WITS: Rock Solid Primary Program for the Prevention of Peer Violence

Project Members

* Principal Investigator: Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater, Ph.D. (Psychology)

* Co-investigators: Cpl. Tom Woods, Rock Solid Foundation; Maurine McKay, Rock Solid Foundation

* Research Assistants: Wendy Hoglund, Rachel Yeung, Lindsay Matheson, Kathleen Foran

Project Update

The "WITS Rock Solid Primary Program for the Prevention of Peer Violence" project was a 3-year longitudinal program evaluation conducted in collaboration with the Rock Solid Foundation and Greater Victoria School District #61. The WITS program aims to increase children's interpersonal negotiation skills for handling peer aggression and threats of victimization and to reduce peer aggression in schools, classrooms, and unstructured environments (playgrounds, halls, etc.). This program uses the easy to remember WITS acronym (Walk Away, Ignore, Talk, Seek Help) to facilitate implementation of the program at classroom, school, and community levels.

For a summary of the WITS project, see page 6 of the CYS Summer 2008 Newsletter

* Click here to access the WITS Manuals on the WITS website

For more information, visit the Rock Solid or the WITS website