Arland Thornton (born July 18, 1944) is an American sociologist who specializes in the study of marriage and family.
Thornton specializes in the study of marriage, family, and life course structures and processes.
His work currently focuses on intergenerational relations, cohabitation, marriage, divorce, reproductive behavior, living arrangements, and gender roles in Nepal, Taiwan, and the United States.
[1] Books authored and co-authored by Thornton include: Thornton has published chapters in ten books and published scholarly articles in the American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Journal of Marriage and Family, American Anthropologist, Ethnology, Human Biology and many others In 1995 Thornton's book Social Change and the Family in Taiwan received both the William J. Goode Book Award and the Otis Dudley Duncan Award from the American Sociological Association.
The former is awarded for the most outstanding contribution to family scholarship in the previous two years.