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. 2018 Jul;47(5):1451-1463.
doi: 10.1007/s10508-018-1205-8. Epub 2018 Apr 25.

Associations Between Neighborhood Characteristics, Social Cohesion, and Perceived Sex Partner Risk and Non-Monogamy Among HIV-Seropositive and HIV-Seronegative Women in the Southern U.S

Danielle F Haley  1   2 , Gina M Wingood  3 , Michael R Kramer  4 , Regine Haardörfer  5 , Adaora A Adimora  6   7 , Anna Rubtsova  5 , Andrew Edmonds  7 , Neela D Goswami  4   8 , Christina Ludema  6 , DeMarc A Hickson  9 , Catalina Ramirez  6 , Zev Ross  10 , Hector Bolivar  11 , Hannah L F Cooper  5
Affiliations

Associations Between Neighborhood Characteristics, Social Cohesion, and Perceived Sex Partner Risk and Non-Monogamy Among HIV-Seropositive and HIV-Seronegative Women in the Southern U.S

Danielle F Haley et al. Arch Sex Behav. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Neighborhood social and physical factors shape sexual network characteristics in HIV-seronegative adults in the U.S. This multilevel analysis evaluated whether these relationships also exist in a predominantly HIV-seropositive cohort of women. This cross-sectional multilevel analysis included data from 734 women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study's sites in the U.S. South. Census tract-level contextual data captured socioeconomic disadvantage (e.g., tract poverty), number of alcohol outlets, and number of non-profits in the census tracts where women lived; participant-level data, including perceived neighborhood cohesion, were gathered via survey. We used hierarchical generalized linear models to evaluate relationships between tract characteristics and two outcomes: perceived main sex partner risk level (e.g., partner substance use) and perceived main sex partner non-monogamy. We tested whether these relationships varied by women's HIV status. Greater tract-level socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with greater sex partner risk (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.58) among HIV-seropositive women and less partner non-monogamy among HIV-seronegative women (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.51-0.92). Perceived neighborhood trust and cohesion was associated with lower partner risk (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.69-1.00) for HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women. The tract-level number of alcohol outlets and non-profits were not associated with partner risk characteristics. Neighborhood characteristics are associated with perceived sex partner risk and non-monogamy among women in the South; these relationships vary by HIV status. Future studies should examine causal relationships and explore the pathways through which neighborhoods influence partner selection and risk characteristics.

Keywords: HIV; Multilevel analyses; Neighborhood characteristics; Sexual risk; Social cohesion.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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