The objective of this study was to investigate gifted students' involvement with the practice of bullying, based on the roles they may take on as victim, aggressor, and/or witness. Participants included 118 students (107 from public schools and 11 from private schools) who attended a program for gifted students offered by the State Department of Education of the Federal District, Brazil. The data were collected through a questionnaire on bullying. The results indicated that gifted students experienced, in the regular schools where they were enrolled, episodes of bullying in its different forms of manifestation. Among the bullying behaviors most cited by the participants as victims were "messing with" or humiliating the victim, gossip, creating intrigue, throwing objects and excluding the victim from playing. Name calling, excluding the colleague from playing, throwing objects, "messing with" or humiliating the colleague and disdain were the most frequent bullying acts pointed out in the condition of aggressor. The majority of the bullying behaviors were manifested in a disguised way, making it difficult to identify these acts, thus requiring a closer look by the adult. This study should contribute to a broader understanding of the phenomenon of bullying among the gifted, besides providing inspiration and guidance for adopting measures to confront this situation that is so damaging to the students involved.
Special Education; Bullying; Giftedness; School
