Contributor: Yvette McBride Thomas
Prevention Programs
“Just Say No”
- Sponsored by local governments and found in schools and public agencies.
- The program’s message is incorporated into public service announcements on television to influence preteens and teens by their peers to say “no” when offered a cigarette or other addictive or dangerous substance.
D.A.R.E.
- Drug Abuse Resistance Education
- Found in late elementary and early middle school grades
- Uses police as instructors and provides case scenarios that challenge fifth and sixth graders to think about and answer them.
S.A.D.D. and M.A.D.D.
- Students against Drunk Driving
- Mothers against Drunk Driving
- These associations help educate and orient young people about the hazards of drug abuse and the dangers of addiction
Tobacco and Cocaine Programs
- These programs focus on the external and internal factors important to teens. External factors
- External factors include: breath, teeth, clothes, and costs.
- Internal factors include: lifestyle choices, time management, and nutrition.
- Group pressure and dynamics are common elements in prevention.
- Adolescents who get involved in the use of drugs do so because of friends who use drugs.
- When a group perceives drugs as hazardous, its members are less likely to engage in the behavior.
- Educational and support groups are a valuable tool to help ward off abuse and addictive behaviors
