Project D.A.R.E.

No Effects at 10-Year Follow-Up

Donald R. Lynam, Richard Milich, Rick Zimmerman, Scott Novak, T.K. Logan, Catherine

Martin, Carl Leukefeld, Richard Clayton

Participants

• Midwestern Metropolitan Area Population- 230,000

• 1,002 Students

• 1987 - 1988

Procedures

• 10 Years following D.A.R.E. program (97-98) students were sent a letter requesting there participation in a follow-up to there earlier participation in the DARE program (87-88).

• Individuals that signed the consent form were sent a questionnaire (30-45 Minutes to complete).

• Participants were paid between $15-$50.

Measures

• Participants were asked questions about there use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illegal drugs.

• For each drug category the participants were asked if they have ever taken the drug, taken the drug within the past year, or within the past month.

Initial DARE Intervention

• The intervention was delivered by a police officer in a 1-hour session over 17 weeks.

• Officers received 80 hours of training to implement the DARE program.

• The curriculum focused on providing information about drugs, teaching decision making skills, building self-esteem, and choosing healthy alternatives to drug use.

Results• Cigarettes• Alcohol• Marijuana• Illicit Drug use• Peer-pressure• Research shows that DARE had no

statistically significance effect on the drug use above.

DARE Advocates

• Evaluated an out of date version of the DARE Program.

• The study didn’t compare DARE with a no-intervention condition but rather with a control condition in which health teacher taught there regular curriculum.

Concerns

• Control Group (Regular Health Curriculum)

• Paid for study ($15 - $50)

• Illicit Drug Use ( No baseline from 6th grade)