Parents' Perceptions of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE)

• NCJ Number: 224206
• Journal: Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: 2008 Pages: 99-114
• Author(s): Wayne L. Lucas
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined responses from 420 parents of fifth-grade and sixth-grade students in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in a midwestern county in order to determine the parents’ perceptions of the impact of DARE on their children’s and their own attitudes and behavior.

Abstract

Key findings show that most parents did not observe any DARE impact on their child’s school performance or overall school attendance. Most parents perceived that the program’s impact was strongest in improving their child’s understanding of and ability to resist drug use. Parents also reported that their children had an improved perception of police officers due to the DARE program. For the parents themselves, most reported an increased awareness of substance abuse problems and increased conversations with their children about drug use as a result of DARE. Given the acknowledged limitations of this study, the researchers recommend continued research that examines parents’ perceptions of the DARE problem, since this stakeholder group has received little attention and apparently has been a strong support group for DARE in the face of evaluation that have concluded DARE to be ineffective as a drug-use prevention program. Within 1 midwestern county composed of urban, suburban, and small communities, 3,600 fifth-grade and sixth-grade students participated in DARE programs in 54 public and private elementary schools in the fall of 2002. The study distributed surveys to 2,001 parents of DARE students at 26 schools within the county. Of the surveys distributed, 420 were completed and returned by parents (21-percent return rate). The survey instrument was designed to assess parent’s perceptions of the DARE program with respect to their children’s school performance and attendance, their assertiveness and communication ability, understanding and resisting drug use, perception of police officers, and how parents perceive DARE’s impact on themselves. 2 tables and 29 references