Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

We examined rates of bullying and victimization among children identified as gifted who were in transition from elementary to middle school in a Southern U.S. school district. We also investigated levels of distress associated with bullying and victimization. Our results indicated that the fourth graders, before transition to middle school, reported a significantly higher prevalence of bullying compared with the fifth graders, following transition. We also found significant, strong correlations between victimization and levels of internalizing and total distress, and between bullying and levels of externalizing distress. We discuss the implications of our findings in terms of the need for protective factors and intervention services for children who are gifted and children in general education classrooms.

Keywords

bullying affective needs gifted education middle school elementary education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Achenbach

T. M.

(1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist: 4–18 and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

Alspaugh

J. W.

(1998). Achievement loss associated with the transition to middle school and high school. The Journal of Educational Research, 92, 20–25.

Aluede

Adeleke

Omoike

Afen-Akpaida

(2008). A review of the extent, nature, characteristics and effects of bullying behaviour in schools. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 35, 151–160.

Anderman

E. M.

Maehr

M. L.

Midgley

(1999). Declining motivation after the transition to middle school: Schools can make a difference. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 32, 131–147.

Arseneault

Walsh

Trzesniewski

Newcombe

Caspi

Moffitt

T. E.

(2006). Bullying victimization uniquely contributes to adjustment problems in young children: A nationally representative cohort study. Pediatrics, 118, 130–138. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-2388

Berthold

K. A.

Hoover

J. H.

(2000). Correlates of bullying and victimization among intermediate students in the Midwestern USA. School Psychology International, 21, 65–78. doi:10.1177/0143034306064546

Blyth

D. A.

Simmons

R. G.

Carlton-Ford

(1983). The adjustment of early adolescents to school transitions. Journal of Early Adolescence, 3, 105–120. doi:10.1177/027243168331008

Boodman

S. G.

(2006, May 16). Gifted and tormented. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/15/AR2006051501103.html

Bradshaw

C. P.

Sawyer

A. L.

O’Brennan

L. M.

(2007). Bullying and peer victimization at school: Perceptual differences between students and school staff. School Psychology Review, 36, 361–383.

10.

Carlyle

K. E.

Steinmen

K. J.

(2007). Demographic differences in the prevalence, co-occurrence, and correlates of adolescent bullying at school. Journal of School Health, 77, 623–629. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2007.00242.x

11.

Centers for Disease Control. (2008). Understanding school violence: Fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/yvp/SV_FactSheet.pdf

12.

Cohen

(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

13.

Cohen

Duncan

Cohen

S. L.

(1994). Classroom peer relations of children participating in a pull-out enrichment program. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 33–37. doi:10.1177/001698629403800105

14.

Colangelo

Assouline

S. G.

Gross

M. U. M.

(2004). A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 1). Iowa City: The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development.

15.

Craig

W. M.

Pepler

D. J.

(2007). Understanding bullying: From research to practice. Canadian Psychology, 48, 86–93. doi:10.1037/cp2007010

16.

Cross

(2001a). The many faces of bullies. Gifted Child Today, 24(4), 36–37. doi:10.4219/gct-2001-545

17.

Cross

(2001b). The rage of gifted students. Gifted Child Today, 24, 43–45. doi:10.4219/gct-2001-530

18.

Durlak

J. A.

Weissberg

R. P.

Dymmicki

A. B.

Taylor

R. D.

Schellinger

K. B.

(2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405–432. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x

19.

Esbensen

Carson

D. C.

(2009). Consequences of being bullied: Results from a longitudinal assessment of bullying victimization in a multisite sample of American students. Youth & Society, 41, 209–233. doi:10.1177/0044118X09351067

20.

Espelage

D. L.

Swearer

S. M.

(2003). Research on school bullying and victimization: What have we learned and where do we go from here? School Psychology Review, 32, 365–383. doi:10.1300/J008v19n02_05

21.

Evers

K. E.

Prochaska

J. O.

Van Marter

D. F.

Johnson

J. L.

Prochaska

J. M.

(2007). Transtheoretical-based bullying prevention effectiveness trials in middle schools and high schools. Educational Research, 49, 397–474. doi:10.1080/00131880701717271

22.

Ferguson

C. J.

Miguel

C. S.

Kilburn

J. C.

Sanchez

(2007). The effectiveness of school-based anti-bullying programs. Criminal Justice Review, 32, 401–413. doi:10.1177/0734016807311712

23.

Garland

A. F.

Zigler

(1999). Emotional and behavioral problems among highly intellectual gifted youth. Roeper Review, 22, 41–44. doi:10.1080/02783199909553996

24.

Garrity

Jens

Porter

Sager

Short-Camilli

(2001). Bully-proofing your school: A comprehensive approach for elementary schools (2nd ed.). Longmont, CO: Sopris West Educational Services.

25.

Grills-Taquechel

A. E.

Norton

Ollendick

T. H.

(2010). A longitudinal examination of factors predicting anxiety during the transition to middle school. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 23, 493–513. doi:10.1080/10615800903494127

26.

Grossberg

Cornell

D. G.

(1988). Relationship between personality adjustment and high intelligence: Terman versus Hollingworth. Exceptional Children, 55, 266–272.

27.

Hampson

(2010, April 5). A watershed case in school bullying? USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-04-bullying_N.htm

28.

Haynie

D. L.

Nansel

Eitel

Crump

A. D.

Saylor

Simons-Morton

(2001). Bullies, victims, and bully/victims: Distinct groups of at-risk youth. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 21, 29–49. doi:10.1177/0272431601021001002

29.

Holt

M. K.

Finkelhor

Kantor

G. K.

(2007). Hidden forms of victimization in elementary students involved in bullying. School Psychology Review, 36, 345–360. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.12.006

30.

Houbre

Tarquinio

Thuillier

(2006). Bullying among students and its consequences on health. Journal of Psychology of Education, 11, 183–208. doi:10.1007/BF03173576

31.

Litster

Roberts

(2011). The self-concepts and perceived competencies of gifted and non-gifted students: A meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Special Education Needs, 11, 130–140. doi:10.1111/j.1471-3802.2010.01166.x

32.

March

(1997). Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.

33.

Merrell

K. W.

Gill

S. J.

McFarland

(1996). Internalizing symptoms of gifted and non-gifted elementary-age students: A comparative validity study using the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children. Psychology in the Schools, 33, 185–192. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-6807(199607)33:3<185::AID-PITS1>3.3.CO;2-U

34.

Merrell

K. W.

Gueldner

B. W.

Ross

S. W.

Isava

D. M.

(2008). How effective are school bullying intervention programs? A meta-analysis of intervention research. School Psychology Quarterly, 23, 26–42. doi:10.1037/1045-3830.23.1.26

35.

Merrell

K. W.

Walters

A. S.

(1996). The Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children: Users guide and technical manual. Logan: Utah State University, Department of Psychology.

36.

Nansel

T. R.

Overpeck

Pilla

R. S.

Ruan

W. J.

Simons-Morton

Scheidt

(2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094–2100. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094

37.

Olweus

(1989). The Student Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript.

38.

Olweus

(1993). Bullying at school—What we know and what we can do. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

39.

Olweus

(1995). Bullying or peer abuse at school: Facts and interventions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 196–200. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.ep10772640

40.

Parault

S. J.

Davis

H. A.

Pellegrini

A. D.

(2007). The social contexts of bullying and victimization. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 27, 145–174. doi:10.1177/0272431606294831

41.

Pellegrini

A. D.

Bartini

(2000). A longitudinal study of bullying, victimization, and peer affiliation during the transition from primary school through secondary school. American Educational Research Journal, 92, 360–366. doi:10.2307/1163486.

42.

Pellegrini

A. D.

Long

J. D.

(2002). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization, during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 259–280. doi:10.1348/026151002166442

43.

Pepperell

J. L.

Rubel

D. L.

(2009). The experience of gifted girls transitioning from elementary school to sixth and seventh grade: A grounded theory. The Qualitative Report, 14, 341–360.

44.

Peters

M. P.

Bain

S. K.

(2011). Bullying and victimization rates among gifted and high-achieving students. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 34, 624–643. doi:10.1177/016235321103400405

45.

Peterson

J. S.

Duncan

Canaday

(2009). A longitudinal study of negative life events, stress, and school experiences of gifted youth. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53, 34–49. doi:10.1177/0016986208326553.

46.

Peterson

J. S.

Ray

(2006a). Bullying among the gifted: The subjective experience. Gifted Child Quarterly, 50, 252–268. doi:10.1177/001698620605000305

47.

Peterson

J. S.

Ray

(2006b). Bullying and the gifted: Victims, perpetrators, prevalence, and effects. Gifted Child Quarterly, 50, 148–168. doi:10.1177/001698620605000206

48.

Reynolds

W. M.

(2003). Reynolds Bully Victimization Scales for Schools manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.

49.

Rigby

(1996). Bullying in schools: What to do about it. Melbourne: The Australian Council for Educational Research.

50.

Rigby

(1997). What children tell us about bullying in schools. Children Australia, 22(2), 28–34.

51.

Robins

R. W.

Trzesniewski

K. H.

Tracy

J. L.

Gosling

S. D.

Potter

(2002). Global self-esteem across the life span. Psychology and Aging, 17, 423–434. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.17.3.423

52.

Schneider

B. H.

Clegg

M. R.

Byrne

B. M.

Ledingham

J. E.

Crombie

(1989). Social relations of gifted children as a function of school age and program. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 48–56. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.81.1.48

53.

Sowa

C. J.

McIntire

(1994). Social and emotional adjustment themes across gifted children. Roeper Review, 17, 95–99. doi:10.1080/02783199409553633

54.

Tomchin

E. M.

Callahan

C. M.

Sowa

C. J.

May

K. M.

(1996). Coping and self-concept adjustment patterns in gifted adolescents. Journal of Advanced Academics, 8, 16–27. doi:10.1177/1932202X9600800103

55.

Yecke

C. P.

(2007). Transitioning from elementary to middle school: Tips for parents of gifted students. Digest of Gifted Research, 7(3). Retrieved from http://www.tip.duke.edu/node/851

Bullying and Victimization Among Gifted Children in School-Level Transitions

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References