Can scare tactics and fear-based messages help deter substance misuse: a systematic review of recent (2005–2017) research

AbstractIntroduction: Historically, substance use prevention relied heavily on scare tactics and fear-based messages. However, these messages were discouraged from use due to research finding them ineffective or harmful. This review sought to determine if recent research continues to support this finding.Methods: We conducted a literature review of relevant peer-reviewed studies from 2005 to 2017, categorising results as showing clear evidence of effectiveness, mixed evidence of effectiveness or no evidence of effectiveness. Research on historical scare tactics and fear-based messages was reviewed as a baseline and research on related theoretical models was reviewed for context.Results: We identified 17 studies that met our inclusion criteria: 10 targeting tobacco use, five targeting alcohol use, one targeting marijuana use and one targeting methamphetamine use. Eight (8) studies found that these messages were more effective at influencing substance use-related measures than positive emotion prevention me...