The Social Cognition of Gifted Adolescents

This paper reviews major research findings on social cognition in gifted adolescents. We discuss interpersonal and intrapersonal perceptions of giftedness (i.e., how gifted students view themselves, and how they perceive others’ views of them), the social coping strategies of this population (e.g., denying and hiding one's giftedness, conforming to mask giftedness, and helping others), and the gender, age, and self-concept differences shown in strategy choice when interacting with others. Results suggest that both American and Chinese gifted students employ social coping strategies to manage the visibility of their abilities in social situations, and there is a consistent link between coping strategy and self-concepts; but the findings with regard to social cognitive strategies, themselves, are conflicting. Implications of these findings and recommendations are presented.     

Characteristics of Moral Problems as Formulated by Gifted Adolescents

Abstract

A study was conducted to examine the nature of moral problems as formulated by gifted adolescents. Subjects from Grades 9‐12 were asked to generate stories involving a moral problem and to provide a solution. As in Kohlberg's moral dilemmas, students depicted a central protagonist as well as a definite subsidiary character. There was a significant relationship between the sex of the student and the sex of the protagonist. The protagonist and subsidiary characters were approximate to the age of the subject. Half (53 per cent) of the moral problems involved friendship or a love relationship between the protagonist and the subsidiary character. Most subjects (92 per cent) were able to give guidelines for a solution to their moral problem. Solutions to moral problems were categorized as indicating primarily either a personal (focus on self) or social (focus on group or society at large) perspective. The majority (55 per cent) of subjects gave solutions based on a social perspective, while 45 per cent offered solutions indicating a personal perspective. Comparisons by sex and grade revealed that older students (Grades 11 and 12) tended to resolve their moral problems from a personal perspective while the younger students (Grades 9 and 10) more often took a social perspective. Comparisons were also made between the stories written by gifted adolescents, the Kohlberg dilemmas, and the moral dilemmas formulated by a general population of adolescents (Yussen, 1977).     

Understanding the Young Gifted Child: Guidelines for Parents, Families, and Educators

Young children who are gifted or talented share special characteristics that impact on the way they learn and develop. Teachers and parents need to consider the unique needs of each child as they plan ways to nurture and educate these youngsters. Concerns such as uneven development, the need for acceleration and/or enrichment, appropriate socialization and peer interactions, and modification of the curriculum are some of the topics discussed. Suggestions for teachers and parents are included along with a variety of resources.     

Early Intervention,Families, and Adolescents With Down Syndrome

Developmental assessments are reported for two cohorts of Brisbane children with Down syndrome at chronological ages from 11 to 14 years. Cohort 1 was born during 1973 to 1974 while Cohort 2 was born from May 1976 to December 1978. These cohorts provided an opportunity of studying the long‐term effects of early intervention as a history‐graded influence on development; one cohort was born before early intervention became widely available whereas by the time the other children were born, a variety of programs were being offered children with disabilities. No significant cohort differences were found in MA at 11 years, 12 years and 14 years CA, in non‐verbal scores at 11 years and 12 years CA, or in adaptive behaviour scores near 13 years CA. There was no evidence of a final plateau in MA. When the cohorts were divided on the basis of early intervention commencement age, frequency and duration of attendance, there were again no group differences. SES, mothers’ education, and gender were significant predictors of MA but gender did not add significantly to non‐verbal scores. Cognitive function was strongly associated with adaptive behaviours. It was concluded that early intervention studies need to investigate social disadvantage and biological impairment not only as separate issues, but as a combination of the two. There is also a continuing need to identify the specific elements associated with SES and maternal education that influence development in children.     

The Need for Research Replication: An Example from Studies on Perfectionism and Gifted Early Adolescents

Replication studies are essential with any construct of interest in order to provide further depth and understanding. This study replicated Siegle and Schuler's (2000) perfectionism study with gifted early adolescents. Perfectionism differences among grade level, birth order, and gender were explored using a between-subjects factorial MANOVA. Similar to the previous study, we found that the FMPS is an appropriate measure of perfectionism in gifted adolescents (grades 6–8) and that females have greater concern over Organization than males. However, there were many differences in our results compared to the previous study, highlighting the continued need to study and replicate existing work before generalizations can be made about gifted early adolescents.     

Gifted underachievers

Research indicates that the cause for underachievement in gifted students is a combination of personal adjustment problems and limited programs in the school.     

国内离异家庭青少年心理健康的影响因素

近年来,随着经济的快速发展,我国离婚率逐年升高,离异家庭青少年的心理健康问题已成为不可忽视的社会问题。本文论述了离异家庭青少年的心理发展特点,并从父母离异前的摩擦期、亲子关系的改变、性别角色教育的缺失、不良教养方式,以及社会和学校的角度探讨了影响离异家庭青少年心理健康的因素。父母离异对青少年来说并非一个静止事件,会对身心发展产生长期的负面影响。本文在对其心理发展特点和影响因素进行综合探讨的基础上,呼吁家庭、社会和学校采取恰当有效的方式,提高离异家庭青少年的心理健康水平。