Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jun 2004
Source: Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX)
Copyright: 2004 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact:  http://TimesRecordNews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/995
Author: David J. Hanson, Ph.D.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)

WHAT WE CAN DO

Although the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is popular ("State 
D.A.R.E. officers gather in the Falls"), it is completely ineffective and 
sometimes even counterproductive. That's the conclusion of the GAO, the 
U.S. surgeon general, the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. 
Department of Education. Not surprisingly, the federal government now 
prohibits schools from spending federal funds on the failed program.

However, there is good news. The social norms marketing technique has 
repeatedly proven effective in reducing the use and abuse of alcohol among 
young people. It's based on the fact that the vast majority of young people 
greatly exaggerate in their minds the quantity and frequency of drinking 
among their peers. Therefore, they tend to drink - or drink more - than 
they would otherwise, in an effort to "fit in."

When credible surveys demonstrate the actual, much lower drinking rates, 
and the results are widely publicized or "marketed" to this group, the 
imagined social pressure drops and so does youthful drinking. Study after 
study demonstrates that the technique works with both alcohol and drugs.

What's more, social norms programs cost very little to implement.

It's time to use the effective social norms marketing technique to reduce 
underage drinking and substance abuse. Our young people deserve nothing less.

David J. Hanson, Ph.D.

Chapel Hill, N.C.
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