Introduction
Prevention programs are essential in tackling any challenge before it arises to avoid the cost of handling that problem in the long run. One of the most influential prevention programs against drug abuse in America is Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE). Types of prevention strategies include primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies, with each focusing on a stage of the drug abuse menace.
DARE
DARE focuses on eliminating violence alongside drug abuse amongst youths through the impaction of knowledge and skills vital for this purpose. This program focuses on handling peer pressure among youths, a crucial cause of drug abuse in the country. It is a school-based program implemented by more than 8,600 law-enforcement institutions across the nation (Papirom, 2019). The program is grounded in elementary schools and attempts to impact children early in life, teaching them that growth is about resisting peer pressure. The program also emphasizes personal decision-making and positivity in facing life challenges.
Effectiveness
The program has achieved massive success due to the approach of selecting informed designers. DARE was designed by educators and has been taught by specially trained officers. The program is also grounded on sound research, which offers the critical elements vital to handling the scourge of drug abuse (Papirom, 2019). These fundamental principles are accurate information, survival and decision-making expertise, and positive substitutes for drug abuse.
Conclusion
A major challenge to the program was its implementation, with the main executors being police officers. The image of the police service within the country is not that of reformers but instead, one of punishment enforcement. This was crucial in causing the development of public hysteria and mistrust amongst the public. Additionally, the program’s timing was during massive drug raids by the government and massive arrests for the suspects, striking paranoia within the public who imagined it was an undercover program.
Reference
Papirom, S. (2019). Development of learning media for drug abuse resistance education program (D.A.R.E.). [Master’s thesis, Mahasarakham University]. The Faculty of Informatics. Web.