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Public SafetyInformationNull

D.A.R.E. — Drug Abuse Resistance Education

Los Angeles Police Department / Purdue University / multiple evaluators · Multiple US cities · 1983

Summary

D.A.R.E. is the canonical example of a widely adopted, well-funded, intuitively appealing program that the evidence consistently found didn't work. Across 20 years of evaluations — including longitudinal studies following students for a decade — students who completed D.A.R.E. were no less likely to use drugs than students who didn't. The failure illustrates a fundamental problem with information-based drug prevention: knowing that drugs are harmful does not change drug use behavior, because adolescent drug use is driven by social identity, peer pressure, risk preference, and developmental psychology — not by information deficits. The program's continued funding despite null results became a defining case study in the gap between political popularity and empirical effectiveness, and shaped how evidence-based policy advocates think about the political economy of ineffective programs.

Research question

"Does the DARE school-based drug prevention program — delivered by uniformed police officers to 5th and 6th graders — reduce illicit drug use in adolescence?"

Methodology

Intervention

D.A.R.E. is a 17-lesson curriculum delivered by uniformed police officers in elementary school classrooms, covering drug facts, resistance skills ('just say no' techniques), self-esteem building, and decision-making. The program became the most widespread school drug prevention program in US history, reaching 75% of US school districts at its peak, with a budget of ~$1.3B/year in the mid-1990s.

Assignment

Multiple randomized controlled trials and longitudinal studies; Ennett et al. (1994) meta-analysis of 6 published studies; Lynam et al. (1999) 10-year RCT follow-up; West & O'Neal (2004) meta-analysis of 11 studies; GAO (2003) review of 6 long-term evaluations

Sample size

Lynam et al.: 1,002 students followed for 10 years from 6th grade to age 20; Ennett meta-analysis: 6 studies totaling ~5,000 students

Primary outcome

Illicit drug use (marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, harder drugs) at 1, 5, and 10 years post-program

Effect estimate

Virtually zero effect on drug use at all follow-up intervals. Ennett et al. (1994): effect size d=0.06 on drug use (near zero and below threshold of practical significance). Lynam et al. (1999): DARE and control students showed no significant differences in drug use, attitudes, or drug-related behaviors at 10-year follow-up. GAO (2003): none of 6 long-term evaluations found significant reductions in drug use.

Decision

GAO (2003) concluded DARE had no measurable long-term effect on drug use; Surgeon General listed it as an unproven program (2001); Department of Education placed it on a list of ineffective programs (2003); DARE reorganized and launched a new 'keepin' it REAL' curriculum in 2009, which has shown some evidence of effectiveness in independent trials; despite evidence, the original program remained funded in thousands of school districts through the 2010s; case became a standard example in evidence-based policy literature of program popularity vs. program effectiveness

Result

Null

Virtually zero effect on drug use at all follow-up intervals. Ennett et al. (1994): effect size d=0.06 on drug use (near zero and below threshold of practical significance). Lynam et al. (1999): DARE and control students showed no significant differences in drug use, attitudes, or drug-related behaviors at 10-year follow-up. GAO (2003): none of 6 long-term evaluations found significant reductions in drug use.

Evidence strength

Strong

Randomized trial, replicated across multiple sites or studies.

Replication status

Replicated

Institution

Los Angeles Police Department / Purdue University / multiple evaluators

Location

Multiple US cities

Year

1983

Policy area

Public Safety

Mechanism

Information

Other trials of this mechanism

Cite this entry

Los Angeles Police Department / Purdue University / multiple evaluators. (1983). D.A.R.E. — Drug Abuse Resistance Education. The Experiment Society Registry. Retrieved from https://www.experimentsociety.org/registry/dare-drug-prevention-null (primary report: https://www.gao.gov/products/ggd-03-172r)

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