D.A.R.E.'s goal is to educate children about the dangers of abusing drugs and resorting to violence. Children are shown how to resist the pressures from their peers and the media to use drugs. During role-plays the children practice saying no to offers of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. So when it happens in real life they will have something to fall back on. D.A.R.E. also works on building the child's self-esteem.
Studies show children with a healthy self-esteem are less likely to use drugs.
D.A.R.E. talks about consequences and how everything we do in life has consequences good or bad. And that we have to resist the urge to resort to violence to resolve our problems. D.A.R.E. is a prevention program so it is hard to measure what you prevent. But if we change one child's life in a positive way, we effect hundreds upon thousands of people in a positive way. D.A.R.E. is in 52 countries worldwide.