Drug abuse remains an issue for adolescents and a concern for those who care about them. The number of pre-teens and teens who drink alcohol, smoke, and use drugs has remained relatively consistent for several decades. It drops for a few years, and then increasing for a few more, wavering at about the same level. The drug and alcohol resistance education (DARE) program that is used in the school environment, somewhere between fourth and sixth grades in most instances, is a way to educate students about the dangers of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs, hopefully early enough before they decide to use the products. By educating the group as a whole, the goal is to not only ward off peer pressure from trying to get each other from partaking in the illicit behavior, but getting students to practice positive peer pressure in not practicing the negative behaviors in the first place (Payne & Eckert, 2010).
Part of the program focuses on how avoiding smoking, drinking, and drug use helps one maintain a healthier lifestyle. Adults who avoid these negative health factors are less likely to develop heart disease and cancer. To give a more rational reason that is age appropriate, a teen is more attractive and socially desirable by avoiding the yellowing teeth and nails that come from cigarette smoke and being in control of one’s actions that may be lost from being under the influence of alcohol and drugs (Johnson, MacKinnson, & Pentz, 1996).
A survey of students in the 6th through 9th grades in Chicago public schools ranked DARE as one of the top reasons or the top reason that they avoided using cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol. Students identified the early education and intervention as a key role in their decision making process. Since the education was received earlier than their interest in trying to use the products, they never had the desire to have that initial use. For most of these students, the classes were in the 4th grade. The comparison tools were television advertisements and testimonials by famous personalities targeted at audiences of their current age. Students overwhelmingly identified that the early intervention was a key factor in their decision making choice of not beginning to use cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. Additionally, because of the program being delivered in a school atmosphere, they had friends that had made the same decisions and therefore had at least one friend that they could rely on to back them up when they decided to say “no” in a group situation. By not ever having to stand alone and feeling isolated as the only one not partaking in the illicit activity, it was easier to be in the minority and stand one’s ground to do what was right (Lisnov, Carol, Safer, & Kavanagh, 1998).
Hearing from the students that having the strength in numbers, even if the numbers meant only one other like-minded person meant all of the difference in their decision-making process is a definite plus for the DARE program. An additional sign that it works is that the early intervention prevented them from trying the substances.
References
Johnson, C. A., MacKinnson, D. P., & Pentz, M. A. (1996). Breadth of program and outcome
effectiveness in drug abuse prevention. The American Behavioral Scientist, 39(7),
884-884. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/214761348?accountid=35812
Lisnov, L., Carol, G. H., Safer, L. A., & Kavanagh, J. (1998). Adolescents' perceptions of
substance abuse prevention strategies. Adolescence, 33(130), 301-11. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/195928975?accountid=35812
Payne, A. A., & Eckert, R. (2010). The relative importance of provider, program, school, and
community predictors of the implementation quality of school-based prevention
programs. Prevention Science, 11(2), 126-41. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11121-009-
0157-6
