Scare Tactics
Fast facts: • May create immediate, temporary reactions, but these do not translate to the moment of choice. • Can backfire, especially with high risk youth. • Can create the impression that drug use is more prevalent than it really is. • Decades of research have proven scare tactics are an ineffective approach to prevention.
What are scare tactics? Emphasizing the worst dangers of drug use in order to create fear and anxiety, in hopes that fear alone will prevent or stop risky behaviors.
“Programs that rely on scare tactics to prevent problems are not only ineffective, but may have damaging effects.” National Institute of Health Science Panel, 2004
Why don’t Scare Tactics work?
Four questions to ask to determine if something is a scare tactic:
1. Youth tend to dismiss the messages as a defense to the feeling of fear (e.g., “that could never happen to me”). 2. Youth have a different filter than adults (e.g., less life experience and different stage of brain development). 3. High risk groups may become MORE attracted to the behavior (e.g., sensation-seekers, impulsive, risk-takers). 4. Strong warnings can send unintended messages (e.g., drug use must be a big problem with lots of people doing it). 5. Graphic images can bring up past traumas. 6. May cause anxiety, which can lead to increased use of substances, especially when there is a lack of confidence in the ability to quit.
1. Is fear the primary element of the message? 2. Can it stand the test of time? 3. Does it include concrete steps to avoid the problem? 4. Does it teach more than just the adverse consequences of substance use?
This project is funded under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.