ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at family problems through a sociological perspective. Among the many problems adolescents experience, school failure, delinquency, pregnancy, and substance abuse are four central risks to their development. Dramatic sociological changes have occurred in the structure of the American family since the 1960s. The most pervasive problem for American families is chronic poverty. Parents who cannot afford before- or after-school care often let their children go unsupervised as "self-care" or "latchkey" children. Children of alcoholic parents are at risk for a number of possible problems, including behavioral, emotional and academic problems. The problems encountered by children and parents result in a variety of costs to family members: physical and mental health problems, pain and trauma, and more abstractly, lost potential. Much can and needs to be done in the United States to support families and aid parents in their profound responsibility of rearing their young.
