Neely 1 Jasmine Neely Kramer CAS 138T 11 April 2013 Drug Education and the Social Norms Approach

What is heroin? According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIH) it is an illegal addictive drug processed from morphine, another drug that has pain relief action. That is the official definition. It is clinical and based off of science and research. Yet if you asked someone affected by heroin, they would give you a very different answer. It would be personal. It would not be based off of research or statistics, but instead based off of experiences and feelings. If you ask Jordin what heroin is and she will tell you it is her life. Jordin and I grew up together. We went to the same elementary, middle, and high school, shared classes, lunches, and secrets we were close friends, until she found a new best friend. Her name was drugs. Coming from a small town with very close knit schools, someone being hooked onto drugs was shocking thing, especially at such a young age like 14. I remember fifth grade, getting overly excited every week to miss language arts or SSR (sustained silent reading) to attend D.A.R.E. It was a program led by police officials on drug prevention education. To me, it was the best thing ever, I took the pledge to never do drugs, my neighbor took the

Neely 2 pledge to never do drugs, Jordin took the pledge to never do drugs. Shortly afterwards, that pledge became another broken fifth grade pinky promise. Upon graduating the D.A.R.E program life went on, there were no more drugs are bad weekly messages from policemen, though some may say there should have been. In middle school, about 2-3 years after experiencing the D.A.R.E. program, Jordins life changed forever. She was introduced to heroin and became hooked immediately. She never attended 8th grade graduation, because she left school for heroin. Although she was well-informed of the harmful effects it can have on the mind and body, she still used, and used, and used, until it became a priority in life. She used so much she put her first son at risk. Six out of nine months of pregnancy, baby Riley was on heroin. My friend Jordin isnt the only person whos had the D.A.R.E. experience yet became a drug addict or used drugs of any sort. My friend Jordin isnt the only person who didnt benefit in the long run from this drug prevention education program, D.A.R.E. A study completed by Zili Sloboda in 2009 showed that 31% of D.A.R.E. graduates and non-graduates had used drugs just 4 years upon completion. Along with Jordin and the 31% of graduates, there are stunning numbers when it comes to teenage drug usage in general. In the MTF (Monitoring the Future) Survey of last year, illicit drug use has steadily risen at high rates. In 2012, 6.5% of 8th graders, 17% of 10th graders, and 22.9% of 12th graders used

Neely 3 marijuana in the past month. (DrugFacts: High School and Youth Trends.") But illicit drugs arent the only things are fellow teens are trying. In another MTR survey in 2012, it was found that 14.8% of high-school seniors used a prescription drug for non-medical, recreational, purposes in the past year. (DrugFacts: High School and Youth Trends.") With teenagers using drugs as young as thirteen and fourteen years old, the teachings of drug education should be evaluated and reconsidered. A program like D.A.R.E. that is specifically implemented and annually funded to educate and prevent the use of drugs amongst teens, is not doing such a great job. The positive correlation between D.A.R.E. graduates and drug use shows that something is going wrong in the process. It could be the program, it could be the teaching official, or it could be the teaching methods, but as multiple evaluations have shown that D.A.R.E. is ineffective, something needs to change to make it effective. The change that needs to occur, I propose, is a change in the teaching methods of Drug Education and Teenagers. In changing the teaching methods of Drug Education the D.A.R.E. program falls to the Social Norms Approach of teaching. How is it so? D.A.R.E.s lesson plans focus on providing accurate information on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, teaching good decision making skills, showing how to recognize and resist peer pressure, and gives students positive alternatives for drug use through a 17 week process. Another big teaching method of D.A.R.E. is role-playing, where it emphasizes the bad of drug usage and reinforces the

Neely 4 skills to resist pressure when put in a position to use drugs or not. (What Is Dare?) However, there isnt one individual program that is completely successful. Although D.A.R.E. does help students in decision making with drugs (Dare ProCon) its percentage of graduates that use drugs is still relatively high, which could potentially be reduced with the effective alternative, the Social Norms Approach. (David J. Hanson Ph.D.) The Social Norms Approach was established by social psychologists. It is different from D.A.R.E. in that it does not teach an abstinence only curriculum; where the common message and motto is Just Say No, it educates teenagers on the misconceptions of normal behavior and it provides teenagers with statistical facts about drugs, drug usage, and behavior. (David J. Hanson Ph.D.) Because many teenagers believe that their peers use drugs more commonly and harshly than they actually do, they conform in order to fit in, which is a very powerful force society has on a person, as stated by Dr. Karen Gasper of Penn State. Through the conduction of surveys and presentation of true statistics, the truth on true teenage drug use is revealed. The constant feeling of pressure teens feel to do what their peers do, or what they allegedly do, is relieved when the statistics show that the percentages of those who actually use and say they use is lower than expected. These surveys and presentation serve as an eye opener that the stories theyve heard of drug use are simply lies, they are stories of conformity and exaggerations.

Neely 5 Implementing the Social Norms Approach in the teachings of drug education will be more effective than the D.A.R.E. program because it is relatively inexpensive when you compare the two. In order for an officer to become an official they must go through training, which costs about $4,000 per officer. A research paper by Edward Shephard showed that to fund the program it costs about $300 per student annually, not including the materials that are required. About, $25-60 million a year is spent solely on materials necessary to run the program. Lastly, to run the D.A.R.E. program costs roughly $750 million to $1 billion annually. (David J. Hanson Ph.D.) The social norms approach on the other hand, is a lot cheaper because to fund and run because it does not require trained officers to serve as teachers and it can be taught by health officials like gym teachers and/or health teachers. The Social Norms Approach operates differently than the D.A.R.E. program. Instead of installing a 17 week program that simply produces teens with facts on drugs and scenarios on potential drug usage, it aims to further understanding of drugs and drug usage amongst peers. Because of it being a teaching approach, it can be taught by those who currently teach on drugs and drug usage, health teachers. This saves citizens a great deal of money and students a great deal of time, because it doesnt put their lessons behind as does the D.A.R.E. program because it is not interfering with another classes and there arent any outside sources being brought in that are required to be paid.

Neely 6 The Social Norms Approach would be implicated during the mandatory health class time that students are required to complete upon high school graduation. As opposed to having officers serving as mentors the Social Norms Approach would offer programs like Big Brother Big Sister to have young adults serving as mentors and leaders in drug usage. The offering of the program would allow teens to build a positive relationship with someone close in their age, as opposed to a figure of authority. When there are people like Dr. Gilbert Botvin of the Cornell Medical Center asserting that D.A.R.E. doesnt work, including their delivery methods, then it is time for a change. And If theres a way to lower the teenage drug usage statistics, and that way is through teaching the teens why these statistics appear to be so high, about the misconceptions, the social norms approach need be implemented in schooling systems for the sake of our children. Mentors that are relatable need be provided in order to build a relationship with someone a teenager could trust, if they were in a predicament to use drugs or not. If Jordin was taught that teen drug statistics can be misleading and if she and if she had someone to guide her through temptation, heroin may not have controlled her life. If she knew that half of those who said they used, didnt she may have been able to save her life but because she wasnt informed, she conformed. No one guided her, no one explained anything to her. This can change, it just begins with the teaching.

Neely 7 Works Cited "D.A.R.E. ProCon.org." D.A.R.E. ProCon.org. ProCon.Org, 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2013. <http://dare.procon.org/>. "DrugFacts: High School and Youth Trends." High School and Youth Trends. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/high-school-youthtrends>. Hanson, David J. "Drug Abuse Resistance Education: The Effectiveness of DARE." Drug Abuse Resistance Education: The Effectiveness of DARE. Alcoholfacts.org, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2013. Hanson, David J., Ph.D. "Alcohol: Problems and Solutions." Effectiveness of DARE. Potsdam.edu, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2013. <http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/YouthIssues/1059145293.html>. "Heroin: Abuse and Addiction." What Is Heroin? National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2013. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/heroin-abuseaddiction/what-heroin>. Shepard, Edward M., III. "Cost of D.A.R.E." Cost of D.A.R.E. Institute of Industrial Relations, Nov. 2001. Web. 5 Apr. 2013. <http://www.reconsider.org/issues/education/economic_costs_of_d.htm >. Spitzer, Wolfgang. "Inebriated Discourse." : DARE To Get Rid Of Ineffective Drug Prevention Programs. Inebriated Discourse, 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 5 Apr. 2013. <http://www.inebriateddiscourse.com/2010/01/dare.html>. "Teens: Alcohol And Other Drugs | American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry."Teens: Alcohol And Other Drugs | American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. AACAP, Mar. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/teens_alcohol_and_ot her_drugs>. "What_is_DARE." What Is D.A.R.E.? Dare.com, 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.dare.com/home/Curriculum/what_is_DARE.asp>. Zili Sloboda, ScD, et al., "The Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Study: A Randomized Field Trial of a Universal Substance Abuse Prevention Program," Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Jan. 21, 2009