Highlights, 2(3), 1–9.

National Center for Health Statistics. (2011). Health, United States, 2010. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention.

Pampel, F. C., Krueger, P. M., & Denney, J. T. (2010). Socioeconomic disparities in health behaviors. Annual

Review of Sociology, 36, 349–370.

Parra-Medina, D., Wilcox, S., Wilson, D. K., Addy, C. L., Felton, G., & Poston, M. B. (2010). Heart healthy

and ethnically relevant (HHER) lifestyle trial for improving diet and physical activity in underserved African

American women. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 31(1), 92–104.

Penn, N. E., Kramer, J., Skinner, J. F., Velasquez, R. J., Yee, B. W. K., Arellano, L. M., et al. (2000). Health

practices and health-care systems among cultural groups. In R. M. Eisler & M. Hersen (Eds.), Handbook of

gender, culture, and health (pp. 101–132). New York, NY: Routledge.

Pérez-Escamilla, R. (2009). Dietary quality among Latinos: Is acculturation making us sick? Journal of the

American Dietetic Association, 109(6), 988–991.

Read, J. G., & Gorman, B. M. (2010). Gender and health inequality. Annual Review of Sociology, 36, 371–386.

Ricker, P. P., & Bird, C. E. (2005). Rethinking gender differences in health: Why we need to integrate social and

biological perspectives. Journals of Gerontology Series B, 60, S40–S47.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2008). America’s health starts with healthy children: How do states compare?

Princeton, NJ: Author.

Szasz, T. S. (2010). The myth of mental illness: Foundations of a theory of personal conduct. New York, NY:

Harper Perennial.

Van Cleave, J., Gortmaker, S. L., & Perrin, J. M. (2010). Dynamics of obesity and chronic health conditions

among children and youth. JAMA, 303(7), 623–630.

Walker, A. K. (2011, November 20). Where you live can help determine your health, studies say. Bangor

Daily News. Retrieved from http://bangordailynews.com/2011/11/20/health/where-you-live-can-help-determine-

your-health-studies-say.

Warren, J. R. (2009). Socioeconomic status and health across the life course: A test of the social causation and

health selection hypotheses. Social Forces, 87(4), 2125–2153.

592 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/11/20/health/where-you-live-can-help-determine-your-health-studies-say

Wray, L. A., Herzog, A. R., Willis, R. J., & Wallace, R. B. (1998). The impact of education and heart attack on

smoking cessation among middle-aged adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 39, 271–294.

13.3 Problems of Health in the United States 593

13.4 Problems of Health Care in the United States

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the problems associated with the model of private insurance that characterizes the US health system.

2. Explain how and why mistakes and infections occur in hospitals.

3. Describe any two other problems in US health care other than the lack of health insurance.

As the continuing debate over health care in the United States reminds us, the practice of medicine raises many

important issues about its cost and quality. We now turn to some of these issues.

Private Health Insurance and the Lack of Insurance

Medicine in the United States is big business. Expenditures for health care, health research, and other health

items and services have risen sharply in recent decades, having increased tenfold since 1980, and now costs the

nation more than $2.6 trillion annually (see Figure 13.6 “US Health-Care Expenditure, 1980–2010 (in Billions

of Dollars)”). This translates to the largest figure per capita in the industrial world. Despite this expenditure, the

United States lags behind many other industrial nations in several important health indicators, as we have already

seen. Why is this so?

Figure 13.6 US Health-Care Expenditure, 1980–2010 (in Billions of Dollars)

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2010). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2010. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

An important reason is the US system of private health insurance. As discussed earlier, other Western nations

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/1b53aadc6c6216cd9500219575e965a2.jpg

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/

have national systems of health care and health insurance. In stark contrast to these nations, the United States

relies largely on a direct-fee system, in which patients under 65 (those 65 and older are covered by Medicare) are

expected to pay for medical costs themselves, aided by private health insurance, usually through one’s employer.

Table 13.4 “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, 2010” shows the percentages of Americans who

have health insurance from different sources or who are not insured at all. (All figures are from the period

before the implementation of the major health-care reform package was passed by the federal government in

early 2010.) Adding together the top two figures in the table, 54 percent of Americans have private insurance,

either through their employers or from their own resources. About 29 percent have some form of public insurance

(Medicaid, Medicare, other public), and 16 percent are uninsured. This final percentage amounts to almost 50

million Americans, including 8 million children, who lack health insurance.

Table 13.4 Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, 2010

Source of coverage Percentage of people with this coverage

Employer 49%

Individual 5%

Medicaid 16%

Medicare 12%

Other public 1%

Uninsured 16%

Source: Data from Kaiser Family Foundation. (2012). Kaiser state health facts. Retrieved from http://www.statehealthfacts.org.

Their lack of health insurance has deadly consequences because they are less likely to receive preventive health

care and care for various conditions and illnesses. For example, because uninsured Americans are less likely

than those with private insurance to receive cancer screenings, they are more likely to be diagnosed with more

advanced cancer rather than an earlier stage of cancer (Halpern et al., 2008). It is estimated that 45,000 people

die each year because they do not have health insurance (Wilper et al., 2009). The Note 13.22 “Applying Social

Research” box discusses a very informative real-life experiment on the difference that health insurance makes for

people’s health.

Applying Social Research

Experimental Evidence on the Importance of Health Insurance

As the text discusses, studies show that Americans without health insurance are at greater risk for a variety of illnesses and life-threatening conditions. Although this research evidence is compelling, uninsured Americans may differ from insured Americans in other ways that also put their health at risk. For example, perhaps people who do not buy health insurance may be less concerned about their health and thus less likely to take good care of themselves. Because many studies have not controlled for all such differences, experimental evidence would be more conclusive (see Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems”).

For this reason, the results of a fascinating real-life experiment in Oregon were very significant. In 2008, Oregon decided

13.4 Problems of Health Care in the United States 595

to expand its Medicaid coverage. Because it could not accommodate all the poor Oregonians who were otherwise uninsured, it had them apply for Medicaid by lottery. Researchers then compared the subsequent health of the Oregonians who ended up on Medicaid with that of Oregonians who remained uninsured. Because the two groups resulted from random assignment (the lottery), it is reasonable to conclude that any later differences between them must have stemmed from the presence or absence of Medicaid coverage.

Although this study is ongoing, initial results obtained a year after it began showed that Medicaid coverage had already made quite a difference. Compared to the uninsured “control” group, the newly insured Oregonians rated themselves happier and in better health and reported fewer sick days from work. They were also 50 percent more likely to have seen a primary care doctor in the year since they received coverage, and women were 60 percent more likely to have had a mammogram. In another effect, they were much less likely to report having had to borrow money or not pay other bills because of medical expenses.

A news report summarized these benefits of the new Medicaid coverage: “[The researchers] found that Medicaid’s impact on health, happiness, and general well-being is enormous, and delivered at relatively low cost: Low-income Oregonians whose names were selected by lottery to apply for Medicaid availed themselves of more treatment and preventive care than those who remained excluded from government health insurance. After a year with insurance, the Medicaid lottery winners were happier, healthier, and under less financial strain.”

Because of this study’s experimental design, it “represents the best evidence we’ve got,” according to the news report, of the benefits of health insurance coverage. As researchers continue to study the two groups in the years ahead and begin to collect data on blood pressure, cardiovascular health, and other objective indicators of health, they will add to our knowledge of the effects of health insurance coverage.

Sources: Baicker & Finkelstein, 2011; Fisman, 2011

Although 29 percent of Americans do have public insurance, this percentage and the coverage provided by this

insurance do not begin to match the coverage enjoyed by the rest of the industrial world. Although Medicare

pays some medical costs for the elderly, we saw in Chapter 6 “Aging and Ageism” that its coverage is hardly

adequate, as many people must pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in premiums, deductibles, coinsurance,

and copayments. The other government program, Medicaid, pays some health-care costs for the poor, but many

low-income families are not poor enough to receive Medicaid. Eligibility standards for Medicaid vary from one

state to another, and a family poor enough in one state to receive Medicaid might not be considered poor enough

in another state. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), begun in 1997 for children from low-

income families, has helped somewhat, but it, too, fails to cover many low-income children. Largely for these

reasons, about two-thirds of uninsured Americans come from low-income families.

Not surprisingly, the 16 percent uninsured rate varies by race and ethnicity (see Figure 13.7 “Race, Ethnicity,

and Lack of Health Insurance, 2008 (Percentage of People under Age 65 with No Insurance)”). Among people

under 65 and thus not eligible for Medicare, the uninsured rate rises to almost 22 percent of the African American

population and 32 percent of the Latino population. Moreover, 45 percent of adults under 65 who live in official

poverty lack health insurance, compared to only 6 percent of higher-income adults (those with incomes higher

than four times the poverty level). Almost one-fifth of poor children have no health insurance, compared to only

3 percent of children in higher-income families (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012). As discussed earlier, the lack

of health insurance among the poor and people of color is a significant reason for their poorer health.

Figure 13.7 Race, Ethnicity, and Lack of Health Insurance, 2008 (Percentage of People under Age 65 with No Insurance)

596 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

Source: Data from Kaiser Family Foundation. (2012). Kaiser state health facts. Retrieved from http://www.statehealthfacts.org.

The High Cost of Health Care

As noted earlier, the United States spends much more money per capita on health care than any other industrial

nation. The US per capita health expenditure was $7,960 in 2009, the latest year for which data were available

at the time of this writing. This figure was about 50 percent higher than that for the next two highest-spending

countries, Norway and Switzerland; 80 percent higher than Canada’s expenditure; twice as high as Frances’s

expenditure; and 2.3 times higher than the United Kingdom’s expenditure (Organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development, 2011). The huge expenditure by the United States might be justified if the quality

of health and of health care in this nation outranked that in its peer nations. As we have seen, however, the

United States lags behind many of its peer nations in several indicators of health and health care quality. If the

United States spends far more than its peer nations on health care yet still lags behind them in many indicators, an

inescapable conclusion is that the United States is spending much more than it should be spending.

Why is US spending on health care so high? Although this is a complex issue, two reasons stand out (Boffey,

2012). First, administrative costs for health care in the United States are the highest in the industrial world.

Because so much of US health insurance is private, billing and record-keeping tasks are immense, and “hordes of

clerks and accountants [are] needed to deal with insurance paperwork,” according to one observer (Boffey, 2012,

p. SR12). Billing and other administrative tasks cost about $360 billion annually, or 14 percent of all US health-

care costs (Emanuel, 2011). These tasks are unnecessarily cumbersome and fail to take advantage of electronic

technologies that would make them much more efficient.

Second, the United States relies on a fee for service model for private insurance. Under this model, physicians,

hospitals, and health care professionals and business are relatively free to charge whatever they want for their

services. In the other industrial nations, government regulations keep prices lower. This basic difference between

the United States and its peer nations helps explain why the cost of health care services in the United States is so

much higher than in its peer nations. Simply put, US physicians and hospitals charge much more for their services

than do their counterparts in other industrial nations (Klein, 2012). And because physicians are paid for every

service they perform, they have an incentive to perform more diagnostic tests and other procedures than necessary.

As one economic writer recently said, “The more they do, the more they earn” (Samuelson, 2011).

13.4 Problems of Health Care in the United States 597

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/c9c5fe031e33f61a30eb6cfd1d44b27a.jpg

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/

A few examples illustrate the higher cost of medical procedures in the United States compared to other nations.

To keep things simple, we will compare the United States with just Canada (see Figure 13.8 “Average Cost of

Selected Medical Procedures and Services”). The average US appendectomy costs $13,123, compared to $3,810

in Canada; the average US hip replacement costs $34,354, compared to $10,753 in Canada; the average US

normal childbirth costs $8,435, compared to $2,667 in Canada; and the average US bypass surgery costs $59,770,

compared to $22,212 in Canada. The costs of diagnostic tests also differ dramatically between the two nations.

For example, a head CT scan costs an average of $464 in the United States, compared to only $65 in Canada, and

an MRI scan costs and average of $1,009 in the United States, compared to only $304 in Canada (International

Federation of Health Plans, 2010).

Figure 13.8 Average Cost of Selected Medical Procedures and Services

Source: Boffey, P. M. (2012, January 22). The money traps in US health care. New York Times, p. SR12.

Managed Care and HMOs

To many critics, a disturbing development in the US health-care system has been the establishment of health

maintenance organizations, or HMOs, which typically enroll their subscribers through their workplaces. HMOs

are prepaid health plans with designated providers, meaning that patients must visit a physician employed by the

HMO or included on the HMO’s approved list of physicians. If their physician is not approved by the HMO, they

have to either see an approved physician or see their own without insurance coverage. Popular with employers

because they are less expensive than traditional private insurance, HMOs have grown rapidly in the last three

decades and now enroll more than 70 million Americans (see Figure 13.9 “Growth of Health Maintenance

Organizations (HMOs), 1980–2007 (Millions of Enrollees)”).

Figure 13.9 Growth of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), 1980–2007 (Millions of Enrollees)

598 Social Problems: Continuity and Change

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/ca06b964c672303623291e03699ce891.jpg

Source: Data from US Census Bureau. (2012). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab.

Although HMOs have become popular, their managed care is also very controversial for at least two reasons

(Kronick, 2009). The first is the HMOs’ restrictions just noted on the choice of physicians and other health-care

providers. Families who have long seen a family physician but whose employer now enrolls them in an HMO

sometimes find they have to see another physician or risk going without coverage. In some HMOs, patients have

no guarantee that they can see the same physician at every visit. Instead, they see whichever physician is assigned

to them at each visit. Critics of HMOs argue that this practice prevents physicians and patients from getting to

know each other, reduces patients’ trust in their physician, and may for these reasons impair patient health.

The managed care that HMOs provide is controversial for several reasons. These reasons include restrictions on the choice of

physicians and especially on the types of medical exams and procedures that patients may undergo.

Pixabay – CC0 Public Domain.

13.4 Problems of Health Care in the United States 599

https://umn.pressbooks.network/app/uploads/sites/14/2015/06/9e36d071bc5b969b0a235f5fdf5d1a70.jpg