ABSTRACT
In the United States, Project DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is one of the most widely used substance abuse prevention programs targeted at school-aged youths. In recent years, DARE has been
5 the country's largest single school-based prevention program in terms of federal expenditures, with an average of three-quarters of a billion dollars spent on its provision annually. 1 Although its effectiveness in preventing substance use has been called into question, its
10 application in our nation's schools remains very extensive?-6
Given the recent increases in alcohol and other drug use among high school and college students,7 the continued use of DARE and similar programs seems
15 likely. In a meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of DARE, Ennett et al.3 noted negligible yet positive effect sizes (ranging from 0.00 to 0.11) when outcomes occurring immediately after program completion were considered. However, this analysis involved 2 major
20 limitations. First, Ennett et al. included research from nonpeer-reviewed sources, including annual reports produced for agencies associated with the provision of DARE services. While such an inclusion does not necessarily represent a serious methodological flaw, use of
25 such sources has been called into question. 8
Second, Ennett and colleagues included only studies in which postintervention assessment was con-
KERI K. O'NEAL University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill
ducted immediately at program termination. As noted by Lynam et al.,6 the developmental trajectories of drug
30 experimentation and use vary over time. Thus, if individuals are assessed during periods in which rates of experimentation and use are naturally high, any positive effects that could be found at times of lower experimentation will be deflated. Likewise, assessments
35 made during periods in which experimentation and use are slight will exaggerate the overall effect of the intervention.
