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Gifted children have been studied by educators for many years. However, gifted adults have not been researched as extensively. The subject of this study was to determine whether characteristics which are recognized in the literature as unique to gifted children are also unique to gifted adults. The study explored questions such as: Do gifted college-age individuals have unique characteristics which are not shared by their nongifted peers? If there are unique characteristics what might they be? Do the parents of college-age individuals agree or disagree with their children's perceptions of selected personal characteristics? Are there significant differences between male and female gifted college-age individuals? If there are significant differences what are they? To explore these questions one hundred twenty college-age students, their parents, and one faculty member each were surveyed. The survey developed was a Likert scale containing forty items. Students marked their self-perception for each item. Parents and faculty marked each item indicating how they perceived the student. The student, parent, and faculty responses were compared by t-test to determine whether they showed statistically significant differences in personal characteristics between the gifted and nongifted students. Students' self-perceptions were compared to parent and faculty perceptions. Sixty of the students surveyed had been identified as "gifted" by the public school they attended in Oregon. The other sixty students had not been identified as "gifted" by the Oregon public school they attended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to document qualitative descriptors of student behaviors associated with giftedness as valued by the native Hawaiian community. Four research questions were asked: (a) Within the native Hawaiian community, how is giftedness defined? (b) What characteristics do the native Hawaiian community identify as indicative of giftedness in children? (c) To what degree does cultural distinctiveness affect native Hawaiian students' expressions of traits, aptitudes, or behaviors associated with giftedness? and (d) How does the native Hawaiian concept of giftedness relate to a set of core attributes associated with giftedness? Twenty key informants from the Hawaiian islands of Hawai'i and O'ahu were interviewed and the content of the interviews was inductively analyzed. The Hawaiian viewpoint about outstanding human abilities began with the belief that everyone is given gifts by those who come before. The areas of these gifts comprehensively span the whole spectrum of human experience and were believed to be expressible throughout a person's lifetime and across generations. In the Hawaiian community, individuals who excel with their given gifts are doing what they are supposed to do. Therefore the expression of their gifts is a natural phenomenon, not an anomaly or deviation from common law. Five rucial conditions were identified for the nurturance of given gifts. Topical ideas or categories of valued human qualities also emerged. Descriptions of specific traits, aptitudes, and behaviors valued within the Hawaiian community were given. The findings of this study appear to support the idea that gifted individuals, are present in every cultural group. There are however, differences in the interpretation of what constitutes giftedness in the Hawaiian community. The distinct differences included new dimensions such as spirituality, the conscious awareness of one's self, others (whether others were in the past, present, or future time frames), and one (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined the relationship between giftedness in women and their perceptions of how their parents behaved toward them in terms of acceptance, psychological control, and behavioral control. Sixty-six gifted and nongifted women constituted the sample of investigation. Giftedness was assessed in four areas: learning, motivation, creativity, and leadership. Perceptions of the three parental behaviors were evaluated separately for the mothers and for the fathers. Findings suggested that perceptions of acceptance, psychological control, and behavioral control were significantly related to giftedness scores in women. In addition, gifted women were found to perceive that their mothers and fathers accepted them, supported their psychological autonomy, and exerted behavioral control over them. Perceived maternal acceptance and paternal psychological control were significantly predictable from giftedness scores. No significant differences were found between the formally identified gifted and nongifted women with respect to perceptions of the parental behaviors. However, significant differences were found between the two groups on their giftedness scores, indicating that giftedness was validly measured in the study. A discussion of the results, implications, and suggestions for future research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This hypothesis-generating study explored the gender schemata of a select group of 13 gifted male adolescents. Focusing on recent feminist scholarship that has emphasized males' inherently problematic relationship to women and femininity, this study identified the cognitive/developmental and motivational factors facilitating these boys' identification with feminine values. These feminizing influences can be summarized as follows: an identification with a maternal imago; an increased involvement in extrafamilial relationships, especially among opposite-sex peers; and an intellectual perspicacity that rejects patriarchal values. The study also discussed factors that at times impede their internalization of feminine values. Based on the accumulated data, the study generated the following hypotheses to be investigated by further research: (1) Aware of feminist ideology, gifted males construct gender schemata sympathetic with feminist ideology. (2) Gifted male adolescents are strongly motivated to identify with "feminine" values--affectivity and relationality. (3) Although the boys' attachment to the mother inspires an introjection of feminine values, it is in the realm of their reawakened sexuality that deep-seated oedipal and preoedipal fears will resurface and challenge this ideal. (4) Gifted adolescent males, negotiating nontraditional sexualities, are particularly at-risk for feeling anxiety about their sexual and sex-role identities. (5) Gifted adolescent boys have a tendency toward an overintellectualization that can distance them from their own affectivity. (6) Constructing new gender schemata and sexual regimes, these youngsters will be impelled to acknowledge the limits of their own rationalism in achieving an integrated self-concept. Finally, it is suggested that this study's results can broaden and deepen our conceptions of giftedness, gender, and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Problem. This study examined the relationship between giftedness and levels of depression and self-esteem at two points in time. It was hypothesized that psychosocial stressors experienced by gifted children would result in higher levels of psychopathology in the form of depression and lower self-esteem among the gifted than among their nongifted peers. In addition, it was hypothesized that as gifted children grew older and progressed in school, levels of low self-esteem and depression would become more profound. Method. Equal numbers of elementary and high school gifted and nongifted children were selected to participate in the study. Sixty high school gifted and nongifted tenth and eleventh grade students and sixty elementary fourth and fifth grade students were randomly selected to participate in the study. Subjects were given the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory and the Children's Depression Inventory. In addition, all children were asked to complete a projective drawing of a person. Results. Significant differences were found between elementary and high school gifted and nongifted children. Elementary gifted children demonstrated a slight advantage over nongifted peers. They were found to have higher levels of self- esteem related to academics and lower levels of depression and anhedonia. However, these advantages disappeared over time, and at the high school level there were no significant differences between gifted and nongifted groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

In turn-of-the-century Europe, Lou Andreas-Salome (1861-1937) was a prolific and celebrated writer and thinker. Under the tutelage of a minister, Lou studied classical philosophy, history, and religion, subjects that were unusual for women of that time. Raised in an upper class family in St. Petersburg, Russia, Lou chose not to follow her mother's traditional path and become a lady in high society. Instead, she chose personal freedom: the freedom to create options and to direct her own life course. Lou enjoyed visiting the salons of the intelligentsia spread throughout western Europe, discussing the intellectual topics of the day. She found her niche by writing about the oppression of women through marriage (albeit in fiction) and about her ideas on religious faith. She is famous for her close associations with Nietzsche, Rilke, and Freud, men who praised Lou for her stunning intelligence and who greatly relied on her to synthesize and advance their theories. Lou engaged in numerous romantic relationships, even after she married. She thrived on the adoration of new lovers. As soon as the initial infatuation ceased, however, Lou abruptly dropped one lover for another, with little or no understanding of the pain she caused her rejected suitor. The way Lou lived her life--the way she defied social conventions, her self-centeredness in relationships, her need for constant admiration, combined with her giftedness, attractiveness, and childlike naivete--suggests a narcissistic disturbance. After a presentation of Lou's life history, with a focus on her relationships with Nietzsche, Rilke, and Freud, her biography is analyzed according to Alice Miller's theory of narcissism, as presented in Miller's work, The Drama of the Gifted Child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of the Overexcitabilities Questionnaire (OEQ) for identifying gifted African American students at the elementary level. Dabrowski's (1964, 1970, 1972, 1991) theory of emotional development provided the theoretical framework for the study. His theory addresses the relationship between cognition and emotion, and emphasizes characteristics that are prominent in the literature on giftedness. The OEQ (Lysy and Piechowski, 1983) was used to assess the five types of overexcitabilities--psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual, and emotional. The research questions guiding this study were: (1) Can the overexcitabilities, as measured by the OEQ, predict the membership according to the South Carolina Weighted Profile for the three groups--gifted, neargifted, and non-gifted? (2) Does the OEQ identify more African American students as gifted than the traditional identification method? (3) How do the patterns of OEs (profiles) compare between or among the various groups in the study? The subjects were 117 fourth and fifth grade students in four school districts in South Carolina. By ethnicity, 72 were African American and 45 Caucasian. By classification, 48 were gifted; 30, near-gifted; and 39 non-gifted. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analyses and predictive discriminant analyses (PDA). The results of the analyses indicated that emotional and intellectual overexcitabilities could reliably predict group membership although not much better than would be predicted by chance. More African Americans were identified for gifted by the OEQ, than traditional methods, in fact, the OEQ seems to favor African American males and females and Caucasian females. The comparisons of mean OE scores for the various groups showed some surprising trends. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Studies of children with IQs of 200+ are rare in the research literature. This research comprised case studies of two children with IQs of 200+ and focused on two units of analysis: (1) the profoundly gifted child, and (2) family forces. Aspects of profound giftedness included commonalities and differences in general mental characteristics, specific talents and interests, and developmental history. Family forces included values, family climate, and transgenerational influences shaping expression of child talent into either a focused or generalized manifestation. "Focused" is prodigy-like investment in a talent area manifested through professional level achievement. "Generalized" is widespread interests and abilities with no particular area claiming primary significance. Two families were selected based on child IQ, intact families, and focused vs. generalized talent. Intact families were selected to facilitate analysis of transgenerational influences. In-depth interviews were conducted with the parents, children and others who had close involvement with the children (e.g., members of the extended family, teachers, or classmates). Additional data came from clinical records, test reports, personal documents and participant observation. The children were administered the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings: Children's Form (ICMIC). The Moos Family Environment Scale (FES) was used to measure family climate. Developmental commonalities included birth trauma, early onset of language, and unpredictable cognitive leaps. Both children exhibited insight way beyond their years and experienced sudden knowledge manifesting inexplicably. The ICMIC identified the focused child as fantasy-prone (96th percentile). The generalized child scored at the 86th percentile on the Inventory (not fantasy-prone). Both manifested strong intrapersonal and interpersonal sensitivity, logical-mathematical, and linguistic abilities, less strong bodily-kinesthetic skills, and were variabl (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Meeting the individualized needs of children with advanced abilities, regardless of gender, remains a challenge for educators today despite refined identification techniques and abundant data on effective educational interventions. Research shows girls to be significantly disadvantaged by both the identification procedures for giftedness in many schools and a profile of psychosocial characteristics putting them at risk for high level achievement by middle school ages. Few studies have explored the psychosocial development of young gifted girls to illuminate factors potentially impacting their educational experience and ultimately influencing the staggering discrepancies between numbers of eminent females and males. The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive foundational information on the psychosocial development of five highly gifted young girls, Stanford-Binet L-M IQ's from 140 to 154, aged three to five. The focus of the study was the girls' observed intense sensitivities and atypical interpersonal understanding. Dabrowski's (1964) theory of emotional development assisted observation of the intense sensitivities. Selman's (1980) developmental theory of interpersonal reasoning facilitated understanding of the interpersonal organization of each child. Two dimensions of social development, Conceptions of Persons and Conceptions of Close Friendship, were explored within the contexts of home and school. A naturalistic research design was used for this study due to its inherent sensitivity to people in context, vital for a study of young children. Methodology included participant and passive observation of the children in their classrooms over a two year time period, parent interviews, and reflective clinical interviews of the children. A multiple case study replication design was used. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Gifted children may need assistance developing a positive self-concept if they are to reach their full potential. Parents play a role in shaping and influencing the attitudes and values of their children. Having a gifted child may affect the self-perceptions of the parents and the child. This study examined the relationships between specific self-perceptions of gifted children and their parents. This study included 71 families (subjects = 211), with follow-up interviews of five families (subjects = 16). The students were between 9 and 11 years old, identified as gifted, and lived with both parents. Parents and children completed a demographic information form and a questionnaire about the characteristics of giftedness. Children also completed the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), and parents completed the Adult Self-Perception Profile (Messer & Harter, 1986). For the purposes of this study, a parent was classified as gifted if she or he met certain criteria. Students reported higher self-concepts than the norming samples on the scholastic, social, behavioral, and global dimensions. Mothers and fathers tended to rate themselves lower than the norming samples. Females rated themselves lower on the athletic subscale than males, and higher on the behavioral conduct subscale. Mothers and fathers classified as gifted rated themselves higher than did nongifted parents. Because the range of self-perception scores was negatively skewed, few correlations between groups were found. Characteristics of giftedness data were collected in the areas of advanced cognitive development, persistence and motivation, standards of excellence, perspective, mental processing ability, and social and emotional qualities. The rate of agreement between parents and their children was calculated. Gifted parents had higher rates of agreement with their children than did nongifted parents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Implicit conceptions of giftedness in four parents of intellectually gifted children from different families were examined in this dissertation. Each parent's ideas were explored in case studies based on in-depth interviews. Despite the individuality of their conceptions, the parents shared some commonalities in their beliefs about giftedness. The differences in their ideas reflected not only their unique life experiences, but also the varied stages of their conceptions. The parents came from diverse backgrounds. Each family had two or three children whose ages ranged from three to nineteen years old. The participants' childhood experiences, their education, their value structures, their roles as parents, as well as their learning about, and observation of gifted children, contributed to their conceptions of giftedness. The study examined the impact of these influences on the development of their conceptions. The parents' conceptions affected their perceptions of giftedness in their children. Preliminary evidence suggested that their perceptions influenced the parents' behavior toward, and decision-making about, their children. The naturalistic case study approach revealed the contextual, "real-life" nature of the parents' conceptions. The parents thought of giftedness as a "whole concept" that described the "whole child." Rather than focusing solely on their children's intellects, the parents also viewed their children's giftedness in social, emotional, humanistic, moral, and spiritual terms. Parents conceptualized multiple types of giftedness that acknowledged their children's diverse talents and qualities. None of the parents believed that giftedness was synonymous with intelligence. Nor did they believe that giftedness could be measured solely by an IQ test. Giftedness, they concluded, was more than the sum of its parts. The cross-case analysis pointed to different stages of conceptions among the parents in terms of their learning processes about giftedness, the flux of their conceptions, and the amount of internal dissonance about the concept itself and how it affected their children's lives. Their attitudes about giftedness, however, remained independent of their stage of conception. Study findings suggested new directions for researchers who formulate conceptions of giftedness. Specific considerations in the education and counseling of gifted children's parents were provided as examples of practical applications of the results. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This dissertation explored gender differences in motivation, achievement choices, and mental health among gifted and non-gifted adolescents in the 1990s. Data were from a longitudinal survey study of motivation, activity choice, mental health, and peer and family relationships among 1179 European American children. The first study hypothesized that there would be few or no gender differences in math and science motivation and achievement choices among high school students in the 1990s because of increased efforts to encourage young women to enter technology, physics, and applied mathematics fields in recent decades. Overall, giftedness was a stronger determinant of attitudes and behaviors than gender. Growth curve hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) with an accelerated longitudinal design of three cohorts from first through twelfthgrades showed that math expectancies and values declined over time for all students, with the exception of gifted girls whose math expectancies increased. There were no gender differences in math, but there were gender differences favoring males in science expectancies and values in both ability groups. Cross-sectional analyses in high school showed that non-gifted girls took AP calculus less frequently than non-gifted boys, and gifted girls took AP physics less frequently than gifted boys. Girls in both ability groups had higher educational aspirations and expectations than boys, and gifted girls planned to go into math and physical science jobs more frequently than gifted boys. It is suggested that educators now need to focus on girls in science, and physics in particular. The second study hypothesized that gifted girls would experience more psychologic conflict over career vs. family and more academic anxiety and depression than their peers. Growth curve analysis with HLM showed that it was non-gifted girls, rather than gifted girls, who experienced the most psychological distress on all mental health indicators from seventh through twelfth grades. Furthermore, gifted girls' mental health was positively, not negatively, affected by their desire to have children. In sum, across both studies, it was non-gifted girls who had the lowest motivation and mental health. In addition to implications of these findings, the nature of giftedness in this sample is also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

A meta-analytic review of ten articles of the metacognition of gifted children was conducted. The study used comparison groups of gifted and non-gifted children. Additional analysis was done to investigate moderating variables. Results indicated that there was a relationship between being gifted and metacognition. However, when the analysis for heterogeneity was done, it came out significant. This meant that it was not homogeneous, and that differences existed that were not due to sampling error alone. Additional analysis were done to explore if the moderating variables were responsible for the heterogeneity, however, the models failed. The overall findings of this meta-analysis indicated that there is a relationship between being gifted and metacognition. However, since the analysis for heterogeneity was significant, results should be interpreted with caution. Further extensive research is needed and several suggestions were given. They included improved criteria for the determination of giftedness, clarification of the different aspects of metacognition, improved measures, and more research involving mixed ethnicities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This study has the objective of examining parental perceptions, some home environmental factors, and SES on a child's cognitive development. Two groups were used to collect data, a high SES group and a low SES group. Twenty-six preschool children, 13 females and 13 males (24 Caucasian, one African American, and one Asian) were referred for giftedness. Parents responded to two surveys, one questionnaire, and an interview. The children were administered two cognitive skills tests: (a) The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (Kaufman & Kaufman, 1983), KABC and (b) the Qualitative Use of English and Spanish Tasks, QUEST, (Gonzalez, 1991). Qualitative analyses was used to: (a) describe parental perceptions about the meaning of giftedness; and (b) describe parental perceptions about the development of giftedness. A total of seven patterns were found. Quantitative analyses was used to: (a) explore any relationship between parental perceptions and their own child's cognitive abilities; (b) explore any relationship between some environmental factors and the child's cognitive abilities; and (c) explore any relationship between the parents socioeconomic status and their own child's cognitive abilities. Quantitative results suggest that some home environmental factors do influence a child's cognitive abilities. Quantitative results also suggest that the parents' SES influences the child's performance on cognitive skills tests. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Giftedness is precious to mankind. It is vital that optimal development of the highly gifted should be assured. Psychosocial development can either promote or inhibit the full utilisation of individual abilities. The objective of this research project is to describe some aspects of friendships of intellectually highly gifted adolescents. Friendship is important, especially during adolescence. Understanding of and support derived from friendship is essential. Friendship has unique value for psychosocial development. Early healthy relationships are regarded as one of the best predictors of adjustment in adulthood. The highly gifted are categorised as a subgroup of the gifted. The majority are psychosocially well adjusted. Friendships develop through mutual interaction within the context of the family, school and peer group. The main task of the gifted is to find acceptance in a confirming adolescent culture. Their true peer group are equals in age, abilities and interests. Hypotheses arising from literature are set in accordance to three themes whereby the investigation was conducted. Six case studies of intellectually highly gifted matriculants were performed. Qualitative data collection and analysis were done by means of observation and questionnaires which served as a basis for unstructured interviewing. Theme 1. "Adolescents form friendships in essentially the following environments: family, school, neighbourhood and organisations". This investigation confirms the theme. The psychosocial well-being of the majority of intellectually highly gifted adolescents is confirmed by the available literature, although some may experience problems. Theme 2. "Friendships of the highly gifted are characterised by a few friends, older friends, friends with equal abilities and interests. Friends in their own age group is essential". According to this study they have enough friends. Theme 3. "The social task to fit in lies at the core of serious maladjustment among gifted adolescents. Sometimes they feel different". The group under investigation are accepted in their smaller social circles, but not always in the larger adolescent group. A tendency of being different is present. Adults are responsible for social contact and interaction. Given the importance of friendships, the field of research regarding peer group relationships of intellectually highly gifted adolescents has remained relatively unexplored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The research examined social and emotional adjustment of highly gifted adults. Precursors to emotional and moral reasoning development, and examples of self-actualization, were examined through a case study analysis of 41 highly gifted men and women between the ages of 40 and 60. Their IQs were estimated in the 140 to 190 range. Author-designed written questionnaires probed educational, social, and family experiences during childhood, early and middle adult years. Subjects participated via a two-stage mail survey. Findings built upon work on high giftedness of Terman, Hollingworth, Gross; talent development by Cox, Goertzel and Goertzel, and Bloom; cognitive development by Kohlberg, Rest, and Gilligan; emotional development by Maslow, Dabrowski, and Piechowski; and generational cohort effects by Strauss and Howe. The study examined (a) subjects' self-perceptions drawn from their experiences with family and school, (b) negative feedback from others, grades, issues with authority, study habits, and difficulties "fitting in" socially, and (c) career success, living up to one's potential, and adult satisfaction. Subject responses were categorized in terms of a developmental framework ranging from self-interest and self-preservation, through stereotypic roles and personality transformation, to self- actualization. The study touched on relationships between abuse, intellectual level, the Defining Issues Test ( DIT) on moral reasoning, religion, spirituality, suicide, gender, marriage, and family composition for high IQ adults. The primary findings were: (1) Participants uniformly wished they had received more feedback during childhood about their potential and abilities and more input in determining life choices. (2) Regardless of childhood experiences, some subjects chose their life's course early and have not changed; other subjects with similar experiences underwent intensive personal, and sometimes career, changes. (3) The DIT, although not designed for this purpose, distinguished between two types of subjects, those who had early identity formation without subsequent changes, and those who had made changes in their lives. The former group scored lower on the DIT. (4) Abuse and lack of support handicapped some people, but provided an impetus for change in others. Most subjects who were abused but attained higher emotional development levels named individuals who made them feel they could succeed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationships between the intelligence, creativity, motivation, and gender role identity and the academic achievement of gifted fifth grade students. The study was based on Renzulli's triad model of giftedness (Renzulli, 1978). That model defines giftedness as the integration of three clusters: high intelligence, creative ability, and high levels of task commitment (motivation). The model argues that it is the interaction among these three clusters that is necessary for outstanding performance. The study used a correlational research design and a sample of 71 gifted fifth grade students to estimate the individual and collective relationships between the intelligence, creativity, motivation, and gender role identity (masculinity and femininity) and the academic achievement. Analyses using the Pearson product-moment correlation technique and multiple linear regression procedures yielded the following results: (1) intelligence was a significant predictor of mathematics and reading achievement; (2) motivation was a significant predictor of mathematics and reading achievement; (3) creativity was not a significant predictor of mathematics and reading achievement; (4) masculinity was a significant predictor of mathematics achievement but was not a significant predictor of reading achievement; (5) femininity was not a significant predictor of mathematics or reading achievement; (6) when examined in combination, only motivation was a significant predictor of mathematics achievement; and (7) when examined in combination, only intelligence and motivation were significant predictors of reading achievement. The results of this study seem to support Renzulli's contention that intelligence and motivation are key factors in the academic performance of gifted children but do not support his argument that creativity is a key factor in the academic performance of gifted children. The results also suggest that gender role identity is not a key factor in the academic performance of gifted children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)