NEW STUDY ON DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The drug education program D.A.R.E.,
widely used at schools across the country, has
little effect on whether children use drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, a
new study suggests.

Donald R. Lynam and other researchers at the University of Kentucky
tracked more than 1,000 students in Fayette County who participated in
the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in the sixth grade.

The students were re-evaluated at age 20, 10 years after their
involvement with the program.

D.A.R.E. resulted in some initial improvements in the students'
attitudes about drug use, the researchers said. But those changes
failed to last, and they did not influence the decisions the students
made.

Calls to Inglewood, Calif.-based DARE America for comment Monday were
not returned.

Lynam said the results of the study, published in the August issue of
the American Psychological Association's Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, replicate the findings of several other recent
studies.

``I think it's surprising how widespread D.A.R.E. is given the lack of
hard data suggesting it is effective,'' said Lynam, who noted that the
study was conducted on the earliest version of D.A.R.E. and
modifications have been made to the curriculum.

D.A.R.E. was started in 1983 in Los Angeles. An officer teaches 17
lessons in the classroom, usually for an hour a week.

About 80 percent of U.S. school districts have the programs. But in
the last few years, cities across the country, including Seattle,
Houston, Omaha, Neb., and Rochester, N.Y., have dropped D.A.R.E. in
the wake of critical studies.

One reason D.A.R.E. might not be effective, Lynam said, is that it
emphasizes the role of peer pressure in drug use. He said many youths
might be motivated by other factors, such as curiosity or
thrill-seeking.

And D.A.R.E. may teach children drug resistance skills years before
they need them, he said. While the program was administered in the
sixth grade, most drug use begins in high school.