Citation

Leadbeater BJ, Hoglund W. J. Can. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2006; 15(1): 21-26.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

18392192

PMCID

PMC2277274

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: While school-based prevention programs often target deficits in individual children's social skills in order to limit their aggression or exposure to peer victimization, there is increasing evidence that school-wide and classroom-level factors can affect the success of these programs. METHOD: We describe the WITS Primary Program which takes a community development approach for the prevention of victimization. It was designed for kindergarten to grade 3 students, and aims to create responsive communities for the prevention of peer victimization by engaging the support of parents, teachers, school counselors, older student, and emergency services personnel. RESULTS: Evidence supporting the program's feasibility and effectiveness are reported. CONCLUSION: The prevention of peer victimization and bullying may require targeted programs with demonstrated support from many adults in young children's social networks.

Language: en