In the 95th percentile IQ and achievement tests range, gifted boys and girls are as healthy mentally as they are physically. Studies comparing gifted girls with gifted boys and with average girls and boys show that while both have higher social adjustment than average children, gifted girls tend to be better adjusted than gifted boys. Whether measured in terms of “social knowledge” (Terman & Oden, 1935), perceived self-competence (Chan, 1988), or absence of behavioral impairments on behavior ratings scales (Ludwig & Cullinan, 1984), gifted girls are remarkably free from childhood adjustment disorders.
The media has tended to emphasize the behavioral problems of gifted boys; however, there is no research evidence that gifted boys in general are at risk for psychological disorders. At the very highest levels of ability, both gifted boys and gifted girls may experience more adjustment problems. That’s fairly predictable; the highest IQ children suffered more adjustment problems, probably as a result of their profoundly different intellectual abilities.
Although girls in the late primary grades begin to fall somewhat behind the boys in achievement tests, they continue to surpass boys not only in grades but also in overall adjustment and self-esteem. However, both gifted boys and gifted girls before age 11 are strikingly confident. They assert themselves in groups and will argue for their opinions. They have high self-efficacy, believing they are good at many things, particularly schoolwork. At both five years old and eight years old, they have strong self-concepts. They have high opinions of their physical selves, their academic selves, and their social selves.
There is strong evidence that the majority of moderately gifted girls, like gifted boys, remain well-adjusted during adolescence (Janos & Robinson, 1985; Lessinger & Martinson, 1961; Terman & Oden, 1935). However, gifted adolescent girls may experience social anxiety and decreases in self-confidence. This was first shown in Groth’s (1969) cross-sectional study that showed an abrupt psychological shift at age 14 from wishes and needs related to achievement and self-esteem to wishes related to love and belonging. Her study showed that gifted younger girls tended to dream about success in school activities and accomplishments; older gifted girls dreamed of popularity and intimate friendships.
Kelly and Colangelo (1984) found that while gifted boys were superior to average boys in academic and social self-concepts, gifted girls were not similarly higher than average girls. Therefore, gifted boys seem to maintain their high self-esteem throughout the teen years, but gifted girls are not as fortunate.
In Kerr, Colangelo, and Gaeth’s (1988) study of adolescents’ attitudes toward their own giftedness, gifted girls were evidently quite concerned about the impact of their giftedness on attitudes of others. Although most of them believed that there were some social advantages to being gifted, females saw more disadvantages than their male peers to being gifted.
Gifted boys’ concern about giftedness is subtle (Kerr & Cohn, 2001). They strive to show that they are regular guys, despite their intelligence. Most gifted boys learn early that it is acceptable for them to be gifted if they are also athletically competent; therefore, many work to be excellent at the most popular sports, such as football and basketball. Those gifted adolescent boys who cannot shine on the playing fields may be doomed to be labeled nerds and brains.