Risk in Social Science

This book is designed as an introduction to recent social science work on risk and is intended primarily for students in sociology, social psychology, and psychology, although it will also be useful for those studying political science, government, public policy, and economics. It is written by leading experts actively involved in research in the field. The book discusses the basic issues in risk research, paying attention to the contributions from different academic disciplines and reviewing debates in the recent literature. It then moves on to examine work on risk across the main areas of activity, discussing recent research and identifying the themes that are currently subject to debate. The areas covered in substantive chapters are: crime; the environment; everyday life and leisure time; family and partnership; health and illness; life course, youth and old age; risk regulation and management; social inequality (covering gender, ethnicity, disability, and social class); media; social and public policy; as well as theoretical foundations and current issues in research.