Katkin, C., Williams, C., Wang, J., & Curry, A. (2005). Health Psychology, 24(1), 96-100.

Synopsis
Living in a disadvantaged urban neighborhood can increase a male resident's risk of contracting HIV, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their study related disadvantaged neighborhoods to stress and then linked individual stress to increased injection drug use in male study participants. This is the first empirical study that illustrates how neighborhood characteristics may directly lead to HIV infection. The study is published in the January 2005 issue of Health Psychology.

The researchers examined data from a survey of 701 injection drug users from the Self-Help in Eliminating Lethal Disease (SHIELD) Study, an HIV prevention intervention in Baltimore, Md. They found that psychological distress or feelings of hopelessness and helplessness is higher in more socially deprived neighborhoods and that stress led to greater injection frequency and needle sharing. They also learned that an increase in injection drug use leads drug users to share drug equipment. The researchers did not see a clear correlation between stress and injection frequency in female study participants. The researchers note that depression is often viewed as a personal or individual attribute that should be treated with medication or psychotherapy.

However, the results of this study suggest that depression may be due in part to living in stressful, disadvantaged neighborhoods. Needle exchange programs, neighborhood revitalization projects and assistance with obtaining legal employment can improve neighborhood quality and reduce stressors, according to the study authors.  

Source
http://www.jhsph.edu/PublicHealthNews/Press_Releases/2005/Latkin_HIV_Risk.html