D.A.R.E. Program: A Review of Prevalence, User Satisfaction, and Effectiveness

• NCJ Number: 184319
• Date Published: October 1994
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Series: NIJ Update

Annotation

This paper reviews the prevalence, user satisfaction, and effectiveness of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program.

Abstract

The school-based D.A.R.E. program has been widely adopted throughout the country. The program is distinctive in that it uses trained, uniformed police officers in the classroom and is a combination of local control and centralized coordination. The program’s appeal cuts across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines, and there is considerable support for its expansion. Fifty-two percent of school districts nationwide have adopted the program in one or more of their schools. Support for D.A.R.E. is strong among students, school staff, parents, community representatives, and law enforcement agencies. The program has increased students’ knowledge about substance abuse and enhanced their social skills. Its effects on attitudes toward drugs, toward police, and on self-esteem have been more modest. Its short-term effects on substance abuse by fifth- and sixth-graders were small. Only the findings for tobacco use were statistically significant. D.A.R.E. may benefit from using more interactive strategies and emphasizing social and general competencies. Notes