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Scare Tactics in Prevention: A Losing Message

It seems intuitive to tell children and teenagers about how drugs can ruin their lives or even kill them in order to discourage them from experimenting with drugs. In fact, for decades, prevention messaging has included these kinds of messages and tactics. However, prevention science has consistently shown that youth don't respond to these kinds of messages in large part because their brains are different than those of adults. This fact sheet explains this disconnect and provides a better approach to prevention messaging.
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