ABSTRACT
Although the majority of researchers and educators consider elementary schools to be safe places to promote children's academic and social competence (e.g., Pellegrini & Bjorklund, 1996), it is also recognized that peer harassment frequently occurs at school (Astor, Meyer, & Pitner, 2001). Low levels of peer bullying (e.g., hitting, pushing, shoving, and threatening) occur on a daily basis in schools across the nation (e.g., Leff, Kupersmidt, Patterson, & Power, 1999; Nansel et al., 2001). Further, some students avoid highrisk school settings, such as playgrounds, lunchrooms, and hallways (Astor et al., 2001; Leff, Power, Costigan, & Manz, 2003) because these are unstructured school contexts in which students may be harassed and victimized out side of regular adult supervision (see Leff, Costigan, & Power, 2004).
