Perceptions of the Emotional Self for Adolescents Who Are Gifted

ABSTRACT Self-report, trait-based instruments have provided data about adolescents and their emotional development. However, a holistic and self-referential view of the emotionality of the adolescent who is gifted remains elusive. The theoretical framework of emotionality was tailored for this inquiry by combining two prominent theories of emotional intelligence with emotional development. This merge allowed for the generation of a large body of descriptive statements. These were sampled according to procedures in Q methodology to result in 41 statements, which were sorted by 28 adolescents identified as gifted by their public school district personnel. Q factor analyses revealed four types of emotionality among the gifted adolescents who participated, which were interpreted as Humanitarians, Politicians, Regulators, and Stabilizers. These findings provide insight into the self-descriptions of emotional lives of adolescents who are gifted.