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Substance Use Prevention Programs in the United States

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Substance Use Prevention Programs in the United States

In the United States, substance abuse has become a prevalent issue, with the majority of

substance abusers also having comorbid or secondary disorders. Notably, substance abuse can

affect any person despite their age, sex, or gender. According to a study carried out by American

Addiction Centers in 2017, about 9% of men and 5% of women above 12 years old in the United

States have substance abuse disorders (Lynskey et al., 2020). This shows that women are also

somewhat prone to substance abuse despite men being associated with a higher likelihood of

substance abuse. Therefore, numerous prevention programs have been established to educate

people on preventive measures against substance abuse, hence helping them develop a healthy

lifestyle and give them a sense of accountability. Hence, in light of the topic, the discussion will

focus on two of the major substance use prevention programs in the United States: Drug Abuse

Resistance Education (DARE) and the Strengthening Families Program.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE)

Drug Abuse Resistance Education is a well-funded and commonly known school-based

drug prevention program in the United States. Notably, the program has attracted over $750

million in terms of funding since it was launched. DARE was founded by the Los Angeles

unified school district in association with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1983.

The program is primarily aimed at young children (D.A.R.E. America, 2021). Notably, the

program actively teaches young people ways of avoiding drug abuse as well as stigmatization.

Besides, some districts have integrated this program into the high school curriculum. DARE is

majorly focused on compete abstinence; hence it educates children about the effects of substance

use. Moreover, they teach the children various techniques and skills which help them overcome

peer pressure and experimentation related to substance use.

Notably, Drug Abuse Resistance Education is funded by both the government and private

donors. Therefore, due to the government backing, the program has been received well in most

districts. However, despite the program being popular and integrated into the majority of the

school districts in the United States, many have questioned the benefits of the program. That is,

when assessing DARE's effectiveness, it was found that the program had a minimum effect when

it came to substance use prevention. In addition, there was no substantial evidence showing the

program's impact on people's lives (West & O'Neal, 2017). Nevertheless, the program is still

being widely used across the United States because it has shown a significant improvement in

the relationship between law enforcement and the local communities.

Besides, DARE uses the role modeling model; that is, the older siblings and adults live

replicable lifestyles, which can be emulated by the students, particularly by avoiding substance

use. Moreover, the program can be used to motivate or support the ones who are struggling to

overcome certain behavior. Additionally, based on its goal of teaching numerous techniques of

avoiding substance, the techniques can be altered to fit the client's treatment plan, hence

promoting coping skills to avoid substance abuse and change behavior that could trigger

someone to abuse substances (Lohman, 2018).

Strengthening Families Program

The Strengthening Families Program is a substance use prevention program that was

founded in 1982 by Dr. Karol Kumpfer (Kumpfer et al., 2019). Notably, the program's main aim

is to provide evidence-based training to both adults and children in relation to avoiding substance

use and parenting. Besides, the program is primarily community-based, being utilized in high-

risk populations because it offers family skill training, parent training, and child training, which

help substance use prevention significantly. Strengthening Families Program is a non-profit

program; hence it depends on private donors for funding; however, it is also provided grants by

the government. The program is present in the United States as well as other 36 countries around

the globe. Most of its training can be accessed through in-person or online classes, which

available weekly, as well as video media.

The program focuses on family relationships and dynamics with the aim of integrating

positive bonds. Therefore, enforcing these positive bonds fosters a healthy relationship, meaning

that parents can monitor their children, teaching them to be more accountable and avoid

substance abuse. Notably, the Strengthening Families Program has been termed as a successful

evidence-based program because, based on studies in 15 countries where the program has been

implemented, the results have shown that the program has improved family ties, reduces

negative behavior, and reduce substance use by children and adults significantly (Kumpfer et al.,

2019). Overall, for families who have undergone thought either of the three training, the children

have a low risk of substance use in the future, meaning that the program is beneficial and

effective.

Risk Factors

Like intervention programs, substance use prevention programs ensure they assess,

observe, and know the client to provide a successful plan. Besides, it is crucial to evaluate

whether a group, individual, or community is in an area that could be detrimental to their well-

being and in high-risk proximity (Lynskey et al., 2020). Therefore, this shows that risk factors

can vary depending on numerous aspects such as employment, cultural and socioeconomic

factors. Hence, being in a position to identify and reduce the risk factors can enable the

integration of protective aspects in someone's life, thus lowering the likelihood of substance use

in the future.
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Government Backing

Notably, both Drug Abuse Resistance Education and Strengthening Families Program has

got government backing considering that they are both given grants by the government to enable

them to finance their projects. Besides, Drug Abuse Resistance Education has had become part

of some districts' curriculum. According to Lynskey et al. (2020), if substance use prevention

programs are well integrated and utilized in schools, there can be a significant delay of substance

use by the younger generation, hence reducing the number of substance abusers. Therefore, with

the integration of DARE in the schools, the program has created awareness for the children on

the ways to avoid substance use (D.A.R.E. America, 2021).

Conclusion

Conclusively, in the United States, substance abuse has become a prevalent issue, with

the majority of substance abusers also having comorbid or secondary disorders. Therefore, there

are numerous prevention programs established to educate preventive measures against substance

abuse, hence helping them develop a healthy lifestyle and give them a sense of accountability.

Two of the major substance use prevention programs in the United States are the Drug Abuse

Resistance Education (DARE) and Strengthening Families Program. DARE is highly focused on

complete abstinence; hence it educates children about the effects of substance use. On the other

hand, the main aim of the Strengthening Families Program is to provide evidence-based training

to both adults and children in relation to avoiding substance use and parenting. Notably, both

Drug Abuse Resistance Education and Strengthening Families Program has got government

backing considering that they are both given grants by the government to enable them to finance

their projects.
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References

D.A.R.E. America. (2021). The effectiveness of Project DARE: Does it work? Journal of

Alcohol & Drug Education, 40(2), 40.

Kumpfer, K. L., Molgaard, V., & Spoth, R. (2019). The Strengthening Families Program for the

prevention of delinquency and drug use. In R. D. Peters & R. J. McMahon (Eds.), Banff

international behavioral science series, Vol. 3. Preventing childhood disorders, substance

abuse, and delinquency (p. 241–267). Sage Publications, Inc.

https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483327679.n11

Lohman, J (2018). Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program. Journal of Alcohol &

Drug Education

Lynskey, M., Heath, A., Bucholz, K., Slutske, W., Maddon, P., Nelson, E., . . ., Martin, N.

(2020). Escalation of drug use among early cannabis users vs. co-twin controls. Journal

of the American Medical Association, 289(4), 427–433.

West, S. L., & O'Neal, K. K. (2017). Project D.A.R.E. Outcome Effectiveness Revisited.

American Journal of Public Health, 94(6), 1027-1029.