According to recent UNAIDS estimates, 7 per cent of Kenyan adults are currently infected with HIV and more than half of all new infections occur among young persons. Despite widespread awareness of AIDS, there has not been a significant decline in risky sexual behaviors. This study is based on data from the 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. Analyses are conducted to examine the linkages between AIDS-related knowledge, risk taking behavior, self-perceived risk and preventive behavior among Kenyan youth. The results confirm that education is not sufficient to change risky sexual behaviors. Some of the obstacles to behavioral change are youth's distorted perceptions of personal susceptibility to infection and young women's inability to implement prevention strategies when their perceived risk of infection derives from their partner's behavior