Research Into Practice Using Your WITS: A 6-Year Follow-Up of a Peer Victimization Prevention Program

The current study examined the effects of a community-based, wholeschool peer victimization prevention program (WITS Primary Program), implemented from Grades 1 to 3, on trajectories of child-reported peer victimization and help-seeking and teacher-reported social-emotional adjustment from Grades 1 to 6. This quasi-experimental design followed a cohort of 432 children in 11 program and 6 comparison public elementary schools over 6 years. There were significant and meaningful effects of the WITS Primary Program on linear changes in physical victimization (Cohen’s d .17), relational victimization (Cohen’s d .20), and social competence (Cohen’s d .20); significant and small effects on physical aggression (Cohen’s d .09); and nonsignificant effects for help seeking and internalizing (Cohen’s d values .04 and .10, respectively) during elementary school. Following the transition into middle school, the program effects faded, with the exception of some subgroups in high-risk contexts. Our findings suggest that peer victimization prevention programming implemented in early elementary school may need to be sustained to maintain the promising early intervention gains through the transition into middle school. Studies across North America and Europe converge in reporting that approximately 10% to 30% of children are persistently victimized by peers in school (Nansel et al., 2001; Olweus, 2005). Peer victimization includes intentional acts of physical (e.g., hitting) and relational (e.g., friendship withdrawal) harm committed by one or more children and directed against a physically or socially less powerful peer (Crick & Grotpeter, 1996; Olweus, 2005). Although the past 20 years of research on peer victimization has sharpened Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Wendy L. G. Hoglund, University of Alberta, Department of Psychology, P217 Biological Sciences, Edmonton, AB, T6G2E9 Canada; e-mail: