Psychosocial diversity among gifted adolescents:An exploratory study of two groups

Abstract

This study explored the psychosocial diversity of two groups of gifted adolescents: those who feel different from their nongifted peers, and those who feel the same. Gifted and talented high school students attending the Tennessee Governor's Schools (TGS) completed a Student Attitude Questionnaire questioning how others in their high school perceive them, their perceptions of nongifted students, and their behavior in school settings. To conduct the study, the researchers created a continuum of self‐perception. At ends of the continuum were students who felt different (academically and socially) from nongifted peers (i.e., DIFFERENT group) and students who indicated feeling the same as their nongifted peers (i.e., SAME group). Four hundred and eighty‐four subjects out of the 1465 surveyed represented the outermost ends of the continuum. Comparisons between the two groups on demographic variables, perceptions of self and other students, and school behavior suggested that the SAME group manifests greater desire for social integration in school than the DIFFERENT group. Similarities and differences between the two groups are reported.