Young gifted people between the ages of 11 and 15 frequently report a range of problems as a result of their abundant gifts: perfectionism, competitiveness, unrealistic appraisal of their gifts, rejection from peers, confusion due to mixed messages about their talents, and parental and social pressures to achieve, as well as problems with unchallenging school programs or increased expectations. Some encounter difficulties in finding and choosing friends, a course of study, and, eventually, a career. The developmental issues that all adolescents encounter exist also for gifted students, yet they are further complicated by the special needs and characteristics of being gifted. Once counselors and parents are aware of these obstacles, they seem better able to understand and support gifted adolescents. Caring adults can assist these young people to “own” and develop their talents by understanding and responding to adjustment challenges and coping strategies.
Challenges to Adjustment
Several dynamics of giftedness continually interfere with adjustment gains during adolescence. Buescher (1986) has found that, during the early years of adolescence, gifted young people encounter several potent obstacles, singly or in combination.
Ownership
Talented adolescents simultaneously own and yet question the validity and reality of the abilities they possess. Some researchers have identified patterns of disbelief, doubt, and lack of self-esteem among older students and adults, sometimes described as the ‘impostor syndrome’. While talents have been recognized in many cases at an early age, doubts about the accuracy of identification and the objectivity of parents or favorite teachers can linger. Peer pressure toward conformity, coupled with an adolescent’s wavering sense of self, can lead to the denial of even outstanding ability. The resulting conflict needs resolution by gaining a more mature sense of ownership and responsibility for identified talent.
Often gifted students experience a pressure that, because they have been given gifts in abundance, they feel they must give of themselves in abundance. It is sometimes subtly implied that their abilities belong to parents, teachers, and society.
Dissonance
Talented adolescents often feel like perfectionists. They set high standards and expect to do more and be more than their abilities might allow. Childhood desires to do demanding tasks perfectly become compounded during adolescence. It is common for talented adolescents to perceive a greater gap between what is done and how well they expected it to be accomplished than parents or teachers realize.
Taking Risks
Although younger gifted children may take risks, risk taking often decreases with age so that bright adolescents can be less likely to take chances. Gifted adolescents are often more aware of repercussions and weigh advantages and disadvantages carefully. This caution can lead them to reject activities that carry some risk (advanced courses, competitions, public presentations) because high success is less predictable. A need to maintain control may also limit willingness to engage in uncertain or challenging situations.
Competing Expectations
Adolescents are vulnerable to criticism and expectations from parents, friends, siblings, and teachers. Others’ expectations can compete with a gifted young person’s own dreams and plans. The greater the talent, the greater the outside expectations and interference. Gifted adolescents report being pushed to doubt or despair by insensitive adults and peers. Constantly proving oneself in classrooms or peer groups drains energy needed for normal adjustment and can lead to frustration and isolation.
Impatience
Gifted students can be impatient: eager for solutions, anxious for satisfying friendships, and prone to selecting immediate alternatives for complex decisions. Impulsive decision making combined with exceptional talent can make adolescents intolerant of ambiguity. Their impatience with a lack of clear answers drives them to seek solutions where none exist, and disappointment when quick resolutions fail can be difficult to overcome.
Premature Identity
The weight of competing expectations, low tolerance for ambiguity, and pressure of multiple potentials can lead to attempts to achieve an adultlike identity prematurely. This may prompt early career choices that short-cut the normal process of identity development and resolution.
Coping Strategies
How can talented adolescents cope with obstacles to developing their talents? A study of young adolescents who participated in a talent search program (Buescher & Higham, 1985) suggested various strategies. Table 1. Coping Strategies Suggested by Adolescents (In Order by Weighted Ranking; 0 = Least Acceptable to Students; 10 = Most Acceptable):
- (0) Pretend not to know as much as you do.
- (1) Act like a “brain” so peers leave you alone.
- (2) Adjust language and behavior to disguise true abilities from your peers.
- (3) Avoid programs designed for gifted/talented students.
- (4) Be more active in community groups where age is no object.
- (5) Develop/excel in talent areas outside school setting.
- (6) Achieve in areas at school outside academics.
- (7) Build more relationships with adults.
- (8) Select programs and classes designed for gifted/talented students.
- (9) Make friends with other students with exceptional talents.
- (10) Accept and use abilities to help peers do better in classes.
The strategies were influenced by factors such as age, sex, and participation in programs for gifted students. For example, over the course of four years (ages 11 to 15), “using one’s talent to help others” moved from second place to first. Students in special programs were less likely, as they grew older, to mask their abilities. Other studies indicate gifted females may be more vulnerable to cultural expectations that drive them toward peer acceptance rather than leadership and the full development of their abilities.
References
Buescher, T. M. (1985). A framework for understanding the social and emotional development of gifted and talented adolescents. ROEPER REVIEW, 8(1), 10-15.
Buescher, T. M. (1986, March). Adolescents’ Responses to Their Own Recognized Talent: Issues Affecting Counseling and Adjustment. Paper presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, Chicago.
Buescher, T., & Higham, S. (1985). Young Adolescent Survey: Coping Skills among the Gifted/Talented. Unpublished instrument. Evanston, IL: Center for Talent Development, Northwestern University.
Delisle, J. (1985). Counseling gifted persons: A lifelong concern. ROEPER REVIEW, 8 (1), 4-5.
Delisle, J., & Galbraith, J. (1987). THE GIFTED KIDS SURVIVAL GUIDE, II. Minneapolis: Free Spirit.
Galbraith, J. (1983). The Gifted Kids Survival Guide, Ages 11-18. Minneapolis: Free Spirit.
Olszewski, P., Kulieke, M., & Willis, G. (1987). Changes in the self-concept of gifted students who participate in rigorous academic programs. JOURNAL FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE GIFTED, 10(4), 287-304.
Olszewski-Kubilius, P., & Kulieke, M. (1989). Personality dimensions of gifted adolescents. In J. VanTassel-Baska & P. Olszewski-Kubilius (Eds.), Patterns of Influence on Gifted Learners: the Home, the Self, and the School (pp. 125-145). New York: Teachers College Press.
Resources
Buescher, T., Olszewski, P., & Higham, S. (1987, April). Influences on Strategies Gifted Adolescents Use To Cope with Their Own Recognized Talent. Paper presented at the 1987 biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Larson, R. (1984). Being Adolescent: Conflict and Growth in the Teenage Years. New York: Basic Books.
Erikson, E. (1968). Identity, Youth, and Crisis. New York: Norton.
Higham, S., & Buescher, T. (1987). What young gifted adolescents understand about feeling different. In T. Buescher (Ed.), Understanding Gifted and Talented Adolescents (pp. 26-30). Evanston, IL: Center for Talent Development, Northwestern University.
The material in this digest was adapted by permission of the publisher from Buescher, T. (1989). A developmental study of adjustment among gifted adolescents. In J. VanTassel-Baska & P. Olszewski-Kubilius (Eds.), Patterns of Influence on Gifted Learners: the Home, the Self, and the School (pp. 102-124). New York: Teachers College Press. c1989 by Teachers College, Columbia University. All rights reserved.
