Psychosocial Correlates of Emotional and Behavioral Problems among Intellectually Gifted Children – A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Giftedness and related aspects of academic skills and intellectual skills has been variously studied in the research literature. Along with such incredible potential, the need to address psychosocial problems and associated psychosocial correlates is inevitable.  The aim of the present study was to identify the psychosocial correlates of emotional and behavioral issues among intellectually gifted children using clinical evaluation and the Developmental Psychopathology Checklist (DPCL). Methods: The study was in cross-sectional design with a purposive sampling technique. About 25 children of the age range of 11 to 16 years of both sexes were identified as intellectually gifted during the study period (SPM,95th percentile and above). Results: The results of the present study reveal that stress, over-expectation, over-involvement, inconsistent disciplining, and overindulgence tend to be highly significant in intellectually gifted children with externalizing problems such as ADHD and conduct problems over-expectation, over-involvement, indifference and inconsistent disciplining apart from adjustment issues in the family tends to be the significant background variables in intellectually gifted children with internalizing problems such as emotional problems and OC symptoms. Conclusion: The explained findings in this study have established the existence of the psychological vulnerabilities in intellectually gifted children and related psychosocial stressors associated with them. The study would benefit in changing the attitudes of the parent toward the child by lowering the parental expectations and stressors and hence encouraging the real potential of gifted children with fewer vulnerabilities.