For decades, communities, schools, and healthcare providers have struggled with the challenge of preventing and treating substance abuse. Our understanding of addiction has grown since the first attempts at prevention—DARE—which means the way we approach prevention and treatment has grown as well.
While prevention (stopping people, usually children and young adults, from using or drinking at all) is still a worthy goal, it’s extremely unrealistic to assume that drug addiction and alcoholism can be wiped out entirely through school-based prevention programs.
Similarly, as long as alcohol (and increasingly marijuana) are legal, there will always be a percentage of normal users who become addicted through no fault of their own. This means there will always be a place for treatment.
In reality, a combination of prevention and treatment is not just effective—it’s necessary for success.
In this post, you’ll learn how modern evidence-based prevention programs work and why traditional rehabilitation and treatment programs will always be needed.
The DARE Program: A Cautionary Tale
Launched in the 1980s, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program spread to schools all across America.
With its “Just Say No” message and police-led curriculum, DARE tried to prevent drug use among middle-school and high-school children by teaching them about the dangers of drugs and how to resist peer pressure.
However, despite its widespread adoption, DARE has been largely considered a failure for a number of reasons.
Why DARE Fell Short
Numerous studies have shown that DARE had little-to-no impact on preventing drug use among youth, and some even suggested that it may have had the opposite effect.
The program’s oversimplified approach, lack of interactive learning, and reliance on scare tactics failed to address the complex social, emotional, and environmental factors that contribute to substance abuse.
Moreover, the police officers who delivered the curriculum often lacked the necessary training in education and child development to effectively engage students.
The Emergence of Evidence-Based Prevention
In the wake of DARE’s failures, researchers and educators have tried to develop more effective prevention programs based on scientific evidence.
These programs take a more comprehensive, skills-based approach to drug education, focusing on helping students develop the knowledge, attitudes, and abilities they need to make healthy choices.
Effective Prevention Strategies
Programs such as Life Skills Training (LST), Project ALERT, and the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) have demonstrated success in reducing substance use among young people. These programs typically incorporate a combination of strategies, including:
- Teaching personal self-management and social skills
- Addressing peer pressure and drug resistance techniques
- Involving families and communities in prevention efforts
- Providing developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant information
- Using interactive and engaging teaching methods
By taking a more holistic approach to prevention, these programs have been able to achieve measurable reductions in substance use initiation and escalation among participants.
The Importance of Early Intervention
One key lesson from the success of evidence-based prevention programs is the importance of early intervention.
By targeting young people before they develop substance use patterns, these programs can help prevent addiction and the associated negative consequences.
This is crucial because the majority of adults with substance use disorders begin using drugs or alcohol in middle school or high school.
Traditional Rehabilitation and Treatment Will Always Be Necessary
While prevention is important, it’s just as important to provide effective treatment options for people who have already developed substance use disorders.
As mentioned, it’s unrealistic to think prevention efforts can be 100% successful—there will always be a small percentage of young people who use drugs and/or alcohol despite these programs.
Additionally, these programs aren’t universal—many schools do not have the funding or manpower to implement them, a situation that is also unlikely to change, especially for poorer school districts.
Finally, addiction is not 100% predictable, and many people develop substance use disorders later in life (despite receiving prevention education). While there is sometimes a trigger for the disorder to develop—for instance, divorce or job loss—there’s often no clear reason at all.
School-based prevention efforts can’t help someone who becomes addicted to alcohol for no particular reason in their 30s or who develops an opioid addiction in their 50s after a major surgery—that’s what treatment is for.
Traditional rehabilitation and treatment programs, such as inpatient and outpatient facilities, have been the core of addiction care for many decades—they’re not going anywhere anytime soon, and they need funding just as much as these other programs.
The Role of Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation programs provide a structured environment for people to focus on their recovery, often incorporating a combination of individual and group therapy, medical care, 12-step programs, and support services. These programs help people:
- Detoxify from substances safely
- Find a safe place to live and recover from their disease
- Identify and address the underlying causes of their addiction
- Develop coping skills and strategies to prevent relapse
- Build a support network of peers and professionals
- Plan for ongoing recovery and reintegration into the community
Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
For people who don’t require inpatient care, IOPs are a great treatment option that allows them to continue working or attending school while receiving intensive therapy and support.
IOPs typically involve several hours of programming per day, several days per week, and may include individual and group therapy, family counseling, 12-step meetings, and medication management.
Rehabilitation and Prevention Are Both Required for Long-term Success
While traditional rehabilitation and treatment programs can be effective in helping people get sober, relapse rates remain high—it’s estimated that 40–60% of people relapse at some point in the 1st year after treatment.
This highlights the importance of ongoing support and aftercare to help people maintain their recovery. It also shows that prevention is important—given how difficult it is to successfully fight this disease, the lower the number of people who end up with addiction problems in the first place, the better.
Addiction is a Complex Problem—It Requires a Complex Solution
Substance use disorder is a complex public health issue that requires compassion, understanding, and evidence-based solutions.
By investing in effective prevention, treatment, and recovery programs, we can help individuals, families, and communities thrive.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, we can help. Learn more about what sober living is like here, or read about what it’s like to live at Solutions of North Texas here.