Associated Press. (1995, October 22). Anti-drug programs failing to reach kids, study says. San Diego Union Tribune, p. A-4.

OVERVIEW

A 500-student, 240-school study commissioned by the California Department of Education had some discouraging findings about the effectiveness of anti-drug programs. The study found that anti-drug lectures and assemblies discouraging alcohol, drug, and tobacco use lack credibility with teenagers and fail to reach those students most at risk. One elementary student said about the programs: "Oh, they lie to you so that you won’t do drugs. They think you’re dumb."

When asked whether their decision to avoid drug or alcohol use was influenced by programs such as DARE and Red Ribbon Week, more than 40% responded, "Not at all." While just 10 percent of elementary students had a negative or neutral attitude toward the programs, 90 percent of high school students voiced negativity about them. "(The program developers) are not in this for helping you, they are in it for getting rid of the bad kids and just having all the good kids in school," said one high school student.

Jordan Horowitz, one of the researchers involved in the study, said that the programs are not as effective as they could be. Jordan also suggested that the school system may not be the best place for the programs. However, the founders of DARE feel their program is effective in teaching about the problems of drug use. "There is no way to truly gauge the effectiveness of DARE. But we know it’s effective because of the people we talk to all the time," says Sgt. George Villalobos, an administrative supervisor of DARE.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do you think substance abuse awareness programs should be taken out of the schools?
2. Whose responsibility should it be to keep kids informed about the dangers of drug use? Educators? Parents? The government?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Even the findings of studies conflict on the issue of teenage drug use. Some studies report that teens are keeping away from drugs while others report that drug use among young people is increasing rapidly. Statistics aside, drug use continues to be an obvious problem.
2. The message of anti-drug programs and lectures should be re-evaluated. If they are not getting the attention of those they are aimed at, they should be restructured. Providing incentives (i.e., recognition or awards) may help kids say no to drugs.