Caught off Guard

The film designed to communicate messages about preventing high-risk sexual behaviors among adolescents and young adults while integrating messages that encourage healthy behaviors. The film was designed to be divided into 5 smaller Webisodes to be posted on YouTube. The film follows a young protagonist couple as they face the consequences of a relationship soured by infidelity leading to one member contracting an STD. Main themes of the film include relationships, friendships, communication, and fidelity. The film integrates constructs from several theoretical frameworks such as the Health Belief Model, the Social Cognitive Theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action. Specific messages were integrated in order to help adolescents and young adults reflect on their behaviors and make a commitment to adopting healthy behaviors. The film is a collaboration between the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston and the Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinics. The producer, Tamecia Henderson, as well as most of the actors were students.