ABSTRACT
In this chapter we explore the question of what it is that makes social problems social. What is it that makes some issues and not others worthy of public attention, anxiety or action? The emphasis in this chapter is placed on examining the processes by which social problems are socially constructed. We will be concerned with the ways in which problems are identified, defined, given meaning and acted upon. In the course of examining these processes, we will be giving particular attention to the significance of conflicts about how social problems are defined, interpreted and responded to. These issues about the social construction of social problems form the central concerns of this chapter and provide the basis for exploring a number of approaches in the social sciences that address these processes of defining, interpreting and giving meaning to social problems.
