Abstract
A large literature suggests that social norms contribute to HIV and substance use related behaviors. Less attention has been given to neighborhood factors that may contribute to the development of norms about risky behaviors. We examined the cross-sectional associations between perceptions of one's neighborhood and norms of perceived prevalence of, and peer support for sex exchange and risky injection behaviors. The sample consisted of 719 people who reported injecting heroin and cocaine and did not move in the past 6 months in Baltimore, MD. Living in a neighborhood with disorder was associated with believing that others exchanged sex, practiced risky injection behaviors (descriptive norms) and approved of risky injection behavior (injunctive norms).
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 181-186 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Health and Place |
Volume | 33 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2015 |
Keywords
- Disorder
- Drug use
- HIV
- Neighborhood
- Norms
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Life-span and Life-course Studies