Academic Acceleration in Gifted Youth and Fruitless Concerns Regarding Psychological Well-Being: A 35-Year Longitudinal Study

Academic acceleration of intellectually precocious youth is believed to harm overall psychological well-being even though short-term studies do not support this belief. Here we examine the long-term effects. Study 1 involves three cohorts identified before age 13, then longitudinally tracked for ove...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of educational psychology 2021-05, Vol.113 (4), p.830-845
Main Authors: Bernstein, Brian O., Lubinski, David, Benbow, Camilla P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceleration (Education)
Acceleration Effects
Adults
Affective Behavior
Educational Attainment
Educational History
Female
Gifted
Gifted children
Gifted education
Graduation
High School Graduates
High School Students
Human
Life Satisfaction
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Psychology
Replication (Evaluation)
School Learning
Science Education
Sciences
Statistical Samples
Test Construction
Well Being
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Summary:Academic acceleration of intellectually precocious youth is believed to harm overall psychological well-being even though short-term studies do not support this belief. Here we examine the long-term effects. Study 1 involves three cohorts identified before age 13, then longitudinally tracked for over 35 years: Cohort 1 gifted (top 1% in ability, identified 1972-1974, N = 1,020), Cohort 2 highly gifted (top 0.5% in ability, identified 1976-1979, N = 396), and Cohort 3 profoundly gifted (top 0.01% in ability, identified 1980-1983, N = 220). Two forms of educational acceleration were examined: (a) age at high school graduation and (b) quantity of advanced learning opportunities pursued prior to high school graduation. Participants were evaluated at age 50 on several well-known indicators of psychological well-being. Amount of acceleration did not covary with psychological well-being. Study 2, a constructive replication of Study 1, used a different high-potential sample-elite science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate students (N = 478) identified in 1992. Their educational histories were assessed at age 25 and they were followed up at age 50 using the same psychological assessments. Again, the amount of educational acceleration did not covary with psychological well-being. Further, the psychological well-being of participants in both studies was above the average of national probability samples. Concerns about long-term social/emotional effects of acceleration for high-potential students appear to be unwarranted, as has been demonstrated for short-term effects. Educational Impact and Implications Statement Best practices suggest that acceleration in one of its many forms is educationally efficacious for meeting the advanced learning needs of intellectually precocious youth. Yet, parents, teachers, academic administrators, and psychological theorists worry that this practice engenders negative psychological effects. A three-cohort study of intellectually precocious youth followed for 35 years suggests that there is no cause for concern. These findings were replicated on a sample of elite STEM graduates whose educational histories were assessed at age 25 and tracked for 25 years.
ISSN:0022-0663
1939-2176
DOI:10.1037/edu0000500