Problems and solutions

272. a big/pressing/serious/multidimensional problem COL/SP

273. social disaster SYNsocial problem

274. a dominant issue col

Developing world

301. developed/developing country COL/TERM

302. deprived childhood/area/region | socially/economically/emotionally deprived

303. external forces beyond your control COL

304. economic/political/social forces COL

305. a low/high birth rate COL/TERM

306. densely/sparsely populated COL

307. to be seriously overpopulated

308. a drift of population from … to

309. rural/urban area COL

310. to be seriously undernourished (e.g. about children)

311. malnutrition term/wf = a poor condition of health caused by a lack of food or a lack of the right type of food: Many of the refugees are suffering from severe malnutrition.

312. life expectancy term = the number of years that a person is likely to live

313. illiteracy term/wf from (il)literate – (il)literacy = the condition of being unable to read and write

314. sexual exploitation term

Charity

336. to donate sth to sb PREP

Miscellaneous

373. to some extent/to a certain extent/ to an extent PREP = partly

374. on average prep

Listening 20

The latest survey of social trends makes interesting reading. The major changes relate to the family. There has been a big increase in one-person households i.e. a number of people living alone. These now account for 28% of all households. The growth of these households has been at the expense of the traditional two-parent and two-children household. The proportion containing a married couple with dependent children has now fallen to 25%. The commonest type of household now consists of a married couple with no dependent children. Lone parents with children account for 7% of all households. More women are staying single, with an increase from 18% to 26%.

Throughout Europe marriage rates have fallen overall and the age at which people marry has increased. Women tend to marry at an earlier age than men and live longer than men. More and more women are tending to delay having children, at least until they are in their thirties or are deciding to remain childless. Divorce rates have also increased slightly in the last ten years. For every two marriages there is now one divorce. 8% of children now live in stepfamilies.

This brief statistical statement of trends should alert us to the way in which the family is changing and developing. Alongside the nuclear family – traditionally two parents and two children – a new social pattern is developing that of the extended network of stepparents, stepchildren and other relatives. In a successful stepfamily a child can have possibly four committed adults to rely on rather than two. New relationships are forged with stepbrothers and sisters and there may well be new grandparents. In fact, the grandmother is very often the most important figure in the extended family often acting as the major carer when mothers go out to work. It seems that families are infinitely adaptable and that many different types are possible. They may change and reform but hopefully its members continue to love and support one another.

Listening 21

Presenter: It's a worrying phenomenon when people talk of persistent young offenders – young people under the age of eighteen who have been involved in repeated crime. More than ninety percent of such offenders are boys – girls account for only about ten per cent of the figures. It has been estimated that approximately sixty per cent of boys from highly-disadvantaged backgrounds will eventually end up with a criminal record, usually for vandalism, theft and drug abuse. This means that some forty per cent of boys from such backgrounds do not offend. Why not? Are there any special factors that protect against crime? This has been the subject of a major research project that has been in progress for forty years. Here are some of the latest findings.

The backgrounds of offenders and non-offenders reveal surprising differences, indicating that it is not social disadvantage alone that leads to crime. The overwhelming risk factors for delinquent behaviour by boys relate to their fathers' behaviour. Unsurprisingly, employment, or rather unemployment, is a key factor. A poor work record combined with alcoholism are the real crucial indicators. If the father has these two characteristics, he is likely to be an offender and so are his sons. Forty per cent of the sons of fathers who regularly commit crimes are persistent offenders themselves.

What about the factors that were found among the non-offenders? Here, the factors that tended to protect against a life of crime, even in families with a high level of disadvantage, were as follows: doing well at school, having the opportunity for social activities such as joining a youth club, living in a home where the parents worked together as a couple and where there was good communication, intimacy, affection and minimal quarrelling. These three factors were associated with less offending. Predictably, the attitude of the mother was found to be of the utmost importance. Even if circumstances were bad, in the homes of non-offenders the mother was in control and able to deal with difficult situations.

Some of the findings of the study were less predictable. For instance, offending became more common as families got bigger, and even in large families the first- and second-born were less likely to offend. The study also found that offenders have suffered three times as many accidents in the home in early life as non-offenders had. In homes where accidents were very frequent, this seems to be either because of negligence or lack of foresight. Firm management, and the ability to reason with children were protective factors, and mental strength was far more important than social disadvantage. But when it came to toys, there seemed to be no effect on behaviour, whether toys were present or absent.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1355