Changing the social contexts of peer victimization.

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.