Objectives: We provide an updated meta-analysis on the effectiveness of Project D.A.R.E. in preventing alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use among school-aged youths.
Methods: We used meta-analytic techniques to create an overall effect size for D.A.R.E. outcome evaluations reported in scientific journals.
Results: The overall weighted effect size for the included D.A.R.E. studies was extremely small (correlation coefficient = 0.011; Cohen d = 0.023; 95% confidence interval = -0.04, 0.08) and nonsignificant (z = 0.73, NS).
Conclusions: Our study supports previous findings indicating that D.A.R.E. is ineffective.