Originally published in 1959, this book critically examines, in the light of numerous research, both the relation between unacceptable behaviour and economic and social status and the validity of several popular hypotheses of the 20th Century: that anti-social attitudes are due to lack of maternal affection in infancy, or that problem families produce problem families generation after generation. The author discusses the factors affecting the growth of modern psychiatry and how this shaped attitudes towards anti-social behaviour and conceptions of social work. The final section of the book considers the wider methodological implications.
Part 1: A Review of the Contemporary Situation and of Research Findings 1. The Social Pathology of England and Wales: A Case Study 2. Social Pathology and the Social Hierarchy 3. Twelve Criminological Hypotheses: Evidence from Twenty-One Studies 4. Theories of the Effects of Maternal Separation or Deprivation 5. Criminological Theories Based on the Age of the Offender 6. Studies in the Criminological Prediction Part 2: The Contemporary Attitude to Social Pathology: The Social Implications of Psychiatry 7. Social Pathology and the Concepts of Mental Health and Mental Illness 8. Mental Disorder and the Problem of Moral and Criminal Responsibility 9. Contemporary Attitudes in Social Work Part 3: Conclusions 10. Conclusions: Methodological 11. Conclusions: Practical Appendix1: List of Cases Found Guilty at a London Juvenile Court Appendix 2: Professionalism in Social Work Rosalind Chambers.
Biography
Barbara Wootton was a British sociologist and criminologist. She was President of the British Sociological Association from 1959-1964. She served as a chairman of juvenile court magistrates in London for nearly 20 years (1946–62), and as a lay magistrate (1926–70). She died in 1988.
Original Review of Social Science and Social Pathology:
‘The clarity with which Lady Wootton has presented this complex material is itself a model of method…Her book is a brilliantly organized survey of contemporary opinion on social pathology. But more importantly, it brings realism in judgment and sympathy in understanding to a subject that can never be divorced from the human situation which is its concern.’ Times Literary Supplement.
