The Navy Alcohol Safety Action Program (NASAP): A Critical Analysis of an Effective Drug Education Program

Abstract

The Navy Alcohol Safety Action Program (NASAP) is promoted as an effective alcoholism prevention education program. As a facilitator for NASAP, I became interested in trying to determine why NASAP education is effective, when almost all other drug education programs are not. Accordingly, I decided to use my honors thesis as a vehicle to research the subject of drug education, and then try and focus on aspects of NASAP education that might account for its reported effectiveness. With this idea in mind, three goals for this thesis were developed. 1. To define the magnitude of the drug problem against which preventive education is directed. 2. To examine the effectiveness of past and present preventive education efforts. 3. To identify an instrument for assessing the effectiveness of NASAP education other than with measures or recidivism.