< Back

Sociology

Categorical breakdown of terms falling inder the category of Sociology. Sub categories will become more specific in nature to the terms listed for Sociology.

Sub-Categories

Terms

Access to Information - Individual's rights to obtain and use information collected or generated by others....

Acculturation - Process of cultural change in which one group or members of a group assimilate various cultural patt...

Adoption - Voluntary acceptance of a child of other parents to be as one's own child, usually with legal confir...

Adult Children - Children who have reached maturity or the legal age of majority....

Advance Directives - Declarations by patients, made in advance of a situation in which they may be incompetent to decide ...

Almshouses - Privately endowed or public charities or institutions receiving and supporting the aged or infirm po...

Animal Care Committees - Institutional committees established to protect the welfare of animals used in research and educatio...

Animal Rights - The moral and ethical bases of the protection of animals from cruelty and abuse. The rights are exte...

Animal Welfare - The protection of animals in laboratories or other specific environments by promoting their health t...

Anomie - A state of social disorganization and demoralization in society which is largely the result of disha...

Battered Child Syndrome - Repeated physical injuries inflicted on the child by the parent, parents, or surrogate parent; often...

Behavior Control - Manipulation of the behavior of persons or animals by biomedical, physical, psychological, or social...

Biological Warfare - Warfare involving the use of living organisms or their products as disease etiologic agents against ...

Bioterrorism - The use of biological agents in TERRORISM. This includes the malevolent use of BACTERIA; VIRUSES; or...

Bioterrorism - The use of biological agents in TERRORISM. This includes the malevolent use of BACTERIA; VIRUSES; or...

Capital Punishment - The use of the death penalty for certain crimes....

Career Mobility - The upward or downward mobility in an occupation or the change from one occupation to another....

Charities - Social welfare organizations with programs designed to assist individuals in times of need....

Chemical Terrorism - The use of chemical agents in TERRORISM. This includes the malevolent use of nerve agents, blood age...

Chemical Terrorism - The use of chemical agents in TERRORISM. This includes the malevolent use of nerve agents, blood age...

Chemical Warfare - Tactical warfare using incendiary mixtures, smokes, or irritant, burning, or asphyxiating gases....

Child Abuse - Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Ind...

Child Abuse - Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Ind...

Child Abuse, Sexual - Sexual maltreatment of the child or minor....

Child Abuse, Sexual - Sexual maltreatment of the child or minor....

Child Advocacy - Promotion and protection of the rights of children; frequently through a legal process....

Child Advocacy - Promotion and protection of the rights of children; frequently through a legal process....

Child Custody - The formally authorized guardianship or care of a child....

Child Day Care Centers - Facilities which provide care for pre-school and school-age children....

Child Welfare - Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the child....

City Planning - Comprehensive planning for the physical development of the city....

Civil Disorders - Deliberate and planned acts of unlawful behavior engaged in by aggrieved segments of the population ...

Civil Rights - Legal guarantee protecting the individual from attack on personal liberties, right to fair trial, ri...

Coercion - The use of force or intimidation to obtain compliance....

Coercion - The use of force or intimidation to obtain compliance....

Community Networks - Organizations and individuals cooperating together toward a common goal at the local or grassroots l...

Compensation and Redress - Payment, or other means of making amends, for a wrong or injury....

Concentration Camps - Facilities in which war or political prisoners are confined....

Confidentiality - The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure....

Confidentiality - The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure....

Consent Forms - Documents describing a medical treatment or research project, including proposed procedures, risks, ...

Consumer Advocacy - The promotion and support of consumers' rights and interests....

Contracts - Agreements between two or more parties, especially those that are written and enforceable by law (Am...

Copyright - The exclusive right, granted by law for a certain number of years, to make and dispose of copies of ...

Crime - A violation of the criminal law, i.e., a breach of the conduct code specifically sanctioned by the s...

Criminal Law - A branch of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging and trial of su...

Cross-Cultural Comparison - Comparison of various psychological, sociological, or cultural factors in order to assess the simila...

Cultural Characteristics - Those aspects or characteristics which identify a culture....

Cultural Competency - Cultural and linguistic competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that com...

Cultural Deprivation - The absence of certain expected and acceptable cultural phenomena in the environment which results i...

Cultural Diversity - Coexistence of numerous distinct ethnic, racial, religious, or cultural groups within one social uni...

Culture - A collective expression for all behavior patterns acquired and socially transmitted through symbols....

Dangerous Behavior - Actions which have a high risk of being harmful or injurious to oneself or others....

Defensive Medicine - The alterations of modes of medical practice, induced by the threat of liability, for the principal ...

Divorce - Legal dissolution of an officially recognized marriage relationship....

Divorce - Legal dissolution of an officially recognized marriage relationship....

Domestic Violence - Deliberate, often repetitive, physical abuse by one family member against another: marital partners,...

Doping in Sports - Illegitimate use of drugs for a desired effect in competitive sports; includes humans and animals....

Drug and Narcotic Control - Control of drug and narcotic use by international agreement, or by institutional systems for handlin...

Drug Approval - Process that is gone through in order for a drug to receive approval by a government regulatory agen...

Drug Recalls - Removal of a drug from the market due to a problem occurring in the manufacture or distribution of t...

Duty to Recontact - The ethical and/or legal obligation of a health provider or researcher to communicate with a former ...

Duty to Warn - A health professional's obligation to breach patient CONFIDENTIALITY to warn third parties of the da...

Elder Abuse - Emotional, nutritional, or physical maltreatment of the older person generally by family members or ...

Environment Design - The structuring of the environment to permit or promote specific patterns of behavior....

Euthanasia - The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in...

Euthanasia, Active - The act or practice of killing for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person or animal fr...

Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary - Active euthanasia of a patient at the patient's request and/or with the patient's consent....

Expert Testimony - Presentation of pertinent data by one with special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a part...

Family - A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children....

Family Characteristics - Size and composition of the family....

Family Planning Policy - A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, to guide and determine present and f...

Fathers - Male parents, human or animal....

Forensic Psychiatry - Psychiatry in its legal aspects. This includes criminology, penology, commitment of mentally ill, th...

Foster Home Care - Families who care for neglected children or patients unable to care for themselves....

Freedom - The rights of individuals to act and make decisions without external constraints....

General Adaptation Syndrome - The sum of all nonspecific systemic reactions of the body to long-continued exposure to systemic str...

Genetic Privacy - The protection of genetic information about an individual, family, or population group, from unautho...

Genetic Privacy - The protection of genetic information about an individual, family, or population group, from unautho...

Genetic Privacy - The protection of genetic information about an individual, family, or population group, from unautho...

Government Regulation - Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct....

Health Care Reform - Innovation and improvement of the health care system by reappraisal, amendment of services, and remo...

Health Policy - Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectiv...

Hierarchy, Social - Social rank-order established by certain behavioral patterns....

Holocaust - A massive slaughter, especially the systematic mass extermination of European Jews in Nazi concentra...

Homicide - The killing of one person by another....

Human Rights - The rights of the individual to cultural, social, economic, and educational opportunities as provide...

Human Rights Abuses - Deliberate maltreatment of groups of humans beings including violations of generally-accepted fundam...

Illegitimacy - The state of birth outside of wedlock. It may refer to the offspring or the parents....

Illegitimacy - The state of birth outside of wedlock. It may refer to the offspring or the parents....

Incest - Sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry....

Infant Welfare - Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the infant...

Informed Consent - Voluntary authorization, by a patient or research subject, with full comprehension of the risks invo...

Informed Consent - Voluntary authorization, by a patient or research subject, with full comprehension of the risks invo...

Insanity Defense - A legal concept that an accused is not criminally responsible if, at the time of committing the act,...

Intellectual Property - Property, such as patents, trademarks, and copyright, that results from creative effort. The Patent ...

Judicial Role - The kind of action or activity proper to the judiciary, particularly its responsibility for decision...

Jurisprudence - The science or philosophy of law. Also, the application of the principles of law and justice to heal...

Juvenile Delinquency - The antisocial acts of children or persons under age which are illegal or lawfully interpreted as co...

Law Enforcement - Organized efforts to insure obedience to the laws of a community....

Legislation, Drug - Laws concerned with manufacturing, dispensing, and marketing of drugs....

Liability, Legal - Accountability and responsibility to another, enforceable by civil or criminal sanctions....

Living Wills - Written, witnessed declarations in which persons request that if they become disabled beyond reasona...

Living Wills - Written, witnessed declarations in which persons request that if they become disabled beyond reasona...

Loneliness - The state of feeling sad or dejected as a result of lack of companionship or being separated from ot...

Malpractice - Failure of a professional person, a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehens...

Mandatory Programs - Programs in which participation is required....

Mandatory Reporting - A legal requirement that designated types of information acquired by professionals or institutions i...

Mandatory Reporting - A legal requirement that designated types of information acquired by professionals or institutions i...

Mandatory Testing - Testing or screening required by federal, state, or local law or other agencies for the diagnosis of...

Marital Status - A demographic parameter indicating a person's status with respect to marriage, divorce, widowhood, s...

Marriage - The social institution involving legal and/or religious sanction whereby men and women are joined to...

Mass Casualty Incidents - Events that overwhelm the resources of local HOSPITALS and health care providers. They are likely to...

Maternal Welfare - Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the mother...

Mental Competency - The ability to understand the nature and effect of the act in which the individual is engaged. (From...

Minority Groups - A subgroup having special characteristics within a larger group, often bound together by special tie...

Mothers - Female parents, human or animal....

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy - A phenomenon in which symptoms of a disease are fabricated by an individual other than the patient c...

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy - A phenomenon in which symptoms of a disease are fabricated by an individual other than the patient c...

Needle Sharing - Usage of a single needle among two or more people for injecting drugs. Needle sharing is a high-risk...

Nuclear Family - A family composed of spouses and their children....

Nuclear Warfare - Warfare involving the use of NUCLEAR WEAPONS....

Nutrition Policy - Governmental guidelines and objectives pertaining to public food supply and nutrition including reco...

Only Child - Child who has no siblings....

Organizational Policy - A course or method of action selected, usually by an organization, institution, university, society,...

Ownership - The legal relation between an entity (individual, group, corporation, or-profit, secular, government...

Parental Consent - Informed consent given by a parent on behalf of a minor or otherwise incompetent child....

Parents - Persons functioning as natural, adoptive, or substitute parents. The heading includes the concept of...

Patents as Topic - Exclusive legal rights or privileges applied to inventions, plants, etc....

Patient Access to Records - The freedom of patients to review their own medical, genetic, or other health-related records....

Patient Access to Records - The freedom of patients to review their own medical, genetic, or other health-related records....

Patient Advocacy - Promotion and protection of the rights of patients, frequently through a legal process....

Patient Rights - Fundamental claims of patients, as expressed in statutes, declarations, or generally accepted moral ...

Peer Review - An organized procedure carried out by a select committee of professionals in evaluating the performa...

Peer Review, Health Care - The concurrent or retrospective review by practicing physicians or other health professionals of the...

Peer Review, Research - The evaluation by experts of the quality and pertinence of research or research proposals of other e...

Personal Autonomy - Self-directing freedom and especially moral independence. An ethical principle holds that the autono...

Physician Impairment - The physician's inability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to the patient due t...

Police - Agents of the law charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order among the citizenry....

Poverty - A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of...

Poverty - A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of...

Poverty Areas - City, urban, rural, or suburban areas which are characterized by severe economic deprivation and by ...

Presumed Consent - An institutional policy of granting authority to health personnel to perform procedures on patients ...

Prisons - Penal institutions, or places of confinement for war prisoners....

Privacy - The state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one's private life or affairs. (Random Hous...

Professional Impairment - The inability of a health professional to provide proper professional care of patients due to his or...

Prostitution - The practice of indulging in sexual relations for money....

Psychological Warfare - The manipulation of psychological influences, primarily concerned with morale, to strengthen the abi...

Psychosocial Deprivation - The absence of appropriate stimuli in the physical or social environment which are necessary for the...

Public Opinion - The attitude of a significant portion of a population toward any given proposition, based upon a mea...

Public Policy - A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, from among alternatives to guide and...

Punishment - The application of an unpleasant stimulus or penalty for the purpose of eliminating or correcting un...

Quackery - The fraudulent misrepresentation of the diagnosis and treatment of disease....

Race Relations - Cultural contacts between people of different races....

Relief Work - Assistance, such as money, food, or shelter, given to the needy, aged, or victims of disaster. It is...

Reproductive Rights - Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to dec...

Resuscitation Orders - Instructions issued by a physician pertaining to the institution, continuation, or withdrawal of lif...

Right to Die - The right of the patient or the patient's representative to make decisions with regard to the patien...

Riots - A form of violent crowd behavior which expresses the emotional release of resentments and prejudices...

Runaway Behavior - A behavioral response manifested by leaving home in order to escape from threatening situations. Chi...

Safety-Based Drug Withdrawals - Removal of a drug from the market due to the identification of an intrinsic property of the drug tha...

Secularism - Indifference to, or rejection of, RELIGION or religious considerations. (From Merriam-Webster's Coll...

Siblings - Persons or animals having at least one parent in common. (American College Dictionary, 3d ed)...

Single Parent - A natural, adoptive, or substitute parent of a dependent child, who lives with only one parent. The ...

Single Parent - A natural, adoptive, or substitute parent of a dependent child, who lives with only one parent. The ...

Single Person - The unmarried man or woman....

Single-Parent Family - A household that includes children and is headed by one adult....

Social Alienation - The state of estrangement individuals feel in cultural settings that they view as foreign, unpredict...

Social Behavior Disorders - Behaviors which are at variance with the expected social norm and which affect other individuals....

Social Change - Social process whereby the values, attitudes, or institutions of society, such as education, family,...

Social Class - A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class...

Social Class - A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class...

Social Conditions - The state of society as it exists or in flux. While it usually refers to society as a whole in a spe...

Social Control Policies - Decisions for determining and guiding present and future objectives from among alternatives....

Social Control, Formal - Control which is exerted by the more stable organizations of society, such as established institutio...

Social Control, Informal - Those forms of control which are exerted in less concrete and tangible ways, as through folkways, mo...

Social Environment - The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the...

Social Isolation - The separation of individuals or groups resulting in the lack of or minimizing of social contact and...

Social Justice - An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of a...

Social Mobility - The movement or shifting of membership between or within social classes by individuals or by groups....

Social Mobility - The movement or shifting of membership between or within social classes by individuals or by groups....

Social Planning - Interactional process combining investigation, discussion, and agreement by a number of people in th...

Social Problems - Situations affecting a significant number of people, that are believed to be sources of difficulty o...

Social Support - Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional ...

Social Welfare - Organized institutions which provide services to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology i...

Social Work - The use of community resources, individual case work, or group work to promote the adaptive capaciti...

Social Work, Psychiatric - Use of all social work processes in the treatment of patients in a psychiatric or mental health sett...

Socialization - The training or molding of an individual through various relationships, educational agencies, and so...

Socioeconomic Factors - Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure....

Sociology - A social science dealing with group relationships, patterns of collective behavior, and social organ...

Sociometric Techniques - Methods for quantitatively assessing and measuring interpersonal and group relationships....

Spatial Behavior - Reactions of an individual or groups of individuals with relation to the immediate surrounding area ...

Spouse Abuse - Deliberate severe and repeated injury to one domestic partner by the other....

Spouses - Married persons, i.e., husbands and wives, or partners. Domestic partners, or spousal equivalents, a...

Stalking - Course of conduct directed at a specific person that involves repeated (two or more occasions) visua...

Suicide - The act of killing oneself....

Suicide, Assisted - Provision (by a physician or other health professional, or by a family member or friend) of support ...

Suicide, Attempted - The unsuccessful attempt to kill oneself....

Supreme Court Decisions - Decisions made by the United States Supreme Court....

Surrogate Mothers - Women who allow themselves to be impregnated with the understanding that the offspring are to be giv...

Terrorism - The use or threatened use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of criminal ...

Theft - Unlawful act of taking property....

Therapeutic Misconception - Misunderstanding among individuals, frequently research subjects, of scientific methods such as rand...

Third-Party Consent - Informed consent given by someone other than the patient or research subject....

Torture - The intentional infliction of physical or mental suffering upon an individual or individuals, includ...

Treatment Refusal - Patient or client refusal of or resistance to medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment. (APA...

Urban Renewal - The planned upgrading of a deteriorating urban area, involving rebuilding, renovation, or restoratio...

Urbanization - The process whereby a society changes from a rural to an urban way of life. It refers also to the gr...

Violence - Individual or group aggressive behavior which is socially non-acceptable, turbulent, and often destr...

War - Hostile conflict between organized groups of people....

War Crimes - Criminal acts committed during, or in connection with, war, e.g., maltreatment of prisoners, willful...

Widowhood - The state of having lost a marital partner by death....

Wills - Legal documents that are declarations of individuals' wishes regarding the disposal of their propert...

Women's Rights - The rights of women to equal status pertaining to social, economic, and educational opportunities af...

Wrongful Life - In civil law a cause of action which alleges that a defendant has wrongfully caused a child to be bo...