An Empirical Investigation of the Social Coping Strategies Used by Gifted Adolescents

Abstract

The formation of an identity during adolescence is believed to be facilitated by conformity to others and membership in a peer group. Because gifted adolescents in a typical school setting often experience difficulties in conformity and peer group membership, they can be expected to face some unique challenges during adolescence. The current study seeks empirical evidence for discrete strategies that gifted adolescents may use to cope with perceived social difficulties. Highly gifted students who were identified by the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth and who participated in a rigorous summer academic program completed a survey that was specifically designed to reflect coping strategies proposed in the literature. The results of the survey were factor analyzed and yielded five meaningful factors: denial of giftedness, popularity/conformity, peer acceptance, fear of failure, and activity level. The results of the factor analysis suggest that further research focusing on the measurement of social coping strategies among gifted adolescents is warranted.