Marriages and Families: Intimacy, Diversity, and Strengths

by David H. Olson, John DeFrain

This introduction to marriages and families accentuates the positive aspects of relationships and focuses on enriching students’ knowledge and experience in building strong, successful couple and family relationships. The authors, both seasoned family scholars and therapists, integrate research, theory, and practical application with an interdisciplinary perspective on marriage and family.

Genres: Nonfiction, Textbooks, College, Read For School

640 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1997

About the author

David H. Olson Ph.D. Psychology Relationships

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loving the focus of strengths in families rather than focusing on what we all do wrong...

Update: I can't believe that I actually like a textbook enough to keep it!!! So positive with great insights.

[Jenai Auman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a required textbook for my Family Dynamics class. I enjoyed reading it; it gave a lot of context of how families interact and how they can interactly different from others. The multicultural awareness this book brought forward is indispensable as practitioners certainly should not generalize family dynamics when working with families who do no identify with the dominant culture. I appreciate the in-depth discussion on communication styles, attachment styles, engagement and cohesion within familial relationships. I also felt like it gave me the language to identify my own experiences. I appreciated this book.

[Katelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a textbook, this book wasn't actually that bad. It was very informative and I liked the layout of it as well. I really enjoyed the summaries at the end of each chapter. They summarized things well and helped me to understand exactly what the point of each chapter was.

[Nancy Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good informative text book on the subject of families and relationships. I will keep in my personal library for future referencing.

[Lexie]

DNF at 57% because I got tired of reading it. Read for my Marriage and Family Relations class.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

so bad so bad but it was for a class i am taking. fetal stages kinda cool. good communication techniques but so dry and "utah"

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great textbook!

[Kay Kay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class. There was some good information hidden in this book, but you had to wade through a lot of garbage to get to it. Very disappointing.

[Patricia Lott · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did not adopt this text I am open to reading again without a decision deadline to get a better feel for it