PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Steven Pang
MA-Research
August 1998

The Relationship between Giftedness and Self-Concept: A Meta-Analysis of Gifted Research

    Research on the relationship between giftedness and self-concept has resulted in contradictory findings in which some studies have found a relationship between giftedness and self-concept while others have found the lack of a relationship or a negative relationship between giftedness and self-concept.  Many possible moderating variables have been proposed to explain these conflicting results.  The role of four possible moderators: gender, grade level, type of gifted program, and type of self-concept were examined in this meta-analysis.

    It was anticipated that the level of self-concept for gifted students would depend upon gender, grade level, type of gifted program, and type of self-concept examined.  The meta-analysis found a small positive relationship between giftedness and self-concept (r = .21).  The level of self-concept was found to depend on grade level, type of gifted program, and type of self-concept but not on gender.

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