Life Course and HIV

Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhood, this project examines the influence of neighborhoods on adolescents' risks for HIV. The project aims to address the following research questions:

1. Are neighborhood-level demographic characteristics (e.g., poverty, affluence, residential stability) associated with adolescents' risky sexual behavior?
2. Do neighborhood-level social processes (e.g., collective efficacy) mediate or moderate associations between neighborhood-level demographic characteristics and adolescents' risky sexual behavior?
3. Does access to supportive institutional resources mediate or moderate relations between neighborhood-level demographic characteristics and adolescents' risky sexual behavior?
4. Do interpersonal relationships and processes (e.g., neighborhood social networks, family processes) mediate or moderate links between neighborhood-level demographic characteristics and adolescents' risky sexual behavior?
5. Are the direct and indirect links between neighborhood-level demographic characteristics and adolescents' risky sexual behavior moderated by individual-level developmental vulnerabilities (e.g., low cognitive abilities) and individual-level risk factors (e.g., exposure to violence)?

Funding Sources: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Contact: Margo Gardner , Ph.D.

Current Neighborhood/Community Projects

Completed Neighborhood/Community Projects