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This is a book about why people nurture. It traces the origins of caring and caregiving from the earliest mammals, describes neurobiological evidence, and explores the social psychological processes of both caregiving and attachment. This book helps us to understand why parents choose to nurture children and why romantic partners choose to nurture one another

Explanatory logics -- Sociology, science, and applied theory -- Theoretical systems -- The refinement of theoretical systems -- Creating theory: the art of normal science -- Action theoretical orientations -- Action theoretical orientations -- Social systems and social structure -- Self interest: exchange -- Self interest: power -- Self interest: adaptation -- Relationships: social bond -- Relationships: altruism -- Auxiliary theoretical orientations -- Auxiliary logic: function -- Auxiliary logic: identity -- Theories -- Action theories of parental nurturance -- Evaluation -- The sociology of sociological theory

AbstractThis paper proposes connection abstract theory as a detailed abstract formulation of the volitional elements of John Bowlby's theory of child attachment and its expansion to include adult relationships. Connection abstract theory is a formal statement of causal connections within and between attachment and caregiving systems. It is so‐called to give an unambiguous name to the attachment–caregiving relationship. The analysis addresses some limitations traceable to the cultural background within which Bowlbian theory was developed. This paper rethinks these limitations by conceptualizing the emotional motivations for attachment and caregiving. In so doing, it goes beyond individual differences to focus on microfoundations of normative attachment and caregiving processes and expands the potential activators of attachment. Connection abstract theory asserts that caring is the emotion that motivates the caregiving system and that trust is the emotion that motivates the attachment system.

Abstract
How do sex risk and protection change over the course of a relationship? It is often claimed that protection generally declines over the course of relationships. This 3-year longitudinal study examines 412 new sexual relationships described by 126 adult participants and tests this claim. Analyses identify four relationship trajectories: only 15% of new sex relationships show a declining trajectory of protection; another 12% show only a temporary decline. Population average analyses previously interpreted to show a decline in protection are shown here to be is largely explained by the attrition of the low trust, high protection relationships that creates the association between higher trust and lower protection. The long-term relationships turn out mostly not to have been low trust, high protection relationships at the start. Instead they have mostly always been high trust, low protection relationships. Other proposed theories, notably self-protection and power theories are not supported, while drug use is supported for 15% of the sample. Only trust and secondary partners successfully account for the observed patterns of protection and attrition. Actors seem to be concerned to protect their partners, using more protection with a secondary partner who might provide a risk to the primary partner.

Thanks to the phenomenal success of attachment theory, great progress has been made in understanding child and adult relationships. The success of attachment theory opens the way to new research directions that can extend its successes even further. In particular, more work on the fundamental nature of attachment that respects recent biological research is important, as is concentrated effort on the related caregiving system.

John Bowlby hypothesized an attachment system that interacts with caregiving, exploration, and fear systems in the brain, with a particular emphasis on fear. Neurobiological research confirms many of his hypotheses and also raises some new questions. A psychological model based on this neurobiological research is presented here. The model extends conventional attachment theory by describing additional attachment processes independent of fear. In this model, the attachment elements of trust, openness, and depending interact with the caregiving elements of caring, empathy, and responsibility.

Social norms are often cited as the cause of many social phenomena, especially as an explanation for prosocial family and relationship behaviors. And yet maybe we love the idea of social norms too much, as suggested by our failure to subject them to rigorous test. Compared to the detail in social norms theoretical orientations, there is very little detail in tests of normative theories. To provide guidance to researchers who invoke social norms as explanations, we catalog normative orientations that have been proposed to account for consistent patterns of action. We call on researchers to conduct tests of normative theories and the processes such theories assert.

Structured home interviews with 99 U.S. and 60 Japanese families included a projective exercise in which families made pictures of the family. The marital relationship, as presented in that picture, was compared for the two samples. The data can be summarized with two overarching themes: similarity and tradition. A number of themes were similar for families in both cultures: the tendency to see the parents/mates as a unit, and to see them as close to each other, the greater likelihood of including grandmothers in the family (compared with grandfathers), and the pattern of sons being more likely to be closest to fathers, daughters to mothers. Traditional themes were more common in the Japanese families. Marriage appeared to be based more o n a personal relationship in the U.S., with mates seen as more similar to each other than in Japan. Father/husbands were more likely to be seen as isolated in Japan; with mother/wives depicted as more connected with children.

Describes how HIV and AIDS are carried and spread, particularly for high‐risk groups, but adds that it is not only behavioural but also those behaviours in conjunction with others. Employs figures and tables for added explanation and emphasis. Chronicles some individual case studies showing different "risk" behaviours and types of "unsafe" practices. Makes clear that the use of varied types of education are of major importance in the fight against ignorance and nonchalance in the battle against AIDS.