NCJ Number
169250
Date Published
1998
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This chapter reports on a study of the effectiveness of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program to encourage youths to avoid illegal drugs.
Abstract
Eleventh-grade students were selected as the study population because they were old enough to have been confronted with opportunities to use alcohol, marijuana and hard drugs. Students' responses to a questionnaire disclosed that: (1) Students who had participated in two or three DARE classes were significantly more likely to be in a group at low risk for drug involvement; (2) The most direct and influential link to alcohol and drug use among young people is the peer group, especially close friends. DARE strengthens peer associations that discourage substance use and increases resistance to peers who encourage it; (3) DARE program students were more likely than other students to discuss the dangers of drugs with their parents; and (4) One of the additional benefits of the program was the opportunity for students to interact with police officers in a less formal environment outside of school; as a result, DARE students saw police in a more positive light than did other students. Tables