The Self-concept and Personal Attributes of Gifted Adolescent Females PDF Download

Author: Molly Suzanne Stebbins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gifted girls
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among self-concept, gender-related personality attributes, and social comparison orientation in a sample of gifted adolescent females. How bright girls compared to normative samples on self-concept, self-descriptions of gender roles, and to what extent they relied on social comparison information from their average-ability peers was investigated. In addition, this study sought to determine if social comparison orientation was associated with gifted girls' domain-specific self-concepts and their personal attributes. Finally, this research attempted to determine if low or high dependence on social comparison information moderated the relationship between global self-concept and the personal attributes of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny. The sample consisted of 50 gifted and talented girls from central Missouri who were attending grades 10 through 12 at the time of the study. The participants had been identified in elementary school as gifted by exceptional scores on group measures of cognitive ability. Each participant completed four brief instruments designed to gather information about their demographic characteristics, self-concept, personal attributes, and social comparison orientation. Data were collected in small groups at the girls' high schools. The gifted and talented girls who participated in the study reported average levels of self-concept in the areas of global, competence, affect, family, and physical self-concept. The participants endorsed higher than average academic and social self-concepts. Within group, domain-specific comparisons revealed that these bright females reported relatively lower physical self-concept scores when compared to most other domains. They also endorsed relatively higher levels of academic self-concept when compared to their affective reactions and family situations. In addition, the participants reported average levels of femininity, but significantly higher levels of masculinity and androgyny when compared to a normative sample. Furthermore, they reported similar social comparison orientations when compared to teenagers in a normative sample. Examinations of the interactions among the variables revealed that no significant association was found between gifted girls' domain-specific self-concept scores and their need for social comparison information. On the other hand, those who reported a low level of dependence on social comparison information from their average-ability peers endorsed higher levels of masculinity and androgyny. Unexpectedly, the relationship between global self-concept and personal attributes was not moderated by social comparison orientation.