T5Substance Use Prevention in the United States (1)
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Substance Use Prevention in the United States
Kirsten L. Gabbard
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University
CNL-501: Substance Use Disorders and Addictions
Professor Thomas
December 6, 2023
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Introduction
Substance abuse is a widespread struggle for many people in the United States. A variety
of people also struggle with a comorbid disorder alongside their substance abuse. According to
the American Addiction Centers (2023), “about 9.4% of men and 5.2% of women age 12 and
older had a substance use disorder.” Substance abuse disorders are a more common occurrence in
males but females also are quick to struggle with abuse when they start using a substance.
Counselors need to encourage their clients that are dealing with a substance abuse problem so
that they are open to the services where they can receive help. Counselors should provide quality
information regarding the resources that are available for the clients therefore they can easily
seek prevention services and a healthy life that is drug free.
Program Description
Drug Abuse Awareness and Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) and the Early Action
Against Teen Drug Use: Teens as Communicators to Their Peers (EAATDU) are two of the
programs that the United States public school systems are using to help students be aware of the
substance abuse problems that are affecting its citizens. D.A.R.E. is a well funded program that
is widely used throughout the United States for drug and alcohol prevention that was originally a
program aimed toward children in elementary school going into middle school (D.A.R.E., 2015).
This age range was chosen because it is a critical developmental stage of vulnerability to making
bad decisions due to peer pressure. The program quickly expanded because of the popularity
nationwide of working with children of all ages from kindergarten to high school. The EAATDU
is a program geared toward high school students that combines drug awareness with critical
thinking, communication skills, problem solving skills and positive peer influences (Dekorne,
2010). It initially was designed to meet the national educational standard so it focuses on math,
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language arts, health and life skills. The EAATDU encourages its students to discuss what they
had learned and how to fortify their house against the use of drugs.
Program Goals
D.A.R.E. focuses their efforts on advocating for people to maintain abstinence from using
any drug (D.A.R.E., 2015). They provide students with information about what different drugs
do and how they affect the user. The program teaches students techniques that can be used to
resist peer pressure, refuse drugs if offered, enhancing their self esteem and avoiding peers that
use drugs (D.A.R.E., 2015). The long term goal of the EAATDU is to integrate their program to
meet the national education curriculum standards so that more schools can use it and prevent
adolescent drug use (Dekorne, 2010). They want to use this integrated approach to meet the
children where they spend the majority of their time and combine drug prevention into the skills
that are taught in their classroom.
Program Funding
D.A.R.E. is funded by to school district it is using the program and some private
donations (Albrecht, 2023). The amount that they are funded is based on the budget of said
school district and the state that it operates in. The police that need to be trained for the D.A.R.E,
program are funded by asset forfeitures (Albrecht, 2023). The EAATDU is funded purely from
charitable donations by partners, corporations and government backers (Dekorne, 2010).
Program Effectiveness
There are many mixed feelings on the results and usefulness of the D.A.R.E. program
because the results vary between the overwhelming variety of the results. Some of the
evaluations that the program uses have not been beneficial and although it has immediate
outcomes for students because it increases their knowledge on abstaining from using drugs, the
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effects usually only last for a year or two (O’Neal & West, 2004). There was not a distinguishing
difference that can be seen after a few years between the children that participated in the
D.A.R.E. program versus those who did not have the chance. One study showed that the program
had a positive impact on the elementary aged children and smoking cigarettes with the program
being five times more effective for the ones who completed the program (D.A.R.E., 2023).
Another study showed that it is just as effective as other school based programs because it
positively impacts the students knowledge, attitude towards and the necessary skills for
preventing drug use (National Crime Prevention Centre, 2009). The EAATDU has had some of
the same results as the D.A.R.E. program as they are mixed as well. One study showed that this
program reduced teenagers' use of cigarettes and marijuana by fifty percent (Griffin, Botvin, &
Williams, 2023). Unfortunately the program was unable to eliminate anywhere close to the
amount of adolescent drug use that needs to be addressed and the prevention that was taught
subsided by young adulthood.
Risk Factors
There are an abundance of factors that make a person at risk for possibly struggling with
a substance use disorder and co-occurring conditions. Before anything else, there are early
childhood risk factors that can often be overlooked because it is superseded by the risk factors
that are affecting their current life. If a mother smokes or drinks during the prenatal period it can
cause the unborn child to have possible cognitive impairments which can cause their toddler self
to have bad temperaments and poor self regulations as they age. Other factors that can cause a
child to stress is illness, maltreatment, poverty and parents that use substances. Poor self
regulation and stress increase the child's likelihood of abusing substances (American Addiction
Centers, 2023). Another factor that detrimentally affects drug use is self medication for the
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presence of mental illness. Anxiety and other impulse control disorders often begin before the
age of eleven therefore the presence increases the risk of using substances to relieve the
symptoms that are associated with these disorders (Carter, 2020).
Government Involvement Analysis
D.A.R.E. has recently been introduced as a “keepin’ it REAL elementary and middle
school curriculum” that many government organizations have positively endorsed (D.A.R.E.,
2015). Both D.A.R.E. and EAATDU are effective programs because of the government's help on
enhancing the knowledge on substance abuse disorders as well as make their curriculum more
mainstream. The majority of children the program effects spreads the word on the effects of
using drugs and alcohol at their age but it could hinder the children that never even had a thought
of drugs. Those children might have been naive but now field the possibility of trying what they
heard about because of the mainstream power that shone a light on the popularity of drugs. When
children are in their developmental stage of growth a popular program will have an influence that
could backfire and cause more damage than good to the child.
Conclusion
Substance abuse is a prevalent issue for many people in the United States and the
majority of them have a secondary or comorbid disorder too. Substance abuse affects anyone
no matter their sex, age or gender. Although men have a higher likelihood for being
associated with a substance, women ate prone to substance abuse as well. Numerous
programs have been established throughout the United States to prevent substance abuse by
educating people, giving them a sense of accountability and developing a healthier lifestyle.
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References
Albrecht, H. (2023). D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). Morristown, Indiana.
https://www.morristown.in.gov/department/division.php?structureid=44
American Addiction Centers. (2023). Alcohol and Drug Abuse Statistics (Facts About
Addiction). American Addiction Centers.
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/addiction-
statistics
Carter, C. (2020). Can Marijuana Help My Teen Manage Anxiety?. University of
California Berkley.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_marijuana_help_my_teen_manage_anxi
ety
D.A.R.E. (2015). D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL Elementary and Middle School
Curriculums Adhere to Lessons From Prevention Research Principles. Drug Abuse
Awareness and Resistance Education.
https://dare.org/d-a-r-e-s-keepin-it-real-elementary-
and-middle-school-curriculums-adhere-to-lessons-from-prevention-research-principles/
D.A.R.E. (2023). Proven effective and evidence-based through multiple studies. Drug
Abuse Awareness and Resistance Education.
https://dare.org/d-a-r-e-s-keepin-it-real-
elementary-and-middle-school-curriculums-adhere-to-lessons-from-prevention-research-
principles/
Dekorne, C. (2010). Early Action Against Teen Drug Use -Teens as Communicators to
Their Peers: A Unit for High School Educators. U.S. Department of Justice.
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/early-action-against-teen-drug-use-
teens-communicators-their-peers
Griffin, K., Botvin, G., & Williams, C. (2023). Long-term behavioral effects of a school-
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based prevention program on illicit drug use among young adults. National Institute on
Drug Abuse.
https://doi.org/10.1177/22799036221146
National Crime Prevention Centre. (2009). School Based Drug Abuse Prevention:
Promising and Successful Programs. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/sclbsd-drgbs/sclbsd-drgbs-eng.pdf
O'Neal, K. & West, S. (2004). Project D.A.R.E. Outcome Effectiveness Revisited.
National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448384/