The interconnectedness and interdependence of socio-economic, cultural, environmental, living and working conditions, social and community networks, and lifestyle choices contribute to a person’s health and well-being. Social and health strategies, in the community, clearly need to focus on individual needs and vulnerabilities. As indicated in the ‘rainbow’ model of social determinants of health, age, sex and constitutional factors should be at the centre of these considerations. This section on ‘Life chances’ offers an introduction to some of the key biological, psychological and social drivers that lead to social exclusion in some disadvantaged people, necessitating support from outside the family and involving statutory and voluntary agencies, as reviewed in subsequent sections of this book.