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Myth 17: Gifted and Talented Individuals Do Not Have Unique Social and Emotional Needs
Jean Sunde Peterson
Gifted Child Quarterly 2009 53: 280
DOI: 10.1177/0016986209346946

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 Gifted Child Quarterly
Volume 53 Number 4
Fall 2009 280-282
© 2009 National Association for
Gifted Children

Myth 17: Gifted and Talented Individuals Do

10.1177/0016986209346946
http://gcq.sagepub.com
hosted at

Not Have Unique Social and Emotional Needs http://online.sagepub.com

Jean Sunde Peterson

Purdue University

Roots of the Myth literatures have suggested that “gifts” can be both
positive and negative.
It is understandable that school peers, significant Clinical literature has suggested that characteris-
adults, and the public in general may assume that tics associated with giftedness, such as sensitivity,
gifted and talented individuals do not have unique intensity, and psychomotor, intellectual, sensual,
social and emotional needs. When common, positive emotional, and imaginational overexciteabilities, are
stereotypes prevail based on images of confident and not only risk factors but also potentially viewed inap-
motivated students, athletes, and musicians, gifted- propriately as pathology by helping professionals. In
ness might be perceived as being unrelated to social addition, gifted individuals may differ greatly from
and emotional concerns. Educators and others may less able age peers and among themselves in the
therefore not recognize or address social and emo- degree of characteristics associated with giftedness,
tional needs, assuming that gifted students deal easily making it difficult to anticipate social and emotional
with developmental challenges. Early scholarly work concerns. Giftedness may also co-occur with one or
related to giftedness may also have contributed to the more learning disabilities, contributing to frustration,
notion that high capability means solid mental and behavior problems, and general discomfort in the
physical health and success and satisfaction in career classroom.
and relationships. Research samples have often not Degree of social difficulties may increase in pro-
been inclusive enough to reflect concerns of a broad portion to level of giftedness. Not only is a pro-
range of high-potential students and may have per- foundly gifted child likely to have no intellectual or
petuated positive stereotypes. interest peers at school or in the community, but also
In addition, deeply engrained societal attitudes as schools may not be receptive or accommodating to
well as democratic and egalitarian political views highly able children. Even moderate giftedness may
may, for many citizens, preclude thinking that stu- lead to a poor initial fit in school, with social and
dents with high-level abilities should be given special emotional discomfort increasing throughout the
attention for social and emotional needs. Federal edu- school years.
cation mandates have also reflected little concern Gifted individuals may have unique concerns in
for the well-being of gifted and talented students. other areas as well. Clinicians specializing in work-
Even the field of gifted education may not have advo- ing with them have reported that client issues can
cated as strongly as it could have for proactive include trauma, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation,
approaches to promote healthy social and emotional bullying, learning disability, underachievement,
development. career-development impasse, and poor coping. In
regard to guidance, gifted children need much earlier
attention to career development than do other stu-
Challenging the Myth dents. For high achievers, stress levels related to
overinvolvement in activities and to their own and
Collectively, research findings have not concluded
that gifted individuals are more or less likely than
Author’s Note: Please address correspondence to Jean Sunde
others to have mental health concerns. In fact, studies Peterson, Purdue University, Department of Educational Studies,
have found an array of comparative strengths, vulner- 100 N. University Street, BRNG, West Lafayette, IN 47907-
abilities, and similarities. Anecdotal and empirical 2098; e-mail: [email protected].

280

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others’ high expectations may match those related to concern about world events and problems, without
unexpected, difficult life events. However, their sen- being equipped emotionally to handle these. In addi-
sitivities may indeed contribute to intense responses tion, gifted youth with extreme talent may not be
to negative life events and situations. In addition, socially and emotionally prepared to handle the power
perfectionism, extreme self-criticism, and disruptive, and attention that such levels of ability often generate.
self-destructive, or delinquent behavior may affect Influential in regard to emotional sensitivities and dif-
school experiences and well-being. Gifted students ficulties with developmental challenges is Dabrowski’s
may self-medicate distress with illegal substances theory of positive disintegration, which indicates that
and even drop out of school. Unfortunately, problem- gifted individuals have potential to reach high levels of
atic behavior can preclude teacher referral for special personality development through psychoemotional
programs or for appropriate challenge in academic struggle.
coursework. Programs then cannot affirm and sup-
port gifts and talents, and troubled gifted students’
contact with intellectual peers may be limited. Implications of the Myth
The myth may be driven by the reality that most of
the above phenomena have received relatively little Positive stereotyping of gifted and talented indi-
or no attention in literature related to giftedness. viduals has dangerous implications. With no purpose-
Other areas have also had little, if any, research atten- ful attention to social and emotional development by
tion in connection with giftedness: eating disorders, significant adults, gifted students may not express
self-injury, substance abuse, sexual abuse, obsessive– their needs, believing them to be aberrant. In studies
compulsive disorder, parent–child conflict, difficult of gifted adolescent targets or perpetrators of bullying
developmental transitions, and physical disability. (Peterson & Ray, 2006) and gifted homosexual young
With relatively little research attention to counseling adults (Peterson & Rischar, 2000), participants often
issues, not much is known about how gifted individu- had not asked for help even when in despair. In a
als experience these phenomena and how counselors study of profoundly gifted clients in therapy (Jackson
should differentiate their services for gifted youth & Peterson, 2003), some feared that mentioning their
across cultures and across socioeconomic levels. This concerns would simply be “too much” for others. In
limitation has implications for addressing concerns addition, students may not show doubts and vulnera-
either through prevention (e.g., small-group and bilities to parents, coaches, and teachers who are
large-group work) or intervention. invested in their performance and image, preferring
Gifted individuals face the same developmental to protect a positive image instead. Other obstacles to
tasks as their less able age peers, related, for example, help-seeking are an ability to compensate for or dis-
to identity and differentiation, career direction, peer guise concerns and an assumption that they must
relationships, autonomy, and confidence in compe- solve their problems independently. With no prior
tence. However, the characteristics associated with curricular attention to developing skills related to
giftedness mentioned earlier may make the subjective articulating and making sense of social and emotional
experience of meeting normal challenges qualita- concerns, even the transition to college may be diffi-
tively different from others’ experience and also cult for gifted students. They may be unprepared for
sometimes hinder task accomplishment. Exploration challenges related to leaving home, loss of high
of identity can be especially intense in persons with school identity, social transitions, loss of a protective
high ability, potentially contributing to protracted K-12 school structure, different academic expecta-
conflict with parents. In regard to identity, some tions, and new autonomy.
gifted students, especially females, reject achieve- The myth may contribute to the absence in
ment in favor of peer acceptance. Some, because of counselor-preparation textbooks of complex informa-
ability and circumstances, have developmentally tion related to gifted students’ social, emotional, and
inappropriate family responsibilities. Parents and career development and the need for differential
educators, both with high expectations, may be approaches. This lack suggests that school and other
unaware that asynchronous development is not counselors may not respond to gifted students appro-
unusual in this population, with social and emotional priately about social and emotional concerns and may
development not as advanced as cognitive develop- have attitudes and biases that preclude effective work
ment. High moral development may mean struggling with this population. These professionals may not
with social justice issues, sensitivity to peers, and identify or support strengths unrelated to academic

Peterson / Myth 17    281  

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or other performance, assets that may be crucial to Peterson, J. S., & Ray, K. E. (2006). Bullying among the gifted:
well-being. They may not normalize troubling The subjective experience. Gifted Child Quarterly, 50,
252-269.
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors or may misdiagnose
Peterson, J. S., & Rischar, H. (2000). Gifted and gay: A study of the
them. When they do not associate sensitivities and adolescent experience. Gifted Child Quarterly, 44, 149-164.
intensities with giftedness and do not respond sup-
portively when, for instance, bullying or other harass-
ment has occurred, school tragedies can result. Further Reading
Neither high achievers nor gifted underachievers
Grobman, J. (2006). Underachievement in exceptionally gifted
are exempt from troubling circumstances, of course. adolescents and young adults: A psychiatrist’s view. Journal
Yet adult assumptions may preclude support for trou- of Secondary Gifted Education, 17, 199-210.
bled gifted youth when support is crucial. High achiev- Mendaglio, S., & Peterson, J. S. (2007). Models of counseling
ers may need affirmation of their humanness and gifted children, adolescents, and young adults. Waco, TX:
underachievers for their intellectual strengths and tal- Prufrock Press.
Mendaglio., S. (2008). Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegra-
ents. Neither may feel understood or appreciated holis-
tion. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.
tically. But both may be protective of the image they Milsom, A., & Peterson, J. S. (Eds.). (2006). Examining disabil-
present socially. In addition, achievement may be cen- ity and giftedness in schools [Special issue]. Professional
tral to achievers’ identity, but identity development School Counseling, 10(1).
may be constrained by lack of differentiation from Neihart, M., Reis, S. M., Robinson, N. M., & Moon, S. M. (Eds.).
adults invested in them. Achievers may also foreclose (2001). The social and emotional development of gifted chil-
dren: What do we know? Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
prematurely on career direction, and they may refrain Peterson, J. S. (2008). The essential guide to talking with gifted
from taking appropriate risks. Underachievers may teens. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.
have the ability and courage to critically challenge Piechowski, M. M. (1999). Overexcitabilities. In M. A. Runco &
common views and values but be unable to move S. R. Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (Vol. 2, pp.
ahead with various developmental tasks. 325-334). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
VanTassel-Baska, J., Cross, T. R., & Olenchak, R. (Eds.). (2008).
Social and emotional curriculum with gifted and talented
Conclusion students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
Webb, J. R., Amend, E. R., Webb, N. E., Goerss, J., Beljan, P., &
Empirical and clinical literatures have challenged Olenchak, F. R. (2005). Misdiagnosis and dual diagnoses
the myth that gifted students do not have unique of gifted children and adults: ADHD, bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s,
depression, and other disorders. Scottsdale, AZ: Great
social and emotional concerns. When the myth pre-
Potential Press.
vails, pertinent concerns are not recognized and
addressed formally or informally, proactively or reac-
Jean Sunde Peterson, PhD, professor and director of school
tively. Educators, parents, coaches, and even counsel- counselor preparation at Purdue University, is a former class-
ors may miss indications of distress. Lack of room and gifted-education teacher. Now a licensed mental
opportunity for gifted students to discuss concerns health counselor with considerable experience counseling gifted
related to social and emotional development poten- youth and their families, she conducts workshops on academic
tially contributes to vulnerability. underachievement and social and emotional development of
gifted students based on her extensive research and publications
in these areas. She is author of The Essential Guide to Talking
References with Gifted Teens and coeditor of Models of Counseling Gifted
Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults. She has been a mem-
Jackson, S. M., & Peterson, J. S. (2003). Depressive disorder in ber of the board of directors of the National Association for
highly gifted adolescents. Journal for Secondary Gifted Gifted Children and is a past chair of the Counseling & Guidance
Education, 14, 175-186. Network.

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