The debate regarding bullying and giftedness is still ongoing till this day. Some say that being gifted is an advantage in all aspects of life, meaning that social relationships also get better because of it. Others say that giftedness has caveats, the main one is difficulty relating to others, making the person more vulnerable to bullying.
A relevant factor in this discussion is the fact that professionals working with this group are more prone to see kids who have difficulties of some kind. That means they can have a bias and can think all gifted kids have the problems their patients have.
Knowing this is an important debate in this field, I found it appropriate to bring you research about it. Specifically, I am going to comment on a systematic review. I am not going to explain it all, if you want to learn more, I will leave the citation for you to check.
The review identifies three possibilities regarding the relation between giftedness and bullying. (1) Gifted students have a higher risk of being victimized and a lower probability of being a bully due to their individual characteristics. (2) Academically gifted students are not especially vulnerable to bullying and have a lower participation in bullying. (3) Gifted students have the same probability as other students of being both a victim and a bully. For all these perspectives, studies comparing gifted students with non-gifted students were analysed. The results show evidence supporting all three perspectives, being the last one the one with more support.
Another type of research analysed only considered gifted students, without comparing them with other groups. The results suggest a high prevalence of bullying with very negative consequences for this group. This would support the first perspective I exposed before.
There is a lack of studies on this topic and there is a disparity of results. This may be for different reasons. There is no unanimity regarding the definition of the term gifted. Different studies were conducted in different countries with different cultures and educational systems. The age of the sample and the measurement instruments. And to that I would add that not all gifted students are identified, that means some gifted students could be in the wrong group. More research is needed to have a better picture of the phenomena.
But the lack of clear evidence does not have to prevent us from doing actions. Preventive measures for this group can be taken, for example designating a peer mentor or grouping gifted students through the day to prevent a feeling of isolation.
Differences in socioemotional skills could be why some gifted kids are more exposed to bullying than others. The qualitative aspect of the bullying these students generally receive is also relevant, it includes insults referring to their intelligence, teasing about their appearance or academic qualifications. It shows a need to create a positive environment in schools that accepts individual differences.
I hope it was of your interest. If you want to learn more, I leave the citation and the link here:
Martínez-Monteagudo, Á., Martínez-Monteagudo, M. C., & Delgado, B. (2023). School bullying and cyberbullying in academically gifted students: A systematic review. Aggression and violent behavior, 71, 101842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2023.101842
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178923000290
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