Chapter 8: Giftedness and Bullying: What’s the Relation?

In this chapter, the authors highlight that many gifted children and adolescents are targets of teasing and bullying more than peers with typical development. The initial findings from a case-study at LabTalento, The Italian Laboratory of Research and Development of Potential, Talent and Giftedness at the University of Pavia is presented. The authors affirm that typical risk factors for bullying victims are similar to many traits prevalent within the intellectually gifted population—gifted children are usually felt and perceived as different from their peers; often stand out as “quirky,” “strange,” or “weird,” and they may have unusual interests for their age that further isolate them. A call for further research and implications for practitioners are highlighted.