Contextual Constructionism

While acknowledging that claims about social problems implicate the beliefs and values of claims-makers, and that claims are often highly discrepant, contextual constructionists still insist that it is possible to compare and reasonably evaluate estimates of the nature and magnitude of social problems. With respect to varying estimates of the number of children missing each year, for example, Best (1989) suggests that "if we focus on the most extreme cases--those involving murder or a child's prolonged absence--there are relatively few cases, numbering perhaps 200-600 per year" (p. 30).

The spirit of the contextual constructionist position was captured by Hacking (1991) in an essay on the "Making and Moulding of Child Abuse." Hacking in no way denies that "child abuse" (with or without the quotation marks) is a social construction. Rather, he traces the history of the term, including its connectedness to ideas of causation, normality, pollution, even masturbation. Moreover, he provides dramatic evidence of just how discrepant definitions and estimates of social problems may be. Still, he credits feminists and others with helping bring child abuse to our collective consciousness. In so doing they have helped make it real.