Behavioral and Socio-Emotional Disorders in Intellectual Giftedness: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This work systematically reviewed past literature to investigate the association between intellectual giftedness and socio-emotional and/or behavioral disorders. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria, 17 of which have children and/or adolescents as participants, and 12 have a non-gifted control group. Socio-emotional problems, such as withdrawal, were found in 3 out of 8 studies; internalizing disorders, such as anxiety, were found in 5 out of 9; externalizing disorders, such as hyperactivity, were found in 3 out of 5. The most investigated comorbidity was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. A univocal conclusion on the relationship between intellectual giftedness and socio-emotional/behavioral problems cannot be drawn, principally because of the heterogeneity of participants’ age, informants, and instruments. The review highlights the need for future studies to use multi-informant and comprehensive assessments, to reach more robust findings, and suggests that age and discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal intellectual abilities should be considered critical factors.

The Relationship between Giftedness and Sex and Children’s Theory of Mind Skills and Social Behavior

“…Studies have shown sex differences in peer problems and prosocial behavior and that girls generally exhibit higher levels of prosocial behavior and have better relationships with their peers than boys [55,56]. In this study, and consistent with the literature, prosocial behavior was higher in girls than boys.…”

Effects of Physical Activity on Cognition, Behavior, and Motor Skills in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies

“…Most of the studies analyzed only the direct effects of PA on cognition, behavior, and motor skills, thus obtaining results that are probably biased. In addition, most of the studies carried out in the ASD population do not consider the other variables usually used in studies with a school-age population, such as BMI [58], commuting time to school [8], or the possible presence of the phenomenon of 'intellectual giftedness and ASD', which can be detected using systematic identification measures [59]. Because it is known that youth with ASD have lower levels of moderate PA during the school day and perform less daily PA than their typically developing peers [34], it would be interesting to know if the previous variables influence this population, in addition to other variables such as sleep quality and parental influence, in a similar way.…”

Gifted Children and Psychiatric Disorders: Is the Risk Increased Compared With Their Peers?

“…Several systematic reviews have concluded that intellectually GC have similar or less psychopathology than their peers (Francis et al, 2016;Martin et al, 2009;Tourreix et al, 2023). However, Tasca et al (2022) posit that the evidence is insufficient to draw definitive conclusions. As all of these reviews included studies that used scales to compare psychopathology, they could not assess rates of psychiatric disorders, which is an important method of evaluating psychopathology.…”

“…Several studies have shown that GC may experience socioemotional difficulties. While some studies have found internalization problems such as anxiety, introversion, social withdrawal, low self-esteem, and extreme perfectionism to be associated with GC, others have also indicated a link between externalization problems, including emotional dysregulation, hyperactivity, irritability, and aggression (Tasca et al, 2022). A study assessing GC who sought treatment at a psychiatric clinic discovered that these children exhibited internalization problems, and those with advanced IQ scores displayed a higher frequency of behavioral problems (Guénolé et al, 2013).…”

“…Although GCs are often assumed to have superior intelligence, creativity, and achievement, the evidence for their psychological well-being is inconclusive. A recent systematic review reported that the current literature is insufficient to determine whether giftedness is a protective or a risk factor for psychopathologies (Tasca et al, 2022). Moreover, previous research on GC's mental health has produced inconsistent and inconclusive findings, partly due to methodological issues, such as small and biased samples (e.g., clinical vs. population), using only IQ scores to diagnose giftedness, diverse and unreliable assessment tools for psychopathology, and inadequate control for confounding variables (Francis et al, 2016;Martin et al, 2009;Tasca et al, 2022;Tourreix et al, 2023).…”