| social justice | An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| social maladjustment | Maladjustment without manifest psychiatric disorder, as that occasioned by an inability to cope with social situations. (05 Mar 2000) |
| social medicine | A branch of medicine concerned with the role of socio-environmental factors in the occurrence, prevention and treatment of disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social mobility | The movement or shifting of membership between or within social classes by individuals or by groups. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social network therapy | A type of therapy involving the assembling of all persons emotionally or functionally important to the patient for the purpose of affecting behavioural change in the patient. (05 Mar 2000) |
| social perception | The perceiving of attributes, characteristics, and behaviours of one's associates or social groups. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social planning | Interactional process combining investigation, discussion, and agreement by a number of people in the preparation and carrying out of a program to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community. It usually involves the action of a formal political, legal, or recognised voluntary body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social problems | Situations affecting a significant number of people, that are believed to be sources of difficulty or threaten the stability of the community, and that require programs of amelioration. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social psychiatry | An approach to psychiatric theory and practice emphasizing the cultural and sociological aspects of mental disorder and treatment; the application of psychiatry to social problems. See: community psychiatry. (05 Mar 2000) |
| social reinforcement | <psychology> The strengthening of a response with a social reward such as a nod of approval, a parent's love or attention. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social responsibility | <psychology> The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas in behalf of others. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social sciences | Disciplines concerned with the interrelationships of individuals in a social environment including social organizations and institutions. Includes sociology and anthropology. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social security | Government sponsored social insurance programs. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social support | Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance is provided by churches, groups, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| social therapy | <psychiatry> A psychiatric rehabilitative therapy to improve a patient's social functioning. (05 Mar 2000) |