Hip-Hop Revolution (Stop the Hype and Become a Responsible Teen)

Hip Hop Revolution is a community-based program primarily for African
American teens aged 14-18. This eight-session program was designed as an HIV/AIDS, STD’s and Violence prevention program and includes information on pregnancy prevention as well. Group discussion and role-playing activities seek to build participants’ communication  and decision making skills regarding sexual behavior, HIV/STD and pregnancy prevention.
Abstinence education is also integrated into the program and is discussed as the best way to prevent pregnancy, promote health screening, reduce violence in the home and
community HIV/STd’s infection.

• Sexually experienced participants have lower levels of sexual activity one year after
completion of the program and immediately after completing the program, participants are more likely to use condoms during sex, put off dating, discuss and change behavior in reference to one-on-relationships with the opposite sex, and take into consideration whether safety is compromised in dating relationship. One year after finishing the program, females were more likely to use condoms, consider not dating and the impacts of violence on females, safety and health awareness of disease and abstinence. Hip-Hop is being adapted for other groups of youth, including whites, Latinos, and mixed race, teens. To date, these programs have not been as rigorously evaluated as the original program.

Program costs included /for training group leaders and -$25 per group leader trainee for curriculum and training materials. Travel costs averaged an additional
Program Description  Hip-Hop is a community-based HIV prevention program ― which also focuses on pregnancy

Prevention ― designed to increase knowledge about HIV/AIDS among African American
youth.
Population Served and Setting

Hip-Hop serves African American boys and girls aged 12-18. The program is usually
conducted in non-school community settings and includes teens both in and out of school.

Goals

Hip Hop aims to help participants clarify their values regarding sex, develop conflict
resolution skills, raise awareness of violence, reduce sexual harassment, physical and
emotion abuse and the impact it has on community, family and teenagers. Over all
participates learn to utilize effective communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.

This program is designed as an HIV/AIDS, violence and prevention program. However, the
curriculum also includes information associated with adolescent pregnancy prevention.
Abstinence is discussed as the primary way to prevent the transmission of HIV, domestic
violence use of tobacco, promote health and wellness, reproductive health among teens
and reduce and to prevent pregnancy; however teens are also taught about using condoms
to prevent HIV/AIDS, communication skills are developed with power points for peer-to-peer
education and stipends are paid to participants who complete five health education session
and prepare presentation for community education and advocacy activities. Trained teens
make health education and prevention presentation locally at community and youth events
locally and recruit and promote education and awareness across the community spectrum.

Type of Intervention

Hip –Hop participants are divided by gender into small groups, each of which had one male
and one female leader. The groups meet eight times for discussion and role-playing,
focusing on a different topic at each session (see curriculum description below).
The program is based on social learning theory and self-efficacy theory. Social learning
theory posits that individuals can act to avoid problems if they are exposed to alternative
behaviors and participate in role-playing. Hip-Hop defines self-efficacy as the belief that an
individual can prevent HIV transmission, violence in dating by choosing an appropriate
option, such as abstinence or condom, conflict resolution, explore resource for educators,
law enforcement personnel, outreach workers, victim service providers, youth workers,
teens, and others who might be interested in starting a youth-led effort to improve and
educate the community, outreach, and services for adolescent crime victims.

Main Messages
The program provides teens with HIV/AIDS prevention information and training on
communication/negotiating skills regarding sex, stresses that abstinence is the best way to
prevent HIV infection, reduce violence, identifies resources and facilitate education
workshops and other preventive measures in conflict resolutions skill, referrals and family
base education.

Implementation/Logistics
Length of program: The intervention consists of one session per week for eight weeks.
Each session is 90-120 minutes long.

Size of program: Group sizes range from five to 15 teens for each eight-week session.
Components of intervention: Four elements comprise the intervention:

• Youth receive information about HIV/AIDS risk, violence and health disparities associated
with adolescents.
• Youth are trained to use their knowledge about HIV/AIDS to act on their own behalf.
• Role-playing is used to enhance the teens’ communication skills so they can better
navigate high-risk situations

• Hip-Hop reinforces positive behaviors so they would become the norm within the teens’
social circles. The Hip-Hop Revolution provides a community base blueprint for engaging
youth in community problem-solving around the issue of teen victimization. It includes "how-
to" guidance on the four phases of the Teen Action Partnership for Teen Victims program
(community assessment, outreach, advocacy, and peer victim service), and includes ideas
for activities and reflections and defining real practical goals to reduce violence against
teens who are dating, or considering dating.