Product Description

Exceptionally comprehensive, innately interesting, and extremely readable, this best-seller introduces readers to the study of contemporary marriages and families in ways to which they can easily relate. It examines the diversity of American families—giving equal attention to all racial, ethnic, and other societal groups—and examines not only the choices, but the constraints that often limit our family-related choices today. This open-minded approach, combined with a set of practical guidelines presented in each chapter, encourages learners to think and act for themselves—and thereby join the effort to resolve some of the crucial issues confronting 21st century families. A six-part organization places marriage and the family in perspective, looks at the individual and developing relationships, as well as the individual and marital commitments, considers parents and children, explores conflicts and crises, and offers an understanding of changes and transitions. For those interested in a complete and current study of marital and family relationships in America.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #475800 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 640 pages

From the Publisher
Widely adopted in its first edition, this textbook introduces students to the study of marriage and the family in ways that they can easily relate to. In a straightforward and balanced manner, giving equal attention to people of all racial, ethnic, and other societal groups, the author shows students that as families continue to change, they have more and more choices, but that those choices are also subject to often serious constraints on both the macro and micro level. The author's open–minded approach encourages students to think for themselves, and practical guidelines in every chapter encourage them to go beyond thought to action--to become part of the effort to resolve some of the crucial issues that confront all twenty–first–century families.

From the Back Cover

Continue your studies online with the Marriages and Families Companion Website™.The site is a comprehensive resource organized according to the chapters in the text and features a variety of learning modules:

• Interactive Study Guide contains chapter outlines, chapter quizzes, relevant web links, census updates, and surveys to help you define your goals.
• ContentSelect research database, available around the clock from your computer using a special passcode, offers you access to hundreds of academic journal articles and magazines that are directly related to the disciplines of sociology and family studies.
• Reference Modules contain hundreds of web links and a Net Search feature that provides the opportunity to access information on the Web that relates to the content of the text.
• Communication Modules include Live Chat and Message Boards to facilitate online collaboration and communication.
• Personalization Modules include our enhanced Help feature that contains a text page for browsers and plug-ins.

About the Author

Nijole V Benokraitis, professor of sociology at the ', University of Baltimore, has taught the Marriage 'and Family course for 18 years and says it's her 'favorite class, although her courses in Racial and Ethnic Relations and Gender Roles run a close second. Professor Benokraitis received a B.A. in Sociology and English from Emmanuel College, a M.A. in sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana, and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a strong proponent of applied sociology and requires her students to enhance their study of course topics through interviews, direct observation, and other hands-on learning methods. She also enlists her students in community-service activities, such as tutoring and mentoring inner-city high school students, writing to government officials and other decision makers about specific social problems, and volunteering research services to nonprofit organizations.

Professor Benokraitis, who immigrated to the United States from Lithuania with her family when she was six years old, is bilingual and bicultural. She has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited Contemporary Ethnic Families in the United States: Characteristics, Variations, and Dynamics (Prentice Hall, 2002), Feuds about Families: Conservative, Centrist, Liberal, and Feminist Perspectives (Prentice Hall, 2000); Subtle Sexism: Current Practices and Prospects for Change (Sage, 1997); Modern Sexism: Blatant, Subtle, and Covert Discrimination, 2nd Edition (Prentice Hall, 1995); Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, 5th Edition (Prentice Hall, 2001); and Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity: Action, Inaction, and Reaction (Westview Press, 1978).

Professor Benokraitis has published numerous articles and book chapters on such topics as institutional racism, discrimination against women in government and higher education, fathers in two-earner families, displaced homemakers, and family policy. She has served as both chair and graduate program director of the University of Baltimore's Department of Sociology and has chaired numerous university committees.

The recipient of grants and fellowships from many institutions, including the National Institute of Mental Health, the Ford Foundation, the American Educational Research Association, the Administration on Aging, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has for some time served as a consultant in the areas of sex and race discrimination to women's commissions, business groups, colleges and universities, and programs of the federal government, and she has made several appearances on radio and television on gender communication differences and single-sex educational institutions. She currently serves on the editorial board of Women & Criminal Justice.

Professor Benokraitis lives in Maryland with her husband, Dr. Vitalius Benokraitis, Chair of the Computer and Information Sciences Department at Shepherd College, West Virginia. They have two children, Gema and Andrius.

The author looks forward (and always responds) to comments on this 4th Edition of Marriages and Families: Changes, Choices, and Constraints. She can be contacted at

University of Baltimore
Division of Criminology,
Criminal Justice,
and Social Policy
1420 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Voicemail: 410-837-5294
Fax: 410-837-5061
E-mail: nbenokraitis@ubmail.ubalt.edu

Customer Reviews

an eye opener!
When discerning the human social condition, I always refer to this text; when conversing with family and friends about the construct of what drives humans to make relationship choices, I refer them to this text. If I have read this text ten years ago I would have not have gotten married. Knowledge is EMPOWERMENT...the information in this text will knock your socks off! From what theories drive human interaction, to learning gender roles and sterotypes, the perpetuators of gender sterotyping. We still choose who to marry by how we look, as opposed to intrinsic factors of humanness. Poverty? this book identifies why we need it and who benefits from it. Women and Children?....the most vulnarable population...is it governmental priority?....not hardly! Global male dominance?...alive,well, and thriving! This text should be required reading on every college prep and university campus.

The most comprehensive book on contemporary families
This is far more than a textbook. Filled with fascinating history and trends, this is a literary cornucopia on marriage, children, gender roles, dating, sexuality, and much more. Although written by a reknowned sociologist, the information can be equally utilized in a college class or by an individual, who is seeking current empowering information. Benokraitis provides a multitude of data on the changes in the structure of marriage and families, the choices that social groups are offered, as well as the constraints that place limits on many families in contemporary society. The book poses questions, offers insights, and summarizes critical concepts on the roles of the evolving family.
I will be utilizing this text to teach a Sociology course on Marriage & Family. It is filled with exercises, simple graphs, personal anecdotes, and outstanding summaries. This is the 5th edition, but I studied the 2nd edition 11 years ago as an undergraduate. If possible, this wonderful, comprehensive book is even better now. I cannot recommend it enough!!

Excellent book ...If I could reward more than 5 stars I would
This is probably the best Sociology books that I have ever read.It's both informative and thought provoking. Not only is the book full of useful chapter material that anyone... not just students, can use in everyday life. It is also filled with interesting history in "changes" boxes and fun filled facts in "choices" boxes. Even the "ask yourself" quizzes are worth reading. You definately learn more about human nature, relationships, and even yourself with how this text is written.