RESEARCH STARTER

DARE programs

DARE, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a drug prevention program initiated in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department. Originally aimed at fifth and sixth graders, DARE focuses on helping children build self-esteem, understand the harmful effects of drug use, resist peer pressure, and avoid gang involvement. The program includes a series of lessons taught by law enforcement officers within public school settings. By the late 1990s, DARE had become widely adopted in approximately 80% of school districts in the United States and expanded internationally to over fifty-four countries.

Despite its popularity, evaluations of the program have raised concerns about its effectiveness, with some studies indicating that it may inadvertently increase curiosity about drugs among participants. In response to critiques, a revised DARE curriculum was introduced in 2004, reducing the number of lessons and shifting the focus toward interactive, real-life decision-making activities. Recent research from 2023 suggests that the updated elementary curriculum has had a positive effect in preventing early alcohol use and vaping among students. DARE continues to be a significant, though debated, program in the realm of youth drug prevention.

Full Article

  • IDENTIFICATION: Drug abuse prevention programs targeted at schoolchildren

SIGNIFICANCE: The DARE programs, designed to help youths make life-affecting decisions, represent a cooperative effort between the police and the local school systems.

Escalating drug abuse in the 1980s prompted the development of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983. The program’s original goal was to focus on fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school children, helping them to build self-esteem and providing them with information about the detrimental effects of drug abuse, ideas for resisting peer pressure, and strategies for avoiding participation in gangs and violent activities. Instruction was provided in seventeen lessons by trained law-enforcement officers as part of the curriculum in public schools. The program was later extended and included in middle- and high school curricula.

By the late 1990s, the DARE program had been implemented in almost 80 percent of the school districts in the United States, as well as in more than fifty-four countries throughout the world. Although it was a very popular program, results of numerous studies showed that DARE was not greatly effective in reducing substance abuse. In many cases, the program heightened the curiosity of its student participants about drug use, leading some to experimentation. The program also tended to alienate socially deviant youth. Further analysis of DARE revealed questionable objectives and content.

By 2004, a new DARE program was being implemented by many school districts in the United States. The number of lessons was reduced to ten, which focused on interactive, real-life, problem-based activities that emphasize decision-making skills. Lessons and related activities were being developed for elementary, middle school, and high school curricula. A study released in 2023 reported that the new DARE program for elementary students had a positive impact in deterring the onset of alcohol use and vaping when compared to virtual control cases.




Bibliography

Bergin, Tiffany. The Evidence Enigma : Correctional Boot Camps and Other Failures in Evidence-Based Policymaking. Burlington: Routledge, 2013. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 May 2016.

Berry, Matt. "Does the New DARE Program Work?" American Addiction Centers, 11 Jan. 2024, americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/new-dare-program-work. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Greenwood, Peter W. Changing Lives : Delinquency Prevention As Crime-Control Policy. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2006. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 May 2016.

Lucas, Wayne L. “Parents’ Perceptions of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE).” Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse 17.4 (2008): 99–114. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 May 2016.

Maran, Meredith. Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America’s Teenage Drug Epidemic. San Francisco: Harper, 2003.

Meines, Caden. "The Return of DARE: How the Curriculum Has Changed in UP Schools." Upper Michigan's Source, 11 June 2024, www.uppermichiganssource.com/2024/06/11/return-dare-how-curriculum-has-changed-up-schools/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

U.S. National Institute of Justice. The D.A.R.E. Program: A Review of Prevalence, User Satisfaction, and Effectiveness. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1994.

Full Article

  • IDENTIFICATION: Drug abuse prevention programs targeted at schoolchildren

SIGNIFICANCE: The DARE programs, designed to help youths make life-affecting decisions, represent a cooperative effort between the police and the local school systems.

Escalating drug abuse in the 1980s prompted the development of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983. The program’s original goal was to focus on fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school children, helping them to build self-esteem and providing them with information about the detrimental effects of drug abuse, ideas for resisting peer pressure, and strategies for avoiding participation in gangs and violent activities. Instruction was provided in seventeen lessons by trained law-enforcement officers as part of the curriculum in public schools. The program was later extended and included in middle- and high school curricula.

By the late 1990s, the DARE program had been implemented in almost 80 percent of the school districts in the United States, as well as in more than fifty-four countries throughout the world. Although it was a very popular program, results of numerous studies showed that DARE was not greatly effective in reducing substance abuse. In many cases, the program heightened the curiosity of its student participants about drug use, leading some to experimentation. The program also tended to alienate socially deviant youth. Further analysis of DARE revealed questionable objectives and content.

By 2004, a new DARE program was being implemented by many school districts in the United States. The number of lessons was reduced to ten, which focused on interactive, real-life, problem-based activities that emphasize decision-making skills. Lessons and related activities were being developed for elementary, middle school, and high school curricula. A study released in 2023 reported that the new DARE program for elementary students had a positive impact in deterring the onset of alcohol use and vaping when compared to virtual control cases.




Bibliography

Bergin, Tiffany. The Evidence Enigma : Correctional Boot Camps and Other Failures in Evidence-Based Policymaking. Burlington: Routledge, 2013. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 May 2016.

Berry, Matt. "Does the New DARE Program Work?" American Addiction Centers, 11 Jan. 2024, americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/new-dare-program-work. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Greenwood, Peter W. Changing Lives : Delinquency Prevention As Crime-Control Policy. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2006. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 May 2016.

Lucas, Wayne L. “Parents’ Perceptions of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE).” Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse 17.4 (2008): 99–114. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 May 2016.

Maran, Meredith. Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America’s Teenage Drug Epidemic. San Francisco: Harper, 2003.

Meines, Caden. "The Return of DARE: How the Curriculum Has Changed in UP Schools." Upper Michigan's Source, 11 June 2024, www.uppermichiganssource.com/2024/06/11/return-dare-how-curriculum-has-changed-up-schools/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

U.S. National Institute of Justice. The D.A.R.E. Program: A Review of Prevalence, User Satisfaction, and Effectiveness. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1994.

More Like ThisRelated Articles

Related Articles (5)

Related Articles (5)