University of Wisconsin Study Questions DARE Effectiveness

DRUG EDUCATION June 1993

DARE, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, is again under fire, this time from a University of Wisconsin study questioning is effectiveness (AP, "UW Study Casts Doubt On School Drug Program," Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 5/3/93, No page).

The study of fifth- and sixth-graders in three Wisconsin counties during the 1990-91 school year showed the DARE group had lower self-esteem and was more poorly educated compared to a non-DARE control group. The DARE group failed to show improved decision-making skill, one of the major claims of the program. The study was conducted by Carol Roth, a graduate student in the University's health education department.