This study explored the relationships between social coping and psychological distress in a sample of Chinese students in Hong Kong. These students, nominated by their schools to join university gifted programs, were assessed with respect to their nonverbal IQ (nonverbal reasoning), social coping strategies in response to being gifted, and psychological distress in 5 specific symptom areas. The findings indicated that gender, age, and nonverbal IQ had notable effects on specific social coping strategies. Students’ coping by valuing peer acceptance and coping by attempting avoidance emerged as 2 of the most important social coping strategies predicting specific psychological symptoms. The implications of the findings for preventive interventions to help gifted students in their promotion and maintenance of psychological well-being are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bouchet, N., & Falk, R. F. (2001). The relationship among giftedness, gender, and overexcitability. Gifted Child Quarterly, 45, 260-267.
2.
Chan, D. W. (1993). The Chinese General Health Questionnaire in a psychiatric setting: The development of the Chinese scaled version. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 28, 124-129.
3.
Chan, D. W. (1995). The two scaled versions of the Chinese General Health Questionnaire: A comparative analysis. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 30, 85-91.
4.
Chan, D. W. (1998). Development of gifted education in Hong Kong. Gifted Education International, 13, 150-158.
5.
Chan, J. (1996). Chinese intelligence. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The handbook of Chinese psychology (pp. 93-108). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
6.
Coleman, L. J., & Cross, T. L. (1988). Is being gifted a social handicap?Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 11, 41-56.
7.
Coleman, L. J., & Cross, T. L. (2000). Social-emotional development and the personal experience of giftedness. In K. A. Heller, F. J. Mönks, R. J. Sternberg, & R. F. Subotnik (Eds.), International handbook of giftedness and talent (2nd ed., pp. 203-212). New York: Elsevier.
8.
Cross, T. L., Coleman, L. J., & Stewart, R. A. (1993). The social cognition of gifted adolescents: An exploration of the stigma of giftedness paradigm. Roeper Review, 16, 37-40.
9.
Cross, T. L., Coleman, L. J., & Terhaar-Yonkers, M. (1991). The social cognition of gifted adolescents in schools: Managing the stigma of giftedness. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 14, 44-55.
10.
Gabrenya, W. K., Jr., & Hwang, K. (1996). Chinese social interaction: Harmony and hierarchy on the good earth. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The handbook of Chinese psychology (pp. 309-321). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
11.
Genshaft, J. L., Greenbaum, S., & Borovsky, S. (1995). Stress and the gifted. In J. L. Genshaft, M. Bireley, & C. L. Hollinger (Eds.), Serving gifted and talented students: A resource for school personnel (pp. 257-268). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
12.
Goldberg, D. P. (1978). Manual of the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor, United Kingdom: NFER-Nelson.
13.
Goldberg, D. P., & Williams, P. (1988). A user’s guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor, United Kingdom: NFER-Nelson.
14.
Gross, M. U. M. (1989). The pursuit of excellence or the search for intimacy? The forced-choice dilemma of gifted youth. Roeper Review, 11, 189-194.
15.
Hong Kong Education Department. (1986). Hong Kong supplement to guide to the Standard Progressive Matrices. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government.
16.
Janos, P. M., Fung, H. C., & Robinson, N. (1985). Self-concept, self-esteem, and peer relations among gifted children who feel “different.”Gifted Child Quarterly, 29, 78-81.
17.
Manaster, G. J., Chan, J. C., Watt, C., & Wiehe, J. (1994). Gifted adolescents’ attitudes toward their giftedness: A partial replication. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 176-178.
18.
Manor-Bullock, R., Look, C., & Dixon, D. N. (1995). Is giftedness socially stigmatizing? The impact of high achievement on social interactions. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 18, 319-338.
19.
Neihart, M. (1999). The impact of giftedness on psychological well-being: What does the empirical literature say?Roeper Review, 22, 10-17.
20.
Patterson, J. M., & McCubbin, H. I. (1987). Adolescent coping style and behaviors: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Adolescence, 10, 163-186.
21.
Piechowski, M. (1997). Emotional giftedness: The measure of intrapersonal intelligence. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (2nd ed., pp. 266-381). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
22.
Raven, J., Raven, J. C., & Court, J. H. (1998). Manual for Raven’s Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
23.
Swiatek, M. A. (1995). An empirical investigation of the social coping strategies used by gifted adolescents. Gifted Child Quarterly, 39, 154-161.
24.
Swiatek, M. A. (2001). Social coping among gifted high school students and its relationship to self-concept. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 19-39.
25.
Swiatek, M. A., & Dorr, R. M. (1998). Revision of the social coping questionnaire: Replication and extension of previous findings. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 10, 252-259.
