Homelessness and residential instability as covariates of HIV risk behavior among residents of single room occupancy housing

ABSTRACT

Homeless and unstably housed individuals are at increased risk for contracting HIV. This study examined multiple indicators of housing instability and their association with HIV risk for a sample of low-income residents living in single room occupancy (SRO) buildings in Chicago (n = 163). In the multivariate analysis, prior homelessness was associated with recent illicit drug use (adjusted odds ratio = 3.14) and self-identifying as homeless was associated with having multiple sexual partners (adjusted odds ratio = 2.99). The number of months participants had lived at the SRO was not significantly associated with any risk behaviors. Results suggest that residential stability and housing histories vary considerably among SRO residents, and that it is critical to use precise definitions to capture multiple dimensions of housing to better understand their potential relationship with HIV risk.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV risk
• homeless
• housing
• residential instability
• SRO

Acknowledgments

Portions of this research were presented at the National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work. The authors thank Sebastino Aviles for his role in participant recruitment and data collection and David Cosey and Community Outreach Intervention Projects for their support of the study.