Precursors of socio-emotional well-being of gifted students

This study investigates whether giftedness represents an advantage or an obstacle to students’ socio-emotional well-being, focusing on the preschool years to identify significant precursors. The literature on this topic is conflicting: some studies report lower internalizing and externalizing difficulties in gifted children (Francis et al., 2016; Peyre et al., 2016), while others suggest the opposite (Budding & Chidekel, 2012). However, research on preschool-aged children remains limited. The present study compares 13 gifted preschool children (QI CPM ≥ 96°) with 13 typically developing children (QI CPM between the 39° and 56°) ages 4 to 6, assessing socio-emotional adjustment using the SDQ (Goodman, 1997) completed by parents and visuospatial memory through the Test di Corsi from the BVN (Bisiacchi et al, 2005). Differences between groups were analyzed using ANOVA. The results show that gifted children score significantly higher in peer relationships compared to their typically developing peers (p < .05), suggesting greater ease of social integration. Additionally, the Test di Corsi reveals significantly better performance in the gifted group (p < .05), confirming an advantage in learning processes (Bildiren, 2018). These findings suggest that gifted children already exhibit characteristics in preschool that support their active participation in the school community. However, as highlighted in the literature, potential difficulties may arise in later years (Jackson & Peterson, 2003). Early identification of these factors is crucial to creating an inclusive and stimulating educational environment that encourage well-being and school engagement.