Social problem policy paper Homework Help

Social problem policy paper
Identify and define a social problem within the assigned chapters
In our society today different people face different kinds of social problems that can affect the way they relate to society. In this study, we will look at the various social problems the society faces today.
Divorce is a popular social problem especially in the US today. This can be defined as the legal end of a marriage. Divorce rates in the US have soared and doubled and reaching its highest in 1980 since the world war two. But in current analysis, the rates from 1980 to 2005 have shown a significant drop. This means that 20% of American adults divorce at least once (Baker, 2011).
Family violence, abuse and neglect is another social problem in the society today. Social theorists and scholars have attributed family violence to a number of factors including male dominance, and poverty (Baker, 2011). Family violence can be defined as a situation where one family member exercises too much power and control over other members of the family with an intention of retaining it. In terms of the law, it can be conducted by inflicting bodily harm or sexual harassment to any family member.
Child abuse is also a social problem, it is a situation where a family member mistreats a minor, and this is through violence, forced labor, neglect, or sexual harassment. Child abuse can also be in the form of denying a child basic needs such as food, education and clothing. It is estimated that in the United States only there are 3 million reports of child abuse annually (Henslin, 2007).
Domestic elderly violence is a social problem whereby an elderly person suffers mistreatments by a close person or relative. This form of abuse can be perpetrated in forms of psychological, physical or financial exposition (Leon-Guerrero, 2005).
Teen pregnancy, is a social problem where young girls in their early years due to poor and hard exposure are involved in premature sexual practices and end up getting pregnant. These pregnancies are mostly cause by child abuse and negligence, where children lack paternal care and are forced into premature sexual activities (Buzawa,2012). It has been estimated that in the industrial countries the United States has the highest cases of teen pregnancies with about 400,000 births to teen aged 15-19 in the year 2006 only.
Identify, analyze and discuss the causation of the social problem within the context or framework of each respective
In respect to divorce, several factors have contributed to the significant rise in the number of people divorcing in the United States and other western countries.Cultural factors, the rates have been increasing during the 19thcentury due to secularization, this means that the religious aspect of marriage was lessening more with each marriage that took place. The divinity of the institution soon faded, with many making it an individual choice rather than a covenant with God. Socio-cultural trends also contributed to divorces especially in 1968-1985 because of the passage of liberal divorce laws, this made easier divorce laws being promulgated attracting an increased divorce rate. Trends leading to individualism also harnessed divorce, creating ideologies of gratification that were sexual and psychological encouraging people to live happy and full filled lives. Demographic factors such as age social class also causes divorce. It has been researched that the younger couples get married the more likely they will divorce, this is because adolescents or young people might not have the maturity to experience or cope with difficulty that arise from marriage. Social class also affects marriages, with low income earners facing poverty inherently brings problems related to poverty and materialism leading to divorces.
Child abuse has been recorded for a long time especially in the fields of literature. There have been reports of mutilation, neglect, and other forms of violence against minors back to the ancient civilization. WHO describes child abuse as the maltreatment in terms of physical harm, emotional ill treatment, exploitation or commercialization of minors in any way that would potentially harm the child survival or and health. Some of the causes of Child abuse range from sex to resources in the family and age (United States,1995). The resources and structure of a family greatly affect the chances of child abuse in the family. In some cases poverty drives the parent or older siblings to abuse the children in the family, this is by commercialization, sexual abuse, mistreatment and physical battery. In the case of the family structure, a big family that have minimal resources tend to struggle to get resources such as food clothing and basic needs might end up neglecting the younger children since they cannot fend for themselves. In terms of poverty and family structure, the young ones might end up getting physically or sexually molested by parents or older siblings due to alcohol and drug abuse that is usually high in poverty infested family structures(United States, 1995). Cultural aspects also play a major role in child abuse. In Africa and Asian countries young children are culturally expected to develop and pick up responsibilities faster as compared to western countries. They might be subjected to strenuous jobs to contribute to the family income and their up keep.
Teen pregnancies, the population mostly at risk of this social problem is are those that come from low income families and communities. This is because these kinds of teen are usually distressed emotionally and psychologically and have very minimal attachment levels with their parents, guardians or older siblings. This eventually means that the teen are more exposed to the outside world than they are with their families. They spend more time with other teen than with mature adults who can offer them advice or give them care. Since the teens lack any kind of protection or supervision from parents or individuals they might end up engaging in activities that will eventually get them pregnant. Low income families most of the time have parents who are in jail, single struggling parents or drug and alcohol habits. Other situations involve parents who work too hard taking several shifts to make ends meet. This most of the time leaves the teens under no supervision and might lead to practicing of premature sex with other teen leading to early pregnancies. Teen pregnancies can not only be caused by lack of parental care but also due to other social problems like child abuse, poverty, sexual harassment and rape.
Domestic elderly violence can take two approaches. The first is the more common one that is inflicted by a close family member or guardian and the second one is institutional where the elderly get mistreated and abused in facilities that carter for the elderly. A lot of research that has been done shows that members of the family that are involved in substance abuse pose more harm to elderly people than others. This abuse might be caused by aggression or dominance in the part of the perpetrator(Thompson, 2006). This kind of aggression can also be brought by poverty, where the family is financially unable to place the elderly person in a facility and are probably too busy to care for them. In terms of institutional abuse, which is mostly done by negligence or lack of privacy for the elderly is cause by under motivated healthcare workers who often feel taking care of the elderly is cumbersome or a burden. They therefore end up neglecting them. Institutions can also abuse elderly in case they themselves have been neglected by the families that brought them to the facility. The facility tends to neglect them since no one regular checks on the elderly person from the outside.
Identify and discuss solutions to the social problem
Social problems are a significant feature in the society and as discussed in this study are cause by various challenges that people are facing in the community including drug and substance abuse, poverty, cultural and societal factors.
Teen pregnancy
Research has been done to ascertain to what can be done to prevent and act as a solution to teenage pregnancies and most programs show that social workers need to focus on reproductive health such as HIV and sex programs to help reduce the rates of teenage pregnancies(Watkins, 2009). These programs are eventfully successful since they enable the young adults get incites on issues to deal with sex, and consequences of premeditated sexual activities that could lead to HIV.
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence can be solved by sensitizing the community on the effects of domestic violence especially to young children. Rehabilitation centers and social campaigns can be carried out to assist reform members of the society who are perpetrators of these violent acts. It is important to note that dealing with the drug and substance abuse will significantly help reduce domestic violence since statistics show that it is the leading vice in domestic violence in the United States. Toll free numbers can also be enforced to report cases of domestic violence especially in the projects and poor communities.
Elderly Violence
Elderly violence as discussed before iscarried out by close members of the family or it can also be institutional. Therefore, to be able to deal with this social problem, the individual caring for the elderly have to be cancelled or offered training on how to take care of elder people. Since some of the offences carried out on elderly people are deliberate, strict laws should be enforced on the authorities on how to deal with cases of elderly brutality or violence. Healthcare facilities or centers that care for elderly people should also be well equipped to ease the pressure or f fatigue cause by those who take care of the elderly. It has been noted that some of the centers lack proper facilities to take care of the elderly leading the staff to be negligent of the elderly. The centers should also make followups on the locations of the relatives of the elderly person so that they are not abandoned in the retirement homes to face elderly violence by the staff.
Divorce
Divorce is more of a family affair and as discussed before, more sensitization should be done to young couples to know what is expected of marriage before rushing into it. The community should also be educated through media campaigns and rallies on the importance of keeping a steady marriage. These can be done by marriage counselors, psychiatrists and social workers. Importance of marriage can be best enforced at an early age probably in the curriculum in schools so that young people can grow up with the maturity of learning how to cope with the difficulties that marriage presents.
Response to the solutions to social problems.
A lot has been done to help curb social problems in the society, and more over a lot of campaigns and enforcement strategies are at play in solving social problems. In regard to teenage pregnancies, the statistics show that there is a significant increase of teenagers involving themselves in community based projects to help stop the social problem, this means that the solution is in progress and the message has been well received. Sex education and reproductive health sensitization both at school and at home have been enforce especially in the united states, where children in schools are involved in compulsory sex education classes, this has significantly helped in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies(Baker, 2011).
Domestic and elderly violence have also been taken seriously with the community, according to law enforcers, there have been a lot of cases being reported of domestic and elderly violence through the toll free numbers. This has significantly helped reduce the extent to which the violence can escalate if not stopped immediately. In cases of divorce it is an obvious fact that marriage counselors are getting more clients than before this is a clear indication that more couples are taking marriage seriously and would rather see a counselor that opt for divorce.
The case of social problems is an important societal issue that need to be taken seriously by the authorities and more so by the government. More policies should be introduced to ensure that some of the problems are contained. Cases of child abuse should not be a problem in this particular era, therefore people should be sensitized on how to deal with social problems to make the community a better place(Watkins,2009). Poverty, drug and substance abuse is also a serious vice in the society and serious effort should in place to deal with it.

References
Buzawa, E. S., Buzawa, C. G., Stark, E., &Buzawa, E. S. (2012). Responding to domestic violence: The integration of criminal justice and human services.
Dolgon, C., & Baker, C. (2011). Social problems: A service learning approach. Los Angeles: Sage/Pine Forge.
Henslin, J. M. (2007). Down to earth sociology: Introductory readings. New York: Free Press.
Thompson, T. (2006). The elderly. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven.
United States. (1995). A Nation’s shame: Fatal child abuse and neglect in the United States: a report of the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect: fifth report. Washington, D.C: The Board.
Watkins, H. (2009). Child abuse. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.