The Adolescent Gifted Child

Adolescence is a decade-plus period of change and transition from childhood to adulthood, compounded by the added dimension of giftedness for many (Edwards & Kleine, 1986). Literature aimed at the gifted adolescent is sparse (Maxwell, 2007). Gifted adolescents, as do gifted students of all ages, vary amongst themselves as much as they vary from the general school population (Delisle, 1984; Hollingworth, 1942). Such variance and resultant research studies suggest that educators and parents must be aware of the intensity and variety of services these students need and that they must be prepared to offer multi-modal services and interventions (Edwards & Kleine, 1986).

While these students exhibit expected adolescent behaviors, researchers have also found that they exhibit behaviors that are different from the norm. Sak (2004) conducted a synthesis of fourteen studies on the personality types of gifted adolescents. In these studies the gifted adolescents were found to be different from the general adolescent population as well as different among themselves as assessed by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The most common personality types among gifted adolescents were “intuitive” and “perceiving”. They were significantly more introverted than the normative group, suggesting that introverted adolescents may prefer quiet learning environments and individual rather than group work (Sak, 2004). Introverted, intuitive students are more likely to prefer project-based learning because they can structure tasks that they like to do. Sak (2004) further notes that the perceptive characteristic shown in his research synthesis suggests that an atmosphere of flexibility may be helpful for gifted adolescents, as perceptive types tend to be unorganized and late in assignments.

In early adolescence, there is a gradual decreasing dependence on adults as youth tend to identify more with their peer group (Delisle, 1992). Teen years can be difficult for gifted students. They may be aware of myths and derogatory beliefs that exist in our culture and may want to fit in. This desire may cause them to temporarily hide their abilities so that they may belong or it may cause them to rebel, sometimes against peers and sometimes against parents (Webb, Gore, Amend, & DeVries, 2007).

Gifted children are natural questioners. As they enter adolescence they begin to question rules and traditions to test the logic of them or just to help them find their own truths (Webb, Gore, Amend, & DeVries, 2007). Behavior that may seem irrational to adults may be partially explained by the following goals identified by Buescher (1986).

Prominent needs of most adolescents:

1. Opportunities to experience real independence
2. Concrete experiences of successful self-direction
3. A variety of adult and leadership models to emulate
4. Ability to cope while building real-life skills
5. Successful avenues for defining oneself beyond the options suggested by adults
6. A desire to be taken seriously by peers and adults
7. Predictable space where one can safely explore acceptance and rejection by peers
8. A factual basis for understanding the process of adolescence (Delisle, 1992, p. 134)

Buescher (1984) further notes that gifted adolescents deal with issues related to their giftedness. They may not want to own the label and question who gave it to them. They may feel dissonance in feeling imperfect yet hearing how smart they are. They may wonder about taking new risks or staying with secure situations. They may feel torn between others’ expectations and their own needs. They can be impatient with wanting to know everything now, and they have a need to have their identity count now, not sometime later in life (Delisle, 1992).

Gender differences can be a concern as well. Kerr (1985) hypothesizes that differences begin to occur in adolescence. She found that boys maintain their high-status profile of career aspirations throughout their teens but that girls show a pattern of decline. Kaufmann (1981) found a similar trend among the Presidential Scholars that she has followed through to adulthood. Maxwell (2007) outlines multiple study findings that confirm that highly capable female students often do not achieve at the level of their male counterparts. Problem areas include lower career aspirations, external pressures of peers, family and school environment, loneliness, isolation, and gender role socialization.

Perfectionism is often a part of the literature on gifted adolescents. Perfectionism is a common characteristic of gifted students (Clark, 1997; Kerr, 1991; Whitmore, 1980), and when it is coupled with adolescence, it can exacerbate the desire for recognition and acceptance (Buescher, 1991). We will be offering a more detailed look at perfectionism in a later issue, so watch for that in the spring!

These issues and points are just some of the many such issues facing gifted students in the affective domain. Social and emotional issues are naturally intertwined with intellectual and academic issues and should be treated with equivalent concern, services, and importance.

References:

Buescher, T. M. (1986). Understanding the impact of adolescence on the social and emotional growth of highly talented students. In T. M. Buescher (Ed.) , Understanding gifted and talented adolescents, 5-10. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University.

Buescher, T. M. (1991). Gifted adolescents. In N. Colangelo &. G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (pp.382-401). Boston: Allyn & Bacon

Clark, B. (1997). Growing up gifted: Developing the potential of children at home and at school (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Delisle, J. R. (1984). Gifted children speak out. New York: Walker.

Delisle, J. R. (1992). Guiding the social and emotional development of gifted youth. New York: Longman Publishing Group.

Edwards, S.S., & Kleine, P. A. (1986). Multimodal consultation: A model for working with gifted adolescents. Journal of Counseling and Development, 64, 598-601.

Hollingworth, L. S. (1942). Children above 180 IQ (Stanford-Binet): Origin and development. Yonkers-on-Hudson, NY: World Book Company.

Kaufmann, F. (1981).The 1964-68 Presidential Scholars: A follow-up study. Exceptional Children, 48(2), 164-169.

Kerr, B. A. (1985). Smart girls, gifted women: Special guidance concerns. Roeper Review, 8(1), 30-33.

Maxwell, M. (2007). Career counseling is personal counseling: A constructivist approach to nurturing the development of gifted female adolescents. The Career Development Quarterly, 55, 206-224.

Sak, U. (2004). A synthesis of research on psychological types of gifted adolescents. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 15 (2), 70-79.

Webb, J. T., Gore, J. L., Amend, E. R., & DeVries, A. R. (2007). A parent’s guide to gifted children. Scottsdate, AR: Great Potential Press.

Whitmore, J. R. (1980). Giftedness, conflict, and underachievement. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.