Non-gifted Adolescents Research Articles

Effectiveness of invention tasks and explicit instruction in preparing intellectually gifted adolescents for learning

Solving a novel problem has recently garnered some attention as a viable alternative to traditional explicit instruction in the preparation of students for learning. This study investigated the effectiveness of introducing problem-solving tasks and worked examples prior to explicit instruction, along with the use of contrast, for gifted and non-gifted adolescents. One hundred and ninety-nine students from academically selective government and Independent high schools participated in this study. The 2 × 2 × 2 research design that was used examined the effects of giftedness (i.e., gifted vs. non-gifted), instruction-type (i.e., problem-solving vs. worked examples), and structure (i.e., high vs low contrast materials) on the learning outcomes of transfer and procedural knowledge. The study also examined the impact of explicit instruction and invention-first instruction strategies on non-performance variables—self-efficacy, extraneous load, experience of knowledge gaps, and interest. The results of the study suggested that invention-first instruction may be more effective than example-first instruction in transfer, and that gifted students may benefit more from invention-first instruction than example-first instruction. The use of contrast materials was not found to affect performance. Furthermore, instruction was found to have no significant effects on the investigated non-performance variables. Collectively, these findings challenge the conventional teaching modality of explicit instruction in gifted education, and puts forward the possibility of the invention-first strategy as an effective instructional strategy for gifted students.

Personality and school functioning of intellectually gifted and nongifted adolescents: Self-perceptions and parents' assessments

Ambivalent stereotypes of the gifted still persist in the public. The aim of the current study is to provide a holistic picture of the personality (Big Five) and school functioning (motivation: academic self-concept, school values, achievement motives, achievement goals; grades; general knowledge) of gifted and non-gifted adolescents via self-reports and external assessments from their parents. Moreover, this is one of the first studies examining self-rated intelligence results and results from an objective intelligence test simultaneously. The sample comprised N = 760 students from five schools (age: M = 16.66, SD = 0.68; n = 411 female). Intellectual giftedness was defined as having an IQ two standard deviations above the mean value. We used propensity score matching to draw a comparable control group of nongifted adolescents (covariates: age, gender, and socioeconomic background; both groups n = 97). Gifted adolescents scored higher regarding openness to experience and had better grades, reported higher motivation, and evaluated themselves as more intelligent than nongifted adolescents. Parents of gifted adolescents rated their children higher on motivation, intelligence, and general knowledge than parents of nongifted adolescents. Taken together, we found no hints that gifted adolescents display any anomalies regarding personality, motivation, or school success.

Coping strategies adopted by adolescents: A comparative study in relation to gifted status, gender, and family size

This study examines differences in coping strategies (CSs) in relation to gifted status, gender, and family size. Two hundred gifted adolescents were selected from gifted schools, and 1000 non-gifted adolescents were selected from ordinary schools. One-way multivariate analysis of variance produced significant differences among the subjects in relation to gifted status, gender, and family size. Descriptive discriminant analysis revealed that the CS “Seeking Professional Support” was the most significant to distinguish between gifted and non-gifted adolescents among the selected variables (i.e. gifted status, gender, and family size). Moreover, “Investing in Close Friend” was the most significant to distinguish between the participants in relation to gender. On the other hand, “Ventilating Feelings” contributed the most in distinguishing between the subjects in relation to family size.

Faces presenting sadness enhance self-control abilities in gifted adolescents.

Self-regulation skills refer to processes allowing emotional and cognitive adaptation of the individual. Some gifted adolescents are known for their imbalance between high intellectual abilities and low emotional skills. Thus, this study aimed at examining the interplay between emotion and cognition in gifted and non-gifted adolescents. A stop-signal task, a response inhibition task including neutral, happy, or sad faces as signal triggering inhibition, was administered to 19 gifted and 20 typically developing male adolescents (12-18years old). Gifted adolescents showed lower response inhibition abilities than non-gifted adolescents in the neutral and happy face conditions. Sad faces in gifted adolescents were associated with higher response inhibition compared to happy condition. In typically developing adolescents, emotional information (happy or sad faces) was related to lower response inhibition compared to neutral face condition. This study highlights that gifted adolescents present different self-regulation skills than their typically developing peers. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Some gifted adolescents present higher intellectual abilities alongside with lower socio-emotional skills. Self-regulation skills refer to processes allowing emotional and cognitive adaptation. Self-regulation skills might help to understand gifted adolescents, but remain scarcely studied. What does this study adds? Task-relevant emotional information impaired cognitive control in typically developing adolescents. Gifted adolescents are able to use sad faces to enhance their cognitive control abilities.

Are gifted adolescents more satisfied with their lives than their non-gifted peers?

Studies investigating the life satisfaction of intellectually gifted and non-gifted students are scarce and often suffer from methodological shortcomings. We examined the life satisfaction of gifted and non-gifted adolescents using a rather unselected sample of N = 655 German high-school students (n = 75 gifted), adequate comparison groups of non-gifted students, and a clear definition of giftedness (general intelligence g > 2 SD above the mean). There was no difference in life satisfaction between gifted and non-gifted adolescents (d < |0.1|). Girls reported somewhat lower life satisfaction scores than boys (d = 0.24). However, this result was not specific to giftedness but was instead found across the entire sample. Thus, gifted girls were not found to be especially unsatisfied with their lives. Our findings support previous research showing that giftedness is not a risk factor for impaired psycho-social well-being of boys or girls.

« Qui suis-je ? » Quelques spécificités du discours sur soi à l’adolescence chez les sujets à haut potentiel intellectuel

ObjectiveStudents are considered intellectually gifted when their intellectual quotient (IQ) scores on scales such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (e.g., WISC IV) are 130 or higher. The socio-emotional development of these intellectually gifted students and, more specifically, the development of their self-concept, are of growing interest among today's parents, teachers, practicing psychologists and directors of institutions. This research apprehends some characteristics of the discourse of self among French gifted high school teenagers who have spent their scholarship in heterogeneous classes (i.e. in “ordinary” classes). MethodsOur sample include 84 gifted high school students (Intelligence Quotient more or equal to 130), whose age ranges from 13 to 18years old (M=15.5; σ=1.0). These high school students are compared with 84 “mainstream” high school students (who have never been identified as gifted from an Intelligence Quotient greater than or equal to 130 and who have never skipped classes) on various criteria: gender, family (sociocultural background and information about siblings) and scholarship situation (the class they are in, if they have already repeated a class or not, average school marks). Each of these teenagers has produced a text in response to the question “Who am I?”. ResultsWe present here the results of the lexicometric analysis (Alceste software, version 4.7) performed on all the collected textual data. The lexicometric analysis of the corpus made up of texts written by gifted and non-gifted adolescents in response to the question “Who am I?” made it possible to identify a discourse specific to gifted adolescents. Gifted adolescents adopted a reflexive discourse by which they questioned their own identity and the general construction of identity as well as other wider themes such as happiness, difference, relations with others, etc. The existential questions frequently attributed to gifted adolescents were thus found here. The atypical intelligence of a gifted adolescent, with its extreme richness and complexity, gave the young person an incredible lucidity, a sharp analysis of things, people and himself. This intelligence enabled a fine analysis of all environmental elements. This way of being in the world, constantly in search of meaning, seemed to create a permanent and diffuse anxiety, one which could not be calmed by certitudes: the beginning of every answer appeared to indefatigably lead to new questions, new interrogations, new anxieties. None of the three classes, however, was significantly associated with non-gifted adolescents. These results lead us to moderate the idea that the representations of self of gifted adolescents are very different from those of non-gifted young people. Beyond the characteristics related to the status of gifted versus mainstream teenagers, the speech of self is linked to gender, age, sociocultural background and educational attainment of adolescents. ConclusionTaking account of gifted teenagers’ speech of self allows understanding more accurately their experiences and how they integrate or not giftedness to their identity. In addition, the comparison of results obtained on samples of gifted adolescents to those obtained with non-gifted adolescents with similar sociobiographical sheds light on the characteristics of self-representations of gifted adolescents. Finally, the recognition of the heterogeneity of this population (and the identification of variables that might explain it) encourages to take them into account and to adapt solutions to their teenagers’ profiles.

Academic Giftedness and Alcohol Use in Early Adolescence.

Adolescence is a period of development particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol use, with recent studies underscoring alcohol's effects on adolescent brain development. Despite the alarming rates and consequences of adolescent alcohol use, gifted adolescents are often overlooked as being at risk for early alcohol use. Although gifted adolescents may possess protective factors that likely inhibit the use of alcohol, some gifted youth may be vulnerable to initiating alcohol use during adolescence as experimenting with alcohol may be one way gifted youth choose to compensate for the social price (whether real or perceived) of their academic talents. To address the dearth of research on alcohol use among gifted adolescents the current study (a) examined the extent to which gifted adolescents use alcohol relative to their nongifted peers and (b) examined the adjustment profile of gifted adolescents who had tried alcohol relative to nongifted adolescents who tried alcohol as well as gifted and nongifted abstainers. More than 300 students in seventh grade (42.5% gifted) participated in the present study. Results indicated gifted students have, in fact, tried alcohol at rates that do not differ from nongifted students. Although trying alcohol was generally associated with negative adjustment, giftedness served as a moderating factor such that gifted students who had tried alcohol were less at risk than their nongifted peers. However, evidence also suggests that gifted adolescents who tried alcohol may be a part of a peer context that promotes substance use, which may place these youth at risk for adjustment difficulties in the future.

Protective Factors as Barriers to Depression in Gifted and Nongifted Adolescents

Despite continued efforts by researchers, a gap still exists in our understanding of the psychological, social, and emotional adjustment of gifted students. Historically, research and education of the gifted has focused on cognitive variables, with less attention given to the social and emotional needs of these students. The current study used data from the full Add Health data set to examine how protective factors moderated depression differently for gifted and nongifted adolescents. Results of the study indicate that gifted students are significantly less depressed than nongifted students, and all of the protective factors moderated depression for both groups. Future research should examine additional indicators of psychosocial well-being provide a more comprehensive framework for understanding the social and emotional development of gifted and nongifted adolescents. Putting the Research to Use: Empirical research examining the unique social and emotional needs of gifted adolescents is at a critical juncture. Both educators and researchers have become increasingly aware that giftedness, in whatever form, has unique influences on the social and emotional development of gifted adolescents. In line with previous findings, results in the current study suggest that for both gifted and nongifted adolescents, social support at home and at school can play an important role in reducing problems (i.e. depression) and at the same time enhancing resiliency. It is time, as Ford (1994) has suggested, for educators and researchers to take substantial steps to strengthen the “family-school-community” link in order to provide adequate social support in the many contexts that both gifted and nongifted adolescents live (Bronfenbrenner, 1977).

Vocational interests of gifted adolescents

Many studies regarding vocational interests of gifted adolescents investigated samples that were pre-selected in one way or the other (e.g., participants from special schools for the gifted or from gifted counseling programs). Controversial findings resulted in part due to this sample bias. Therefore, 106 intellectually gifted adolescents ( IQ ¯ = 136 ) from a non-pre-selected sample were compared to a matched sample of 98 adolescents of average ability ( IQ ¯ = 103 ) . Participants completed a questionnaire measuring vocational interests according to Holland’s (1997) theory. In analyses of variance, gender did not moderate any effects of giftedness significantly. Gifted adolescents displayed higher investigative interests ( d = 0.54) and lower social interests ( d = 0.38) than non-gifted adolescents. Differences between both groups regarding their realistic, artistic, enterprising, and conventional interests were negligible. A complementary analysis with a subsample of those adolescents who attended the highest high school track revealed additionally higher realistic interests ( d = 0.36) and lower enterprising interests ( d = 0.40) of the gifted.

Parenting Styles and Mental Health of Arab Gifted Adolescents

This study examined the parental styles and psychosocial adjustment of adolescents and the relationship between them in gifted as compared to nongifted Arab adolescents. Five scales—The Parental Authority Questionnaire, Child Attitude Toward Parents, Lipsitt’s Self-Concept Scale for Children, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and The Psychological State Scale—were administered to 118 gifted and 115 nongifted Arab adolescents in Israel. Results indicate that parents of gifted adolescents tend to be more authoritative and less authoritarian than parents of nongifted adolescents. The attitudes of the gifted adolescents toward their parents were more positive than those of the nongifted adolescents. The gifted displayed higher self-esteem and fewer identity disorders, phobias, and conduct disorders than the nongifted adolescents. The authoritative parental style correlates positively with the mental health of both gifted and nongifted adolescents, while the authoritarian parenting style impacts negatively on the mental health of the gifted, but not of the nongifted adolescents. The study results indicate that the authoritarian parenting style is a crucial factor that influences the well-being of gifted children and may affect their psychological adjustment. More studies are needed among gifted underachievers and among eminent talented Arab writers and artists.

An examination of the literature base on the suicidal behaviors of gifted students

This article involves an examination of the literature concerning suicide among gifted adolescents. Background is provided concerning the historical overview of the field of suici‐dology and the theory on suicide. The literature on suicide among adolescents in general is overviewed, and the literature concerning suicide among the gifted is examined in more depth. Lastly, the literature on the role schools can play in suicide prevention and intervention is examined due to the impact educational institutions can have on the lives of students, including the gifted. What is apparent from this review is that the knowledge about suicide among adolescents has grown dramatically since the conception of the field of suicidology. However, the literature directly concerned with the topic of suicide among gifted adolescents is filled with much conjecture rather than empirically sound research. At this time there is no significant research to support the claim that the rates of attempted or completed suicide among the gifted differ from rates on nongifted adolescents, but research does indicate that suicide occurs among the gifted population. It is also apparent that suicide is occurring among the gifted at a rate which necessitates school personnel to have the ability to recognize warning signs in an effort to help students and deter loss of lives.

The emotional adjustment of gifted adolescents: A view of global functioning

The purpose of the study was to determine if academically gifted adolescents differ from nongifted adolescents with regard to their perception of overall emotional adjustment as measured by a composite score (Emotional Symptoms Index or ESI) on the Self Report of Personality (SRP) of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). Gifted adolescents (N= 115) from a resource support program in grades 9 through 12 were compared with nongifted peers (N = 97) from a suburban high school within the Atlanta metropolitan area. The comparison group was composed of volunteers from one regular education English class from each grade level (9–12) with a random, computer‐assigned enrollment. A 2×4 analysis of variance factorial design was used to analyze data obtained from the study in assessing whether the means of the eight groups differed significantly with regard to giftedness and/or grade on the composite measure (ESI) of emotional adjustment. Results revealed the overall emotional adjustment of both groups falls within normal limits when compared with the General norms established by the authors of the BASC. The gifted group obtained significantly lower T‐scores than the nongifted group, suggesting the presence of fewer indicators of behavioral‐emotional maladjustment. No difference was obtained between groups with regard to grade. Results support previous findings that, when a difference exists between the overall emotional adjustment of gifted and nongifted students, the gifted students show better adjustment on self‐report instruments.

Everyday Stressors of Academically Gifted Adolescents

This study evaluated everyday “hassles” and other stressors experienced by academically gifted, exceptionally academically gifted, and academically average adolescents. The results suggest that gifted and non-gifted adolescents experienced similar levels and types of everyday stressors. However, exceptional and to some degree gifted girls endorsed more perfectionistic tendencies than did their average peers. The need for affective education and psychosocial interventions for gifted students in schools is discussed. Adolescence is a time of increased stress for all youth. Educators of the gifted have had a long and enduring concern about the special stressors and pressures affecting gifted adolescents (e.g., Hollingworth, 1942; Seeley, 1993). Although gifted students are often posited to have strong psychosocial characteristics (e.g., Clark, 1988), we also have documentation that giftedness can generate stress and conflict for some students (e.g., Whitmore, 1980). Although we might expect high levels of stress from gifted students experiencing psychosocial or educational difficulties (i.e., underachieving gifted students), we have little normative information about problems and strains experienced by “typical” gifted adolescents. This study focused on specific stressors endorsed by academically gifted adolescents and compared them to those endorsed by their peers of average academic ability.

Decision-making abilities of intellectually gifted and non-gifted children

Abstract Samples of 61 intellectually gifted and 122 non-gifted high school students in the age range of 12-15 years were compared on four aspects of decision-making ability: metacognitive knowledge about decision making; use of efficient decision search strategies; probability “tuning”; and self-reported decision-making style and self-esteem. The study drew on Sternberg's (1985) “triarchic” theory of intelligence for an analysis of the decision-making abilities of the gifted students. It was found that intellectually gifted adolescents had superior metacognitive knowledge; were faster in making decisions; made greater use of efficient search strategies; were better at “tuning” information about probabilities; and reported a more competent decision style than non-gifted adolescents. The findings were interpreted as evidence of both quantitative and qualitative differences in die decision-making abilities of gifted and non-gifted adolescents. Similarities between the abilities of intellectually gifted adol...

Gifted adolescents and intimacy in close same-sex friendships

As most research with gifted children has demonstrated that giftedness has a positive effect on popularity and social self-esteem, it was expected that gifted adolescents would demonstrate higher intimacy with their same-sex closest friends and would tend to evince a more secure attachment style than nongifted cohorts. A total of 56 gifted and nongifted 9th graders completed questionnaires regarding their intimacy with closest same-sex friend and attachment style. However, the hypotheses were not confirmed. Gifted adolescents of both sexes reported lower intimacy with their closest same-sex friends than nongifted adolescents, and they did not differ from the latter in the frequency of the attachment styles they exhibited. These results are discussed in light of the distinction between instrumentality and expressiveness in social relations; it is suggested that gifted adolescents have a stronger instrumental orientation than others. While this may prove conducive to close relationships at the preadolescent stage, it does not give them an advantage during adolescence.

On a Pedestal: effects of intellectual‐giftedness and some implications for programme planning

Abstract The popular notion that gifted children are immune from adjustment problems because of their high intelligence has relegated this research area to a secondary concern. In this study, self‐esteem, social isolation, locus of control, alienation and anxiety as indices of psychosocial adjustment were explored among the gifted and nongifted adolescents in three secondary schools. The findings suggest that some gifted adolescents are more susceptible than the nongifted to various dysphoric and adjustment crises. The author contends that preventive guidance is necessary to assist gifted adolescents in developing appropriate coping skills. The conclusions are brought together in a discussion of some implications for gifted programme planning.

Three Wishes of Gifted and Nongifted Adolescents

Three wishes of 69 gifted and 66 nongifted adolescents within the United States were solicited in a group situation. The findings indicated that personal wishes were of the most concern for both gifted and nongifted adolescents, and that male adolescents in both groups tended to value material possessions more often than did female adolescents. A significant between-groups difference revealed that gifted adolescents expressed more altruistic and fewer goal wishes than their nongifted peers. These kinds of data are one more means of describing, for teachers and counselors, a general picture of students' psychological and social orientations.

Family relationships of gifted adolescents: Strong or stressed?

The purpose of this study was to examine the family relationships of gifted and nongifted adolescents. Two hundred two youth were surveyed to determine if differences existed in their amount and types of employment, task time, free time, and family conflicts. Students enrolled in “college prep” English courses were designated as the gifted sample, and students enrolled in “regular” English courses comprised the nongifted sample. Gifted students were found to be employed fewer hours than nongifted students, reported fewer incidents of conflict among family members, and rated the quality of their family relationships significantly higher than nongifted students.

Changes in Parent and Peer Relationships between Childhood and Adolescence: A Research Agenda for Gifted Adolescents

Research on the transformation of relations that non-gifted children have with their parents and peers as they go through puberty is examined. Two broad changes are noted: first, adolescents spend more time with peers than parents and find these relations more satisfactory; second, within their families, adolescents become more powerful and mothers less. These alterations may be the result of adolescent physical and cognitive development. The little research that exists on these phenomena for gifted adolescents is examined, and four research questions which compare gifted and non-gifted adolescents are posed. First, how similar is the pattern of development? Second, does the pattern unfold at the same pace? Third, are the processes through which separation and autonomy expressed similar? Fourth, are the causes alike? The need for research on the relations that gifted adolescents have with peers and parents is emphasized.