Many schools implement some form of drug-free courses or meetings to remind students of the dangers of substance abuse. There are many benefits of discussions about drug use and its effects on people of all ages. However, the way this message is being taught may prevent these programs from having the effect we would hope for.
Current Issues
One problem with most current “say no to drugs” programs is the lack of well-rounded information on all substances. Alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, prescription pills, and other substances are often portrayed to be equally dangerous and have similar negative effects. Students who do decide to try drugs in the future may find that they aren’t all the same, and some have a greater effect than others. This can cause the student’s mindset to shift to the belief that all substances must not be as harmful as they were taught, which can lead to even more dangerous experimentation.
Schools will often have an assembly once or twice a year to outline the negative effects of drug use. Many of the stories told in these assemblies are meant as scare tactics, showing the horrifying possibilities of drug effects. This may keep some kids or adolescents on edge; however, an annual assembly, however dramatic, is not a consistent reminder to say no to drugs. After hearing other stories that are not worst-case scenarios, some young people may discount the other information they learned in these assemblies. The scare tactic technique does affect some individuals, but it is not highly effective for most.
Personal Fable
Many kids, especially adolescents, fall into the perception that bad things are not going to happen to them. This fallacy is known as a personal fable. If engaging in risky behavior, they often don’t think that they will receive the consequences, and they feel a youthful sense of invincibility. This attitude is hard to contradict when teaching students about the risks of drug use. The personal fable is one of the main reasons that scare tactics do not work. They may fear the potential of the worst-case scenario happening, but they will assume it will likely never happen to them.
This is an important thing to consider when teaching students about the harmful effects of substance abuse. Discussing drug use less intensely could help students truly understand the risks of substance abuse, which may not be instantly as dramatic as portrayed in scare-tactic anecdotes. Showing how drug use can seem harmless at first, while the harsh realities are slowly setting in, can help students to understand how the effects come into play. This greater understanding can keep them from falling into the fallacy of the personal fable.
Do These Programs Work?
One question that has been debated over time is whether these programs have a positive effect on preventing drug use. After all, the goal of implementing these programs is to reduce the number of individuals who abuse substances in the future and to teach students the risk factors at a young age. Whether these programs have a beneficial effect is a controversial topic.
The D.A.R.E. program, also known as Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a common program implemented by institutions across America. This program has been observed to have a positive effect on lowering the rates of drug use; however, the effect is relatively small. While the current programs in place do help to inform students about the risks of drugs and help to prevent the use of them to an extent, it does not have as great of an effect as hoped.
Potential Improvements
Some improvements can be implemented into these programs to increase their positive outcomes. Outlining the true harm of substances without trying to implement a fear of drugs can help students make a more educated decision about saying no to drugs and refrain from using drugs as an act of rebellion.
Making students aware of the resources that are available for more information or potential support if they or someone they know is using drugs can encourage them to get help rather than continue using because they are afraid to speak up or because they don’t know where to turn. If the focus is shifted to incorporate ways to get help as well as ways to prevent these behaviors from becoming problematic in the first place, these programs may better accomplish their goals of protecting society from the harmful effects of adolescent drug use.
Bringing in recovered addicts, mental health professionals, police officers, and individuals with a deeper insight on the subject to speak on the matter may help to validate the information presented to the students. Hearing from a variety of sources can help students see an overall picture of how substance abuse disorder comes into play and how avoiding reaching the point of addiction can help lower fatality rates of substance abuse disorder.
These minor changes could increase the success rate of these programs enough to make a real difference in the futures of these children. Informing parents and caregivers of these issues as well and even implementing a required parental class on substance abuse can encourage parents to teach this information at home and reinforce it with their children.
A majority of educational institutions have some form of a program implemented within their school to encourage students to “say no to drugs.” These programs all have good intentions and the goal of lowering the number of individuals who reach a level of addiction in the future. However, they are not as effective as people may have hoped. Some tactics used in teaching these programs may not be highly effective and may even lead to reverse effects. Fortunately, some minor improvements can be implemented into these teachings that could broaden students’ understanding of substance abuse and help them to make an educated decision on their choice to partake in the behavior. To learn more about the effects of these programs currently and potential improvements that could be implemented to make success rates higher, reach out to Dream Recovery at (949) 732-1960.
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