Are Our School-Aged Students With Gifts and Talents Struggling With Their Psychological Well-Being to a Greater Extent Than in the Past?

Abstract

Over the past 10-15 years, parents, educators, counselors and others who work with or care for students with gifts and talents have expressed increasing concerns about the students’ psychological well-being. The stressors of today’s world offer one explanation for potentially more difficult experiences. The column includes steps that may be taken to help students with gifts and talents navigate the unfortunate experiences that will likely define their childhood and adolescence.

Emotional Intelligence Profiles and Self-Esteem/Self-Concept: An Analysis of Relationships in Gifted Students

“…The psychological well-being of gifted students has been an increasing cause of concern in the past 10 to 15 years [1]. There is enough evidence to support that giftedness influences people's psychological well-being [2], but not always in the same direction; sometimes it protects it (e.g., [3][4][5]), and other times it increases vulnerability (e.g., [6][7][8]).…”

“…There is enough evidence to support that giftedness influences people's psychological well-being [2], but not always in the same direction; sometimes it protects it (e.g., [3][4][5]), and other times it increases vulnerability (e.g., [6][7][8]). The different results reported throughout the scientific literature may be due to a combination of numerous factors: the personal characteristics of the evaluated subjects, the type of giftedness they present, and the educational fit [1,2,7,9]. An unadjusted level of challenge in gifted children (very low or excessively high) can lead to boredom and wasted potential, as well as diminish well-being and career aspirations [10].…”

“…From an inclusive paradigm, the personal, academic, and socio-emotional development of the entire educational community, of all students, including those who are gifted must be ensured [23]. In this regard, recent studies recommend working on the self-concept and self-esteem of gifted students in schools [1,7,17].…”

“Developing Capabilities”. Inclusive Extracurricular Enrichment Programs to Improve the Well-Being of Gifted Adolescents

“…Over the past decade, education and guidance professionals (Cross, 2020), departments of education, and policymakers (Blaas, 2014) have expressed increasing concern about the wellbeing of gifted students. As a group, although the literature presents contradictory results (Neihart, 1999;Zeidner, 2020), they are not necessarily more likely than their peers to have disorders (Cook et al, 2020); however, when they exhibit mental health difficulties, the precipitating and impacting factors may be related to their unique characteristics (Cross and Cross, 2015).…”