Changes in Exposure to Neighborhood Characteristics are Associated with Sexual Network Characteristics in a Cohort of Adults Relocating from Public Housing

AIDS Behav. 2015 Jun;19(6):1016-30. doi: 10.1007/s10461-014-0883-z.

Abstract

Ecologic and cross-sectional multilevel analyses suggest that characteristics of the places where people live influence their vulnerability to HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs). Using data from a predominately substance-misusing cohort of African-American adults relocating from US public housing complexes, this multilevel longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that participants who experienced greater post-relocation improvements in economic disadvantage, violent crime, and male:female sex ratios would experience greater reductions in perceived partner risk and in the odds of having a partner who had another partner (i.e., indirect concurrency). Baseline data were collected from 172 public housing residents before relocations occurred; three waves of post-relocation data were collected every 9 months. Participants who experienced greater improvements in community violence and in economic conditions experienced greater reductions in partner risk. Reduced community violence was associated with reduced indirect concurrency. Structural interventions that decrease exposure to violence and economic disadvantage may reduce vulnerability to HIV/STIs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Black or African American* / psychology
  • Black or African American* / statistics & numerical data
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / ethnology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Public Housing*
  • Residence Characteristics*
  • Risk Factors
  • Safety
  • Sexual Behavior / psychology
  • Sexual Behavior / statistics & numerical data*
  • Sexual Partners*
  • Social Environment*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Substance-Related Disorders / ethnology
  • Substance-Related Disorders / psychology
  • United States
  • Violence / psychology
  • Violence / statistics & numerical data
  • Vulnerable Populations / ethnology
  • Young Adult