Targeting "risky" gender ideologies: Constructing a community-driven, theory-based HIV prevention intervention for youth

Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, school-based HIV prevention educat ion targeting youth has taken many forms. Although there has been some succ ess, educators continue to be challenged by situations in which youth are k nowledgeable about HIV but continue to engage in risky sexual behavior. In this article, the authors propose that the underlying or implicit theories about teenagers' sexual risk behavior that guide most of these prevention a ctivities are not accurate descriptions or valid explanations of sexual ris k in this population. The article is divided into three major sections. Fir st, the authors articulate the theories underlying HIV prevention activitie s that are typically found in standard school-based prevention curricula, d iscussing both their limitations and strengths. Second, they discuss their increased awareness of the role of gender ideologies and sexual scripts in the sexual lives of youth. Finally, the authors describe their current HIV prevention activity ("The Game") as it emerges and is shaped by their incre asing understanding of the critical role of gender-based ideologies and sex ual scripts in young people's sexual risk behavior.