Gifted students who experienced grade-based acceleration in primary or secondary education have to meet the challenges of adjusting to university at a younger age than students who did not accelerate. This systematic review critically evaluates the research on social–emotional characteristics and adjustment of these gifted accelerated university students. Based on a review of 22 studies, we may conclude that accelerated students did not differ very much in domains of social–emotional characteristics from their nonaccelerated gifted and nongifted peers. Factors that facilitated adjustment and well-being were cheerfulness, resilience, self-efficacy, a positive self-concept, high prior academic achievement, and supportive family environment. Furthermore, it was found that studies were incomplete in reporting the previous acceleration experiences of the students and that research on students who individually accelerated by 1 or 2 years was scarce. Future research should include individually accelerated students, previous acceleration experiences, gender differences, and comparison groups.
AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.). (2015). A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2). University of Iowa.
*BoazmanJ. K. (2010). Well-being and academic success in gifted college students: Early-college entrants and honors college students (Publication No. 860121434) [Doctoral dissertation, University of North Texas]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing Database.
5.
*BoazmanJ. K.SaylerM. F. (2011). Personal well-being of gifted students following participation in an early college-entrance program. Roeper Review, 33(2), 76-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2011.554153
6.
*BrodyL. E.BenbowC. P. (1987). Accelerative strategies: How effective are they for the gifted?Gifted Child Quarterly, 31(2), 105-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698628703100302
7.
^BrodyL. E.LupkowskiA. E.StanleyJ. C. (1988). Early entrance to college: A study of academic and social adjustment during the freshman year. College and University, 63(4), 347-359.
8.
BrodyL. E.MuratoriM. C. (2015). Early entrance to college: Academic, social, and emotional considerations. In AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.), A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 153-167). University of Iowa.
9.
BrodyL. E.MuratoriM. C.StanleyJ. C. (2004). Early entrance to college: Academic, social, and emotional considerations. In ColangeloN.AssoulineS. G.GrossM. U. M. (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 97-107). University of Iowa.
10.
*CaplanS. M.HendersonC. E.HendersonJ.FlemingD. L. (2002). Socioemotional factors contributing to adjustment among early-entrance college students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 46(2), 124-134. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698620204600205
*CornellD. G.CallahanC. M.LoydB. H. (1991a). Personality growth of female early college entrants: A controlled, prospective study. Gifted Child Quarterly, 35(3), 135-143. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698629103500305
13.
*CornellD. G.CallahanC. M.LoydB. H. (1991b). Socio-emotional adjustment of adolescent girls enrolled in a residential acceleration program. Gifted Child Quarterly, 35(2), 58-66. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698629103500202
14.
CredéM.NiehorsterS. (2012). Adjustment to college as measured by the student adaptation to college questionnaire: A quantitative review of its structure and relationships with correlates and consequences. Educational Psychology Review, 24(1), 133-165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9184-5
15.
CrossT. L. (2014). Social emotional needs: The effects of educational malnourishment on the psychological well-being of gifted students. Gifted Child Today, 37(4), 264-265. https://doi.org/10.1177/1076217514544032
16.
ElliottD. C. (2016). The impact of self beliefs on post-secondary transitions: The moderating effects of institutional selectivity. Higher Education, 71, 415-431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9913-7
17.
^FirpoN.-D. T. D. (2008). The experience of graduates from early college entrance programs (Publication No. 304674626) [Doctoral dissertation, Claremont Graduate University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing Database.
18.
*FranklinK. W.CornellD. G. (1997). Rorschach interpretation with high-ability adolescent females: Psychopathology or creative thinking?Journal of Personality Assessment, 68(1), 184-196. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6801_15
19.
GrossM. U. M. (1992). The use of radical acceleration in cases of extreme intellectual precocity. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36(1), 91-99. http://doi.org/10.1177/001698629203600207
20.
GrossM. U. M. (2006). Exceptionally gifted children: Long-term outcomes of academic acceleration and nonacceleration. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 29(4), 404-429. https://doi.org/10.4219/jeg-2006-247
21.
GrossM. U. M.Van VlietH. E. (2005). Radical acceleration and early entry to college: A review of the research. Gifted Child Quarterly, 49(2), 154-171. https://doi.org/10.117/001698620504900205
HenfieldM. S.WooH.BangN. M. (2016). Gifted ethnic minority students and academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Gifted Child Quarterly, 61(1), 3-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986216674556
24.
HertzogN. B.ChungR. U. (2015). Outcomes for students on a fast track to college: Early college entrance programs at the University of Washington. Special Issue: Early College Entrance Programs, 37(1), 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2014.976324
25.
*HogganB. (2008). Success factors among early college entrants (Publication No. 304539775) [Doctoral dissertation, University of North Texas]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing Database.
26.
HoogeveenL. (2015). Academic acceleration in Europe: A comparison of accelerative opportunities and activities. In AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.), A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 209-223). University of Iowa.
27.
HoogeveenL.van HellJ. G.VerhoevenL. (2005). Teacher attitudes toward academic acceleration and accelerated students in the Netherlands. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 29(1), 30-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/016235320502900103
28.
HoogeveenL.van HellJ. G.VerhoevenL. (2012). Social-emotional characteristics of gifted accelerated and non-accelerated students in the Netherlands. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 585-605. https://doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02047.x
29.
IngersollK. S.CornellD. G. (1995). Social adjustment of female early college entrants in a residential program. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 19(1), 45-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/016235329501900104
30.
^JanosP. M.RobinsonN. M.CarterC.ChapelA.CufleyR.CurlandM.DailyM.GuillandM.HeinzigM.KehlH.LuS.SherryD.StoloffJ.WiseA. (1988). A cross-sectional developmental study of the social relations of students who enter college early. Gifted Child Quarterly, 32(1), 210-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698628803200105
31.
*JanosP. M.RobinsonN. M.LunneborgC. E. (1989). Markedly early entrance to college: A multi-year comparative study of academic performance and psychological adjustment. Journal of Higher Education, 60(5), 495-518. https://doi.org/10.2307/1982264
32.
*JanosP. M.SanfilippoS. M.RobinsonN. M. (1986). “Underachievement” among markedly accelerated college students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(5), 58-66. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02145727
33.
JungJ. Y.GrossM. U. M. (2015). Radical acceleration. In AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.), A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 199-208). University of Iowa.
KimM. (2016). A meta-analysis of the effects of enrichment programs on gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 60(2), 102-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986216630607
36.
KimberlinC. L.WintersteinA. G. (2008). Validity and reliability of measurement instruments used in research. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 65(2), 2276-2284. https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp070364
37.
KleinbokO.VidergorH. (2009). Grade skipping: A retrospective case study on academic and social implications. Gifted and Talented International, 24(2), 21-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332276.2009.11673527
LubinskiD. (2004). Long-term effects of educational acceleration. In ColangeloN.AssoulineS. G.GrossM. U. M. (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 23-37). University of Iowa.
40.
LubinskiD.BenbowC. P. (2021). Intellectual precocity: What have we learned since Terman?Gifted Child Quarterly, 65(1), 3-28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986220925447
41.
LubinskiD.WebbR. M.MorelockM. J.BenbowC. P. (2001). Top 1 in 10,000: A 10-year follow-up of the profoundly gifted. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 718-729. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.4.718
42.
*LupkowskiA. E.WhitmoreM.RamsayA. (1992). The impact of early entrance to college on self-esteem: A preliminary study. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36(2), 87-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698629203600206
43.
MammadovS.HertzogN. B.MunR. U. (2018). An examination of self-determination within alumni of an early college entrance program. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 41(3), 273-291. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353218781745
44.
McGhieV. (2017). Entering university studies: Identifying enabling factors for a successful transition from school to university. Higher Education, 73(3), 407-422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0100-2
45.
*MuratoriM.ColangeloN.AssoulineS. (2003). Early-entrance students: Impressions of their first semester of college. Gifted Child Quarterly, 47(3), 219-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698620304700306
46.
*NavanJ. L. (1998). Perceptions of efficacy of gifted young women in different learning environments (Publication No. 304488297) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Ottawa]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing Database.
47.
NeihartM. (2007). The socioaffective impact of acceleration and ability grouping: Recommendations for best practice. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51(4), 330-341. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986207306319
48.
^NobleK. D.ArndtT.NicholsonT.SlettenT.ZamoraA. (1999). Different strokes: Perceptions of social and emotional development among early college entrants. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 10(2), 77-84. https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X9801000204
49.
^NobleK. D.ChildersS. A. (2008). A passion for learning: The theory and practice of optimal match at the University of Washington. Journal of Advanced Academics, 19(2), 236-270. https://doi.org/10.4219/jaa-2008-774
50.
^NobleK. D.DrummondJ. E. (1992). But what about the prom? Students’ perceptions of early college entrance. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36(2), 106-111. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698629203600209
51.
*NobleK. D.RobinsonN. M.GundersonS. A. (1993). All rivers lead to the sea: A follow-up study of gifted young adults. Roeper Review, 15(3), 124-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783199309553485
52.
*NobleK. D.SmythR. K. (1995). Keeping their talents alive: Young women’s assessment of radical, post-secondary acceleration. Roeper Review, 18(1), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783199509553697
Olszewski-KubiliusP. (2004). Talent searches and accelerated programming for gifted students. In ColangeloN.AssoulineS. G.GrossM. U. M. (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 69-176). University of Iowa.
55.
ParkG.LubinskiD.BenbowC. P. (2013). When less is more: Effects of grade skipping on adult STEM productivity among mathematically precocious adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(1), 176-198. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029481
56.
PetticrewM.RobertsH. (2006). Systematic reviews in the social sciences: A practical guide. Blackwell Publishing.
57.
PreckelF.ZeidnerM.GoetzT.SchleyerE. J. (2008). Female “big fish” swimming against the tide: The “big-fish-little-pond effect” and gender-ratio in special gifted classes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(1), 78-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.08.001
58.
QueirósA.FariaD.AlmeidaF. (2017). Strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research methods. European Journal of Education Studies, 3(9), 369-386. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.887089
59.
RichardsonT. M.BenbowC. P. (1990). Long-term effects of acceleration on the social-emotional adjustment of mathematically precocious youths. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(3), 464-470. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-0663.82.3.464
60.
RobinsonN. M. (1992). Radical acceleration in the People’s Republic of China: Early entrance to university. Roeper Review, 14(4), 189-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783199209553425
61.
*RobinsonN. M.JanosP. M. (1986). Psychological adjustment in a college-level program of marked academic acceleration. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 15(1), 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02140783
62.
RogersK. B. (2004). Effects of academic acceleration on the social-emotional status of gifted students. In ColangeloN.AssoulineS. G.GrossM. U. M. (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 59-68). University of Iowa.
63.
RogersK. B. (2015). The academic, socialization, and psychological effects of acceleration: Research synthesis. In AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.), A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 19-29). University of Iowa.
64.
*SaylerM. F. (1990). Early college entrants at Purdue University: A study of their academic and social characteristics [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Purdue University.
65.
SaylerM. F.BoazmanJ.NatesanP.PeriathiruvadiS. (2015). Subjective well-being of gifted American college students: An examination of psychometric properties of the PWI-A. Gifted Child Quarterly, 59(4), 236-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986215597748
66.
ScagerK.AkkermanS. F.KeesenF.MainhardM. T.PilotA.WubbelsT. (2012). Do honors students have more potential for excellence in their professional lives?Higher Education, 64(1), 19-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9478-z
67.
^SethnaB. N.WickstromC. D.BootheD.StanleyJ. C. (2001). The Advanced Academy of Georgia: Four years as a residential early-college-entrance program. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 13(1), 11-21. https://doi.org/10.4219/jsge-2001-360
68.
*ShepardS. J.NicponM. F.DoobayA. F. (2009). Early entrance to college and self-concept: Comparisons across the first semester of enrolment. Journal of Advanced Academics, 21(1), 40-57. https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X0902100103
69.
SiegleD.WilsonH. E.LittleC. A. (2013). A sample of gifted and talented educators’ attitudes about academic acceleration. Journal of Advanced Academics, 24(1), 27-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X12472491
70.
SouthernW. T.JonesE. D. (2015). Types of acceleration: Dimensions and issues. In AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.), A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 9-18). University of Iowa.
71.
SouthernW. T.JonesE. D.FiscusE. D. (1989). Practitioner objections to the academic acceleration of gifted children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 33(1), 29-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698628903300105
72.
Steenbergen-HuS.MoonS. M. (2011). The effects of acceleration on high-ability learners: A meta-analysis. Gifted Child Quarterly, 55(1), 39-53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986210383155
73.
Steenbergen-HuS.Olszewski-KubiliusP.CalvertE. (2020). The effectiveness of current interventions to reverse the underachievement of gifted students: Findings of a meta-analysis and systematic review. Gifted Child Quarterly, 64(2), 132-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986220908601
74.
*SwiatekM. A.BenbowC. P. (1991). Ten-year longitudinal follow-up of ability-matched accelerated and unaccelerated gifted students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(4), 528-538. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.83.4.528
75.
^SwiatekM. A.BenbowC. P. (1992). Nonintellectual correlates of satisfaction with acceleration: A longitudinal study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 21(6), 699-723.
76.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics. Pearson.
77.
Van der ZandenP. J. A. C.DenessenE.CillessenA. H. N.MeijerP. C. (2018). Domains and predictors of first-year student success: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 23(January), 57-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2018.01.001
78.
Van RooijE. C. M.JansenE. P. W. A.van de GriftW. J. C. M. (2017). First-year university students’ academic success: The importance of academic adjustment. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 33(4), 749-767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-017-0347-8
79.
VanTassel-BaskaJ.BrownE. F. (2007). Toward best practice: An analysis of the efficacy of curriculum models in gifted education. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51(4), 342-358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986207306323
80.
VialleW.AshtonT.CarlonG.RankinF. (2001). Acceleration: A coat of many colours. Roeper Review, 24(1), 14-19.
81.
WaiJ. (2015). Long-term effects of educational acceleration. In AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.), A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 73-83). University of Iowa.
82.
WaiJ.AllenJ. (2019). What boosts talent development? Examining predictors of academic growth in secondary school among academically advanced youth across 21 years. Gifted Child Quarterly, 63(4), 253-272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986219869042
83.
WellsR.LohmanD. F.MarronM. A. (2009). What factors are associated with grade acceleration?Journal of Advanced Academics, 20(2), 248-273.
84.
WuW. (1991). Current trends in gifted and talented education in Taiwan, R.O.C. Gifted and Talented International, 7(2), 85-94. https://doi.org/10.1177/026142949100700209
85.
*YoungM. (2010). Admission to Australian universities for accelerated students: Issues of access, attitude and adjustment [Doctoral dissertation, University of New South Wales]. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/45489
86.
YoungM.RogersK. B.HoekmanK.van VlietH. E.LongL. C. (2015). Acceleration in Australia: Flexible pacing opens the way for early university admission. In AssoulineS. G.ColangeloN.VanTassel-BaskaJ.Lupkowski-ShoplikA. (Eds.), A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 225-240). University of Iowa.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
