Low Incidence of Behavior Problems among Elementary School Students in Gifted Programs

Abstract

This report summarizes a comparison of 675 gifted and 322 regular education students (grades 2 or 3) on the incidence of behavior problems as rated by parents using the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and by teachers using the Teacher Report Form of the CBCL. After controlling for grade and minority status, there were no significant differences between gifted and regular education students in the incidence of any form of behavior problems as rated by either teachers or parents. The small group of gifted education students rated as having a clinically high level of total behavior problems did not differ from a comparable group of regular education students in the kinds of behavior problems they exhibited. Agreement between parent and teacher ratings was surprisingly low, indicating the need to consider both sources of information in evaluating a child's overall behavioral adjustment.

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