Background-On a macrosocial level, neighborhood characteristics have been found to be associated with the prevalence of HIV and other bloodborne and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The current study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between neighborhood social and physical disorder and high risk sexual partners.

These findings suggest that in addition to personal characteristics of witnesses, social factors influence calling 911. Intervention at the social level may be a viable means to increase bystander helping behaviors.

Housing instability has been linked to HIV risk behaviors. Many studies have focused on the implications of one's housing structure or lack thereof. This study focuses on residential transience as an additional dimension of housing instability. Specifically, we assessed the associations between transience and four HIV risk behaviors. Transience was defined as moving twice or more in the past six months. Multivariate analyses of a sample of current injectors (n = 807) indicated that transience had an independent effect on HIV risk behaviors. Transient individuals were more likely to share needles and go to a shooting gallery than non-transient individuals. Transience was not associated with exchanging sex or having multiple sex partners when homelessness was included in the models. Further examination of the association between housing and HIV should consider the role of transience. Interventions that promote housing stability among IDUs and address HIV risk during times of instability are needed.